Buffaloes return to College Basketball Crown

In the College Basketball Crown, Buffs star guard Isaiah Johnson will look to rebound from a disappointing performance in the Big 12 Tournament that saw him shoot just 33.3 percent from the field. (Photo by Aspen Doust/Sko Buffs Sports)

The season is not over yet. 

It was announced Monday that the Colorado Buffaloes are headed to the College Basketball Crown (CBC) tournament in Las Vegas for the second year in a row.

After losing in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament and missing the NCAA and National Invitational Tournaments, it seemed like the Buffs’ season was over. Now, Colorado has at least one more game on its schedule as it is the only team returning to the CBC from last year’s inaugural competition. 

This year’s tournament features eight teams, compared to 16 schools in 2025. Although not specified, the downsizing can likely be attributed to a number of programs that rejected the invitation. The larger bracket size and a high amount of rejections qualified the Buffs for last year’s tournament despite 14-21 and last in the Big 12.

Similarly, this year, despite the Big East having two automatic bids, Creighton was the only school in the conference to accept its bid, making room for a third at-large team. There are two automatic qualifiers from the Big Ten (Minnesota and Rutgers). The Big Ten sent the tournament its inaugural winners, as the Nebraska Cornhuskers took home the crown in 2025. The final automatic bids came by way of the Big 12 (West Virginia and Baylor). Colorado received an at-large bid along with the Oklahoma Sooners and the Stanford Cardinal.

In the first round of the CBC, the Buffs will play the first team out of March Madness, Oklahoma. The Sooners finished 11th in the Southeastern Conference, with a conference record of 7-11. Those numbers are identical to the Buffs, who finished with the same conference record and placement in the Big 12. 

However, Oklahoma made a lot more noise in its conference tournament than Colorado did. While the Buffs got handled in the first round, the Sooners won their first two games, beating a March Madness team in Texas A&M. In its third game in three days, Oklahoma lost by three points in the quarterfinals to the eventual SEC Champion Arkansas Razorbacks. 

A first-round win would put the Buffs or Sooners in the semifinals against the winner of the matchup between the Baylor Bears and the Minnesota Golden Gophers.

Last season, the Buffs lost to the Villanova Wildcats in the first round. Buffs head coach Tad Boyle took the game as an opportunity to play guys who could use extra development. Examples include forward Bangot Dak, center Elijah Malone and guard Felix Kossaras, who all played more than 10 minutes over their season averages.

Although this is an opportunity for less-experienced players to prove themselves, teams still have an incentive to compete at a high level, with the winning team taking home $300,000. 

Colorado’s matchup with Oklahoma in the quarterfinals kicks off the 2026 CBC on April 1 at 6 p.m. MT (FS1). The semifinals will be on April 4 (FOX) with the championship on April 5 (FOX).