2026 College Basketball Crown: Expert Predictions and Analysis

Buckle up, college basketball fans. The second edition of the College Basketball Crown is set to get underway this week in Las Vegas.

Eight power-conference programs will take the court in the single-elimination tournament, which tips off with first-round games on Wednesday, followed by the semifinals on Saturday and the championship game on Sunday. The tournament will be played at MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena with a $500,000 NIL prize pool.

The complete bracket features Oklahoma, Colorado, Baylor, Minnesota, Stanford, West Virginia, Rutgers and Creighton.

From freshman superstars to a Big East head coach looking to close out his career on a high note, there’s no shortage of intriguing storylines as the tournament gets set to tip off. Before the first game gets underway, our experts have filled out their brackets and made their predictions for how the 2026 College Basketball Crown will unfold.

Here’s a look at our experts’ picks.

Opening Round: Oklahoma over Colorado, Baylor over Minnesota, West Virginia over Stanford, Creighton over Rutgers

Semifinals: Oklahoma over Baylor, Creighton over Stanford

Championship: Creighton over Oklahoma

Why Creighton will win the championship: Oklahoma has a really connected group of five players who have started every game together this year. The Sooners were playing their best basketball at the end of the season. But I believe Creighton will win this tournament. Head coach Greg McDermott announced that he will retire after the season ends. I think you'll see a motivated Creighton team that wants to send their head coach out a champion after 16 years with the Bluejays.

Opening Round: Oklahoma over Colorado, Baylor over Minnesota, Stanford over West Virginia, Creighton over