Oklahoma and West Virginia Are Playing for a Trophy Nobody Expected to Matter This Much

Two teams that got left out in the cold are about to play for something that might actually change how they start next season. Oklahoma and West Virginia meet Sunday in Las Vegas for the Crown championship, and both squads are treating this like a second chance nobody saw coming.

Oklahoma (21-15) had a brutal run through conference play. A nine-game losing streak in the middle of SEC action basically torpedoed their NCAA Tournament hopes, and when Selection Sunday rolled around, the Sooners were the first team left out of the 68-team field. That stung. But head coach Porter Moser didn't hesitate to accept the Crown bid, and the gamble is already paying off.

"I'm not going to lie, it was a very hard Selection Sunday," Moser said after the loss. "The emotions were very raw, because of how much these guys battled through when no one else believed. We felt we should have been in the tournament, but that's for a later discussion. We could either talk about that, or we could show them why they made a mistake."

Oklahoma has responded. They beat Colorado 90-86 in overtime in the quarterfinals, then dominated Baylor 82-69 on Saturday with Xzayvier Brown dropping 21 points. Nijel Pack is pacing the offense at 16.6 points per game, while Brown chips in 15.5. This team is rolling when it matters.

West Virginia Wants Their First Title Since 2007

West Virginia (20-14) is chasing their first postseason tournament title since winning the NIT back in 2007. They just knocked off Creighton 87-70 on Saturday to reach the final, and it's a huge deal for first-year coach Ross Hodge's squad. This is also West Virginia's first 20-win season since 2019-20, which tells you they've been in a drought.

Hodge didn't need to convince anyone to stick around for Vegas. "There was no conversation that needed to be had about playing," he said. "These guys love each other. They love the university. They love the state of West Virginia. It's their heart and their gratitude that is directly responsible for us to be in the position that we're going to be in Sunday."

Freshman DJ Thomas went off against Creighton with 20 points, while Honor Huff leads the Mountaineers at 15.9 per game with Brenen Lorient adding 11.8.

What's at Stake Sunday

Context matters here. Nebraska won the inaugural Crown championship last year and followed it up with a school-record 28 wins this season, including their first two NCAA Tournament victories ever. That's not luck. The winner of Sunday's game gets the same opportunity to build momentum heading into next season. For two teams that just got left out of March Madness, a trophy might be exactly what they need.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.