Runnin' Utes accept postseason bid to inaugural College Basketball Crown

SALT LAKE CITY — No, it's not the NCAA Tournament or the National Invitation Tournament, but Utah men's basketball is continuing its postseason in a newly created event hosted in Las Vegas.

The Runnin' Utes are one of 16 teams selected to the inaugural College Basketball Crown tournament that will be played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas from March 31 to April 6.

Utah will play Butler on March 31 at 1 p.m. MDT. The teams were selected based on final NET rankings.

The Utes were one of five teams selected from the Big 12 to play in the tournament, with Arizona State, Cincinnati, Colorado and UCF as the other teams selected. The Big East, Big Ten and Big 12 were given two auto-bids each into the tournament, with 10 other at-large selections filling out the remaining spots.

The first two rounds of the tournament will be broadcast on FS1 and played inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena — a former location of the Pac-12 Tournament — before switching over to FOX and at T-Mobile Arena for the semifinal and championship game.

Following Utah's first-round exit to UCF in the Big 12 Tournament, senior guard Gabe Madsen said he was hopeful to keep playing, saying he was looking for "closure" and to know certainly "if it's the last one."

The College Basketball Crown can now give Madsen and his fellow seniors a defined end date to their collegiate careers.

"I'm 100% all in," interim head coach Josh Eilert said about the possibility of playing in the tournament after the team's loss. "I'm excited about it. I know players have to make decisions, but I think it would be special to have another opportunity to battle with these guys."

The postseason tournament will be played after the NCAA transfer portal opens on March 24, though a few Utah players have already indicated their intent to transfer.

Jake Wahlin, who has been with the Utes for two seasons after an initial commit out of high school to BYU, entered his name into the portal on March 14. He said he was committed to the postseason tournament, while also giving himself options in the future to potentially return as he continues conversations with newly-hired coach Alex Jensen.

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