WVU Basketball Slight Underdog in College Basketball Crown Matchup

Before completely closing the book on Ross Hodge’s first season, WVU basketball will compete in the College Basketball Crown. West Virginia will start off the tournament against Stanford on Thursday night.

The Mountaineers are a slight underdog in their matchup with the Cardinals. Most major sportsbooks have Stanford as a 1.5-point favorite.

WVU accepted a bid to the College Basketball Crown on Selection Sunday, knowing they were not going to make the NCAA Tournament. The Tournament will be played from April 1-5.

West Virginia left the decision up to head coach Ross Hodge, who then asked his players if they wanted to participate.

In Hodge’s first season, West Virginia finished the season at 18-14 with a 9-10 Big 12 record, including 0-1 in the conference tournament.

WVU and Stanford will tip-off at 8 pm ET on Thursday night from Las Vegas, Nev. Baylor, Colorado, Creighton, Minnesota, Oklahoma and Rutgers round out the eight-team field.

Find more coverage of  WVU basketball at WV Sports Now.

For a related story, Ross Hodge shared explained why WVU basketball accepted the bid to the College Basketball Crown.