Photo by: Omer Khan
The semifinals of the College Basketball crown brought us to T-Mobile Area in Las Vegas. Four teams battled it out, and two claimed their spot for the championship game on Sunday, April 5. So which teams will fight for the $500,000 Crown prize?
Nebraska Huskers 79 – Boise State Broncos 69
Game one of the semifinals had two teams looking to reach big stats in their season. The Nebraska Huskers won their 20th game of the season, while Boise State failed to tie the program’s single-season record of 27 wins set by the 2021-22 team.
The first half was a competition of three-pointers. The Huskers shot 67% behind the arc and 41% in the paint. Boise State started to apply pressure in the backcourt to prevent the Huskers from taking a lead. Nebraska went on a 3:30 scoring drought, missing multiple offensive rebounds. The struggle continued with the lack of ball control, leading the team to go 0-9 for over six minutes. The only thing keeping the Huskers close in score was four trips to the charity stripe.
Nebraska got back in their groove and sunk back-to-back three-pointers to help them tie the game at 27. The Broncos had a 3:00 drought while Nebraska’s grind continued. The Huskers took their largest lead of the half at 7 points from a 9-0 run. Boise State fell behind 33-39 at the end of the half.
The second half was back and forth at the start. The Broncos weren’t able to find a lead after shooting 35.3% (12-34) in the paint. The Huskers got up to a 15-point lead, their largest of the game. The Broncos increased their defense in the backcourt again, not letting the Huskers score for over three minutes. Nebraska had two big chances to extend their lead back into the double digits after Boise put the ball out of bounds, but the Broncos got a steal to regain possession. The final two minutes consisted of fouls and free throws. The Huskers took the win 79-69.
Juwan Gary led Nebraska with 21 points and nine rebounds. Tyson Degenhart led the Broncos and the game with 26 points. Overall, the Huskers shot 46% FG and 63% 3FG, while the Broncos went 40% in the field and 33% behind the arc.
UCF Knights 104 – Villanova Wildcats 98
The Knights and Wildcats met for the third time in program history. The Knights won its first game against the Wildcats in the all-time series.
The game started back and forth at the beginning. The Knights held the lead for 19:41 in the first half. The teams were able to keep a close score because of the free throw competition. Each team had 11 fouls, making the game very stop-and-go. The Knights went 14-18, and the Wildcats went 19-21 at the charity stripe.
The teams entered the second half with the Knights leading 48-44. UCF took their time on offense and played it smart while Villanova was rushing to get points. Villanova had a small comeback with 10 minutes left in the game. The Wildcats went on a 6-0 run to come within just four points of the Knights. Back-to-back fouls with six minutes left in the game led Villanova to take a one-point lead. UCF was in a scoring drought for over three minutes, and the Wildcats reached a three-point lead. Darius Johnson sunk a three with nine seconds left to tie the game at 88-88.
The teams headed into a five-minute overtime, marking the first of the College Basketball Crown. UCF made the first five points of the period and kept its defense tight. Eric Dixon sunk a three with 34 seconds left to put the Wildcats within two points of the Knights. Villanova fouls gave the Knights nine points, four of them coming within the last 31 seconds.
Darius Johnson led the Knights with a season-high 42 points. Wooga Poplar led the Wildcats with a season-high 32 points and 11 rebounds. Eric Dixon wasn’t far behind with 29 points. UCF led the game, shooting 48% FG and 43% 3FG.
Championship Sunday, April 4:
Nebraska vs. UCF @ 2:30pm PT
