How to Watch Nebraska Men’s Basketball vs. Arizona State in the Crown: Preview, Breakdown, TV Channel

The Nebraska men’s basketball team may have ended the season on a dreadful note – losing its last five games and being one of only three teams in the 18-team Big Ten to miss the conference tournament – but they’ll still be playing postseason basketball.

The Huskers were one of 16 teams chosen for the inaugural College Basketball Crown, which is a tournament aiming to compete with the National Invitational Tournament by incentivising with big-time TV exposure (FOX) and NIL payments with the winning team receiving $300,000, runner-up getting $100,000 and $50,000 for both semifinalists. It’s an intriguing idea that has attracted many of the “best of the rest” that didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

What makes things even more interesting is the transfer portal era with many teams already having to deal with transfers both incoming and outcoming while trying to prepare for postseason play. Plus, there’s injuries that come with playing a 30-game regular season, so many teams won’t be full strength. That’ll be the case for both Nebraska and Arizona State, but that won’t stop them from competing for a trophy and a handsome bonus.

Here’s all you need to know as the Huskers face the Sun Devils in the Sin City.

How to Follow Along

Matchup: Nebraska (17-14, 7-13 B1G) vs. Arizona State (13-19, 4-16 Big 12)
When: Monday, March 31, 2025
Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Time: 7:30 p.m. CDT
Watch: FS1
Listen: Huskers Radio Network and Affiliates

Mar 8, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Bobby Hurley walks off the court at Desert Financial Arena. | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images

Arizona State Scout

Head Coach: Bobby Hurley | 10th Season at Arizona State; 12th overall as HC | 168-150 (.528) at ASU; 210-170 (.553) Career HC Record | 4x NCAA Tournament Appearances, 1x MAC Regular Season & Tournament Champion | Previous head coach at Buffalo | Previous assistant at Rhode Island and Wagner.

2024-2025 Record: 13-19 (4-16 Big 12, 15th) | 1x All-Defensive Team, 1x All-Freshman Team.

All-Time Series: Arizona State leads 4-3 (Dec. 7, 2008 last matchup; 64-44 ASU).

Big 12 Tournament: L, 71-66 to No. 10 seed Kansas State in Big 12 First Round.

Notable Wins: *Grand Canyon (87-76), *New Mexico (85-82), *Saint Mary’s (68-64), #23 West Virginia (65-57).

*Signifies NCAA Tournament Qualifier

Key Absences: BJ Freeman, G/F, Sr., 13.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG (Team dismissal) | Jayden Quaintance, F, Fr., 9.4 PPG, 7.9 RPG (Injury) | Joson Sanon, G, Fr., 11.9 PPG, 3.4 RPG (Transfer Portal).

Projected Lineup: Alston Mason, G, Sr. (13.5 PPG, 4.0 APG) | Amier Ali, G/F, Fr. (5.5 PPG, 2.9 RPG) | Basheer Jihad, F, Sr. (12.5 PPG, 5.4 RPG) | Adam Miller, G, R-Sr. (9.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG) | Shawn Phillips Jr., C, Jr. (5.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG).

Outlook: Regular season attrition has not hit Nebraska the same as it has for Arizona State. The Huskers will be without starting point guard Rollie Worster for the entire postseason, plus center Braxton Meah will be a game-time decision due to back spasms. Guard Gavin Griffiths twisted his ankle earlier in the week, but head coach Fred Hoiberg confirmed that he should be ready to roll for Monday.

The same can’t be said for the Sun Devils who have been devastated by a variety of circumstances. Leading scorer and senior guard BJ Freeman was dismissed by the team in late February for violation of team rules. Impact freshman Joson Sanon entered the transfer portal after the season despite playing in 27 of the 32 regular season games, plus nine starts. Then, fellow freshman star forward Jayden Quaintance has been out since late February with an injury and he still was named to the Big 12 All-Defensive and All-Freshman teams.

The 13-19 record for ASU is quite deceiving compared to the talent they have on the roster. Combine the injuries, team discipline issues and a brutal Big 12 conference it’s no wonder the record looks bad. However, it can’t be forgotten that the Sun Devils took down three NCAA Tournament teams and went 7-2 during non-conference play – with its only losses being to No. 6 Gonzaga and No. 9 Florida.

Arizona State Sun Devils guard Alston Mason (1) heads into the postseason as ASU's leading scorer. | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images

6-foot-2 senior guard Alston Mason heads into Monday as the leading scorer for ASU with 13.5 points per game while also pacing the team with four assists per contest. He forms a nice duo with forward Basheer Jihad (12.5 PPG) who’s been a key player in his only season in Tempe after transferring from Ball State. Rounding out the senior trio is guard Adam Miller who chips in 9.6 PPG.

Seven-foot center Shawn Phillips Jr. provides the height for ASU, but hasn’t consistently been a starter this season with 11 starts in his 30 games played. He had a great game in the team’s loss to Kansas State in the first round of the Big 12 tournament with 11 points and 14 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Due to the departure of Sanon to the portal, fellow true freshman Amier Ali will likely get the call up to the starting lineup. He’s played in 31 of the 32 games this season with all but three off the bench. He adds just over five points per game and a couple rebounds.

If there’s one thing that’s key to the Sun Devils’ success it’s the three-point ball. They finished the year ranked fifth in the Big 12 with a three-point percentage of 35.8 and were third with 8.8 treys made per game. ASU was also in the top half in defending the three by allowing opposing offenses to shoot the three at a 32.9% clip.

Mar 8, 2025; Tempe, Arizona, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils forward Basheer Jihad (8) goes for a lay up during the second half at Desert Financial Arena. | Arianna Grainey-Imagn Images

Arizona State missing three of its best players will certainly have a huge impact on this game. Nebraska having Brice Williams and Juwan Gary available puts NU over the top in this matchup even if the Sun Devils can get going from three. The fact that Hurley only went seven-deep in the Big 12 tournament game against Kansas State points to how small his circle of trust is with his roster right now – and that’s before Sanon entered the portal. I like NU, so give me Nebraska to win a postseason game in Vegas.

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