Ross Hodge Releases Statement on Accepting College Basketball Crown Bid

The season is not quite over yet for Ross Hodge and his West Virginia Mountaineers squad. WVU accepted an invitation to the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas and, on Monday, learned that its first-round opponent will be the Stanford Cardinal.

Hodge released a statement expressing his excitement to continue his first season with the Mountaineers as the team continues to build for the future.

“We are pleased to be able to continue our season by participating in the second College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas. Everything I’ve heard about the inaugural tournament last year is that it’s a tremendous event and first-class experience for the teams and their fans. We have a wonderful group of guys on and off the court, and the Crown provides us a special opportunity to continue our season.”

The tournament, which began last season, offers NIL money for programs as an incentive for participation. For a young team with a young coaching staff like the Mountaineers, it seems like the perfect opportunity for the program to possibly pick up some extra NIL cash while gaining valuable experience against competitive teams.

What could the Mountaineers gain from participating in this tournament?

Obviously, this was not anyone's main goal when this season started, but this tournament can do a lot for the future of the program. The Mountaineers stand to win up to $300,000 for their university with a tournament victory.

Three teams that were in the Crown tournament last season ended up making the field of 68 this season, including the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Villanova Wildcats, and a fellow Big 12 team in the UCF Knights.

For WVU, a few extra games to close out the season with the opportunity to compete in the postseason gives your young coaching staff experience in high-stakes games, as well as providing those valuable game experiences for your young players.

There is also plenty of reason to be excited about year two under Ross Hodge, given the fact that the Player of the Year in the EYBL Scholastic is coming to Morgantown next season. Miles Sadler is one of the most highly touted and rated recruits that WVU has ever gotten a commitment from. Sadler was put in company with current freshman phenom of the Arkansas Razorback Darius Acuff Jr, who won the EYBL Scholastic Player of the Year just last season.

You can catch the Mountaineers begin their postseason journey in the College Basketball Crown from Las Vegas against Stanford on April 2nd at 8 P.M. on FS1.