There's more than one title still on the line this college basketball season, and the Oklahoma Sooners are expected to take it back to Norman.
The national championship game is Monday night between UConn and Michigan, but before that on Sunday in Las Vegas, the Sooners will take on the West Virginia Mountaineers in the College Basketball Crown final. And unlike the other one, there's $300,000 on the line for the winner between OU and West Virginia.
Sooners rightfully favored in College Basketball Crown final
FanDuel had the Sooners as 3.5-point favorites over West Virginia as of Sunday morning to pocket that cash. The sportsbook has liked OU in every matchup of the tournament, at least to start with after first favoring the Sooners against Baylor in the semifinals before a dramatic swing the morning before tip-off.
Despite being close 1.5-point underdogs, the Sooners cruised past Baylor 82-69 on Saturday to move just one step away from completely proving the selection committee wrong after it left OU as the first team out of the NCAA Tournament. The Sooners, though, still managed to extend their season to April and further than most teams in college basketball thanks to their invite to the College Basketball Crown.
Both teams fell short of the NCAA Tournament and ended up in the College Basketball Crown thanks to inconsistent seasons that included too many downs. The Sooners are 21-15 after a late-season surge, while the Mountaineers are 20-14.
West Virginia got to this point with an 87-70 win over Creighton right after OU played Saturday. Both the Sooners and Mountaineers needed overtime to survive the first round, almost ending their runs much sooner.
After shaking some rust off in that overtime scare, the Sooners again looked like one of the hottest teams in the country on Saturday as four players reached double-figures, including Xzayvier Brown's game-high 21 points.
Peaking at the perfect time wasn't enough for the Sooners to get into the NCAA Tournament as a dangerous upset team, but it will be enough to make a run and win the tournament they did get a chance in. And that makes OU one of just three men's basketball teams to finish its season with a win.
Prediction: Oklahoma 77, West Virginia 74
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
How to watch Oklahoma vs. West Virginia in College Basketball Crown championship
When: 4:30 p.m. CT Sunday
Where: T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas
Watch: FOX (watch using fuboTV free trial)
Announcers: Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Jim Jackson (analyst), Kristina Pink (sideline)