Today: What Is the College Basketball Crown? Will It Air In 4K?
By Phillip Swann
The TV Answer Man – Follow me on X.
TV Answer Man, can you explain what is the College Basketball Crown? Is it related to March Madness? – Bob, Cleveland.
Bob, the College Basketball Crown is basically the new National Invitational Tournament. Sixteen college basketball men’s teams who were not invited to the March Madness tournament will play in a single-elimination tournament in Las Vegas from March 31 to April 6 when the championship game will be held.
Who Will Play In the College Basketball Crown?
The 16 teams in the College Basketball Crown are:
Butler
DePaul
Arizona State
Boise State
Cincinnati
Colorado
George Washington
Georgetown
Nebraska
Oregon State
Tulane
UCF
USC
Utah
Villanova
Washington State
In the first round on March 31, Butler will play Utah in game one at 3 p.m. ET. George Washington will play Boise State at 5:30 p.m. ET. Nebraska will play Arizona State at 8:30 p.m. ET. And Georgetown will play Washington State at 11 p.m. ET. There will be four more games on April 1. The quarterfinals will tip off on April 2 and 3 with the semifinals on April 5 and the final on April 6. You can see the schedule with teams and times here.
How to Watch the College Basketball Crown – Will It Be In 4K?
FOX or FS1 will air each game in the tournament. See the TV schedule here. Some, if not all, the games will be available in upscaled 4K on the Fox Sports app. As of this writing, it’s unclear if TV providers such as DIRECTV and YouTube TV will carry the 4K feeds.
Update: YouTube TV has confirmed it will carry the 4K broadcasts. Other providers expected to offer the games on special 4K channels are DIRECTV, Dish, Sling TV, Comcast, Verizon, Optimum, DIRECTV Stream, and FuboTV.
What Does Upscaled Fox 4K Look Like?
Fox’s 4K live sports broadcasts are upscaled from 1080p HDR (High Dynamic Range). Upscaling is the process when one video format is converted to another. Fox takes the 1080p HDR signal and converts it to a 4K format. Upscaling 4K is not considered as good as native 4K, but the inclusion of HDR can offer heightened colors and vividness. ESPN also upscaled its 4K broadcasts from a 1080p HD signal.
Bob, hope that answers your question. Happy viewing and stay safe.
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Phillip Swann
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The TV Answer Man is veteran journalist Phillip Swann who has covered television for more than three decades. He will report on the latest news and answer your questions regarding new devices and services that are changing the way you watch TV. See the bio for Phillip Swann here.
