The West Virginia Mountaineers won their second game in the College Basketball Crown on Saturday with a double-digit victory over the Creighton Bluejays, and will play tomorrow in the tournament championship game, securing at least a $100,000 payday for the team – with the opportunity for $300,000 with a win.
It also gives a chance for the Mountaineers to bring some hardware back to Morgantown and build some momentum entering next season. And while most of the players on the current team are running out of eligiblity, one player who can return – and that Ross Hodge should drop a bag to keep – is freshman center DJ Thomas.
DJ Thomas just keeps getting better with every game he plays
— Schuyler Callihan (@Callihan_) April 4, 2026
DJ Thomas leads WVU basketball to victory as Mountaineers advance to College Basketball Crown Championship
Thomas played a major part in West Virginia's success at various points throughout the season, and he has stepped up in a big way during the College Basketball Crown. On Saturday, he was critical to the winning effort over Creighton as he led the Mountaineers in scoring with 20 points despite coming off the bench and playing just 21 minutes.
And while he didn't have quite as big of an effort in the quarterfinal win over Stanford, he did contribute significantly in the victory, chipping in eight points and two rebounds while playing 18 minutes. On the season, he is averaging 6.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, and WVU will look for another big game from Thomas in the finals on Sunday against Oklahoma, which is set for a 5:30 PM tip-off on FOX.
There were not a ton of expectations entering the season for the Thomas, who is in his first season out of high school and was initially committed to Hodge at North Texas, with no Power 5 offers before Hodge took the job and WVU and brought him along for the ride.
But this season, he has proved that he can compete at the Big 12 level, and he has continued to develop throughout the season. Now, he's playing a massive role in postseason success for the Mountaineers.
It's hard to tell where he can be after another offseason in the program, and will have one of the best recruiting classes in the country on the court with him next year. And if Ross Hodge really wants to lay the foundation for success, he should start by making sure he spends big to keep Thomas inside the program.