March 11, 2025; Kansas City, Mo, USA; UCF Knights Guard Darius Johnson (3) shoots the ball during the second half against Utah excludes at the T-Mobile Center. Mandatory Credit: William Purnell-Imagn Images Darius Johnson has been on assignment, and his next task is to help UCF win a championship.
Johnson has received 73 total points in the last two competitions. He strives to deliver another high-octane outing when Knights (20-16) meets Nebraska (20-14) on Sunday in College Basketball Crown Championship game at Las Vegas.
Johnson poured a career best 42 points in Saturday’s victory 104-98 overtime over Villanova in the semi-finals. Two days earlier he had 31 points in an 88-80 quarter final victory over Cincinnati.
Overall, the senior guard is an average of 29.3 points in UCF’s three wins during the tournament. But he will shop each of them for a banner.
“We play for a championship,” Johnson said. “… I want to go out on the right path. We want to do something special before we all go our separate roads.”
Johnson was a big spark in the victory over Villanova. He knocked down the binding 3-point basket with 7.6 seconds left in the regulation and then got 10 points on overtime.
There was zero chance that Johnson passed the ball late in regulation before he hit the big basket.
“I was wide open for Stepback Three, who is one of my go-to-shot,” Johnson said, “so I could take advantage of it.”
Nebraska reached the title game with a solid victory 79-69 over Boise State on Saturday.
Cornhuskers made a season high 12 3-points while they shot a season best 63.2 percent from 3 points.
Juwan Gary was 4-for-4 from the 3-point interval-binder his career high for brands-while he produced 21 points and nine returns.
“Just found my rhythm,” Gary explained. “I try not to force nothing. I’m senior and this is my last opportunity to play with these guys. Just have to go out and play as hard as I can.”
Nebraska lost its last five games with regular season so being in the Crown tournament has enabled it to end the campaign on a good note.
Cornhuskers beat Arizona State in the first round and Georgetown in the quarter finals before sending Boise State.
“We may not be in March Madness but we are still playing,” Gary said. “We want to go out there and leave our stamp out there. You can’t get a better feeling than winning a championship on Sunday.”
Brice Williams had 14 points against Boise State but is on average 24 for the tournament. He got 30 and 28 the first two games.
The winner of the title game gets $ 300,000 in zero money. The runner gets $ 100,000.
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