For opponents Villanova and Southern California, facing off in Thursday’s quarterfinal round of the inaugural College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas, the opening-round of the tournament provided opportunities in the unknown.For Villanova (20-14), interim coach Mike Nardi capitalized on the opportunity to score his first career head-coaching win as he oversees the program’s transition from Kyle Neptune to the incoming Kevin Willard.”This is a very special place that means a lot to a lot of people,” Nardi said following Villanova’s 85-64 blowout of Colorado on Tuesday, via the university athletic website. “I’ve grown up here as a student, as a man and as a player. Having the opportunity to coach guys like these who understand that means a lot.”Eric Dixon also leveraged the fledgling College Basketball Crown to become the program’s all-time leading scorer with 2,257 points. Dixon posted 22 points in the opening round.For USC (17-17), its 89-60 romp vs. Tulane on Tuesday marked an opportunity for some Trojans who did not see much playing time in the regular season to make a closing impact.With two of the team’s leading scorers in 2024-25 out — 14.1-point per game scorer Wesley Yates III due to a foot injury and 11.8-point per game scoring Chibuzo Agbo for unspecified reasons — Matt Knowling and Clark Slajchert moved into the starting lineup.Slajchert scored 10 points in his second double-figure-point performance of the season. Knowling shot 3-of-4 from the floor for seven points and grabbed six rebounds.