Matt Norlander is on the Las Vegas Strip, darting back and forth between the two arenas that will host this year's Players Era Championship. It will provide frequent updates and inside information throughout each day of the event, so check back regularly. You can read his Monday notebook here..
LAS VEGAS — Among the many things the Players Era will give college hoops this week is some additional crystallization in which teams are ranked better.
And on Tuesday we found out Tennessee are once again one of the most physical and impressive defensive teams in the country. The biggest match of the second day took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena: No. 17 Tennessee 76, No. 3. Houston 73. The Vols atoned for a 19-point loss to the Pumas in the Elite Eight last season.
Tennessee was able to beat the dub by holding Houston scoreless for seven minutes in the second half and also scoring 10 points during UH's scoring drought.
In the first two days of the Players Era, the game was as good as any.
Tennessee got 22 points from Ja'Coby Gillespiewho led the all-round inspirational effort for Rick Barnes' team. This is the definition of an adult game.
“These guys figured it out themselves, they were very talkative, very active in timeouts and played well with our guys in the post,” Barnes said. “Just being with them and hearing them talk, coaching each other, hearing them talk about the changes that need to be made is a step in the right direction.”
However, after this Kelvin Sampson could not hide his disappointment. Tennessee made 29 free throws to Houston's 11. The Cougars usually control the match from a physical standpoint, but the Volunteers certainly got the better of the Cougars on Tuesday night.
The game was also a breakthrough for Bishop BoswellThe 6-4 sophomore guard was a key cog in helping Tennessee keep Houston within range over the final five minutes. Boswell finished with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists. His on-ball defense has been a beacon for Tennessee as a whole.
“He's becoming one of the best defensive players in the country and there's no doubt that it's a difficult role to put in a player that you want to buy, that wants to do it, but he's completely team-oriented,” Barnes said of Boswell. “He wants to win more than anything and throughout the recruitment process we knew he was a winner and would do whatever it took. We ask him to play the lead role and he accepted it.”
ISU's Otzelberger says wins are more important than money in Players Era
This season's Players Era Championship has generated more talk, buzz, criticism and intrigue than anything else.
This is partly because it has obvious flaws. Let's address the biggest one right now.
On Tuesday #15 Iowa beat Creighton with aplomb, 78-60. The Cyclones are 2-0 after winning a thrilling battle over No. 14. St. John's op Monday.
But in the hours following that victory, they had no idea when they would play on Wednesday or who their opponents would be.
That's because the Players Era's 18-team format is not grid-based. If you don't have a bracket of games AND not all the matches are predetermined, you're left relying on the results of the games to settle the rest of the schedule. The main tiebreaker is the average margin of victory (with a limit of 20 points, so as not to encourage teams to rashly increase the score). Iowa State's average edge after two games is 9.5.
That won't be enough to qualify for Wednesday's championship game, and it might not be enough to even advance to third place because five of the 18 teams could go 2-0. If ISU's plus-19 point differential is the fifth-largest, the Cyclones won't play for any extra zero money.
The unusual format of the event was not lost on some fans who flew in to practice on the Strip. As the final seconds ticked away Tuesday, an Iowa State supporter sitting in Section 220 shouted to ISU officials. Milan Momcilovic“YOU NEED IT MAXIMUM!” FIRE!” He knew one more basket could make the difference between the first-place game and the third-place game. Momcilovic chose not to shoot.
After the win, I sat down with Cyclones coach TJ Otzelberger to talk about the game's unusual (and criticized) tiebreaker scenarios. To make things even more confusing Tuesday, Otzelberger says he owes his career to Creighton coach Greg McDermott, who gave him his first break in 2006 by recruiting him to Iowa State (when McDermott coached the program in his first season).
“Going into detail, you know being respectful is part of it,” Otzelberger told CBS Sports. “The respect that I have for Coach McDermott and his program, we're not going to put the game in a position where we're trying to score and get extra points late to win by a big margin. To me, the relationships and character of our program are more important than that. A simple solution would be if we went higher [20]then everything would have been fine, but this was not the case. We want to do the right thing.”
College basketball rankings: Determining finalists in the player era requires a bracket, not complicated tiebreakers
Gary Parrish
The Players Era victory field rule left him vulnerable to easy criticism. And the noise also overshadowed a more important element of the entire experience: winning games. Players are already paid to play in this tournament, so the tiebreaker really comes down to who gets the chance to get the most money. But, as Otzelberger told me, what is more valuable to his team is winning the Quad 1.
“You’re here to win games, you’re here to get better as a team and a program,” Otzelberger said. “The main thing is to go out and do our best to win the game. And I understand there are other factors and variables that go into this event, but we're just going to focus on being in the best shape possible to win the game.”
By the way, ISU won without its starting point guard. Taemin Lipseywho was sitting due to pain in the groin. His availability on Wednesday is questionable, Otzelberger said.
The Cyclones are off to a 6-0 start for the first time since the 2021-22 season and are averaging 90.5 points. Looks like they're a top 10 team in the country.
Will this be enough to play for the championship on Wednesday? Sit still. Up to five teams with a score of 2-0 can compete for two places in the championship. I'll update this story tonight with the latest news as we learn more here in Vegas.
St. John's is gaining momentum
As disappointing as Monday's 83-82 result was for St. John's, it's a good sign for Rick Pitino's team. Red Storm handed over Baylor it was their first loss of the season with Cruise Control winning 86–81. Both teams will find out their Wednesday opponents late Tuesday night.
“I think what I liked most about last night was the devastation in the eyes of our players,” Pitino said. “And you really know a great team. I don't mean the way they act off the court, they act great, but a great team is really very focused, keeps their head down and delivers, and these guys did that. I think in the first seven or eight minutes we could have given the Knicks the game before we lost by 40. So it was a brilliant first eight minutes of the game.”
Bryce Hopkins had 26 points and Hoziah Sellers added 22, providing the type of offensive firepower Pitino and his staff were hoping to get through the portal.
“I haven't asked for ball hitters very often, but I've been begging these two guys to take more shots and they did it tonight. They were both great,” Pitino said.
The league has been shaky through the first three weeks of the Big East season, and with Creighton off to an 0-2 start in the Players Era, a 2-1 exit for St. John's Vegas would be ideal to help offset 18 overall conference-wide losses.
Results, Players Era schedule for 2025
Monday results
Tuesday results, schedule
| Notre Dame 68, Rutgers 63 | Resume |
| No. 15, Iowa State 78, Creighton 60 | Resume |
| Kansas 71, Syracuse 60 | Resume |
| No. 14, St. John's 96, Baylor 81. | Resume |
| No. 17 Tennessee 76, No. 3 Houston 73 | Resume |
| No. 7 Michigan 102, No. 21 Auburn 72 | Resume |
| No. 13 Gonzaga vs. Maryland | 21:30 (truTV) at Grand Garden Arena |
| Oregon vs San Diego State | 23:00 (TNT) at Michelob Ultra Arena. |
| UNLV vs. No. 8 Alabama | 12:00 (truTV) at the Grand Garden Arena. |
schedule for Wednesday
Premiere Four (field determined after Tuesday's games)
| Game for third place | 19:00 (TNT) at the Grand Garden Arena. |
| Championship | 21:30 (TNT) at the Grand Garden Arena. |
Consolation games, to be confirmed
Thursday schedule
Consolation games, to be confirmed
