Matt Norlander has spent the last few days on the Las Vegas Strip, moving between the two arenas that will host this year's Players Era Championship. He provided inside information throughout each day of the event. You can read his Monday notebook here. and him recap from Tuesday here.
LAS VEGAS — When the AP Top 25 rankings were updated Monday, Kansas was in a place it hasn't been since 2005.
Not rated in November.
That departure will be for one week, however, as Kansas picked up its best win of the season on Wednesday, defeating No. 17 Tennessee 81-76 in the Players Era Championship third-place game. The Jayhawks did it in breathtaking fashion: without star point guard Darrin Peterson for the sixth straight game; after trailing by as many as 12 in the second half; and after losing key wing senior Tre White to a foul with 8:23 remaining and Tennessee leading 59-56.
“Who would have thought we were a better team with Tre out,” KU coach Bill Self said after the Jayhawks picked up their first win over a top-70 team this season.
The Volunteers were 24 hours shy of beating Houston by three points in a grueling battle. Did catching Tennessee in their third game in as many days help the Jayhawks, especially after testing in Houston?
“Absolutely,” Self told CBS Sports. “But you can look at it differently: playing without Darrin and us two nights in a row, we play four guys for 35 minutes each. This is a game of testing intuition, and it has nothing to do with scouting.
Self also wasn't shy about admitting that he didn't expect a 3-0 record after his team played without Peterson.
“We came here doubting how good we could be,” he said. “What it should do is give us confidence that if we are whole, we can learn to play together.”
Kansas players won $300,000 in additional zero income, while Tennessee players will receive $200,000.
“I actually told the team today that we were playing for house money because we literally were,” Self said. “They play for 300, and you already have 200.”
Whether Tennessee is ranked in the top 10, top 15 or top 20, it is still one of the most aggressive and powerful defensive groups in the country. For Kansas to find a way to perform and win here is very important for Self's team.
Self said, “Without Darrin, this means a lot more to me than any recent win I can remember in the last couple of years.”
This is a big statement. There was a big victory on Wednesday. It's been a long time since this program has been able to pull off a win of such unexpected significance. Bench player Elmarco Jackson scored 17 points in his best game for the Jayhawks. Melvin Council Jr. tied it with 17, and KU was able to win in no small part because potential All-American Ja'Coby Gillespie was well below his season average (11 points on 5-of-19 shooting).
Now we wait for Peterson to return. Hopefully it won't last much longer. Kansas' next game is in six days and it will be a big one. UCLA comes to town on Tuesday.
“He's working as hard as he can,” Self told CBS Sports, adding that Kansas provided a gym for Peterson to practice basketball every day in Vegas. “[He] looks good, but until he feels it, we're still up in the air.”
Peterson will be evaluated again Friday, Self said, noting that he wants him to practice at least once before returning to play.
“There's a possibility that UConn won't be in the game, so we'll just have to wait and see how it looks on Friday,” Self told CBS Sports.
Iowa State looks top 10 even without Lipsey
The team most unhappy with the 2025 Players Era Championship format is Iowa.
The Cyclones lost 2-0. St. John'snd Creightonwinning those games by 19 points. However, this was not enough to finish in the top four, meaning that not only was ISU unable to win the championship or the third place game on Wednesday, but it also had to face Syracuse at 10 a.m. local time for the first game of the day—with no bonus money on the line.
TJ Otzelberger's team looked like they were playing angry: Cyclones 95, Orange 64. This second edition of the Players Era Championship featured 18 teams. Iowa State will return to Ames as one of three with a 3-0 record in the tournament. The Cyclones are ranked 15th in the rankings, but next week should see them jump into the top 10 in the AP rankings.
This looks a lot like a top-10 team — especially since ISU won two games without its starting point guard. Taemin Lipseywho deals with groin problems. Otzelberger said after Wednesday's win that they would be cautious heading into ISU's next game against Alcorn State is a week away on December 3rd, but it looks like Lipsey will be able to get back into a huge battle for the top spot. Purdue on Saturday, December 6th.
The Players Era format needs to change for the event to reach its full potential in 2026 and beyond.
Matt Norlander
To better understand what Lipsey is dealing with, I asked Otzelberger if he would have played if, say, the injury he currently has had occurred in the NCAA Tournament.
About not playing Tennessee or Kansas or Gonzaga or MichiganOtzelberger approached the issue diplomatically at the post-match press conference.
“The way our team performs is just something that is in front of us and we will tackle it with the best intentions, mindset and mentality and that is what we will focus on,” he said. “Our guys did a great job today and that’s really all that matters.”
After the press conference, Otzelberger spoke to a small group of reporters and repeated what he told me Tuesday after the win over Creighton: “Look, I don’t care, 10 out of 10 times we won’t hit against (Greg) McDermott. Anyone can tear me apart if they want. In my opinion, the right thing to do would be not to strike like that.”
The big picture for Iowa State is that the team will once again be one of the best in the Big 12. Joshua Jeffersonplays like an All-American through the first three-plus weeks of the season. Over the last three days, he averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists. I also love French freshmen Killian Touregame. What a clever and smart player.
With Lipsey sidelined, Toure took on a more prominent role, scoring 49 points on 15-of-24 shooting against Creighton and Syracuse. He also had six assists and three interceptions on Wednesday.
“I just played my game, took advantage of the opportunity to win because that’s the most important thing. Winning is more important than what I do on the court, statistics and all that,” Toure told CBS Sports. “In these three games, we showed our personality on the court.”
Iowa State's next big stage comes to Mackey Arena in 10 days. This is a tough call, but considering how good ISU looked, this will be one of the best matches in the first week of December.
Sampson: I want us to look our worst in November
Kelvin Sampson's Cougars will leave Las Vegas with a 2-1 record after beating Syracuse on Monday, losing in Tuesday's heavyweight bout against Tennessee and then beating Notre Dame on Wednesday. The third-ranked Cougars beat the Fighting Irish 66-56 in the second men's game of the day here. Houston jumped out to a 26-4 lead to start the game, then the Irish struggled to close the lead to four points in the second half.
Ultimately, everything was decided in Houston's favor.
This was the second year in a row that Notre Dame had to face Houston in the Players Era tournament.
“I’m going to petition to never see them again,” Fighting Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry said wryly afterward.
Houston is 7-1 and has nearly a week and a half off before facing Florida State on Dec. 6. Sampson said afterward that the break was crucial because, with three games in three days, the team is relying more on newcomers than ever. To wit: Kingston Flemings was incredible in the loss to Tennessee, but only had one point (and five assists) against Notre Dame.
“The people judging us now see us as fragmented,” Sampson said. “There are teams that play their best basketball in November. I'd rather play my worst basketball in November.”
After losing to Tennessee, Houston had to wait until about 9:00 pm local time to find out their opponent. This meant Notre Dame and Houston had less than 15 hours to prepare for the game. Shrewsberry said one of his assistants was actually counting on the fact that their team would likely get the underdog in the Houston-Tennessee game, while Sampson said his team's performance against Tennessee was more on his mind than the timing of knowing the final opponent.
“Yes, it was interesting,” he said. “Not knowing that the opponent fades into the background due to the disappointment of not playing better. Sometimes it's not about whether you win or lose, you want your team to play better. … We don't operate at a deficit. It's all the same. It’s just your attitude and how you approach it.”
Reminder: Last season the Cougars started 4-3 and then went 31-2 to the national title game. This team's ceiling may match that, but Sampson said a lot of patience will be required with a freshman group that needs more time and a lot more training.
Results of the 2025 Player Era
Wednesday results, schedule
| No. 15, Iowa State 95, Syracuse 64 | Resume |
| No. 3 Houston 66, Notre Dame 56. | Resume |
| Third place: Kansas 81, No. 17 Tennessee 76 | Resume |
| No. 21 Auburn 85, No. 14 St. John's 74 | Resume |
| Championship: No. 7 Michigan 101, No. 13 Gonzaga 61 | Resume |
| Baylor vs. San Diego State | 22:30 (truTV) at Michelob Ultra Arena |
| Maryland vs. No. 8 Alabama | 12:00 (TNT) at the Grand Garden Arena. |
Thursday schedule
| Oregon vs Creighton | 14:00 (truTV) at Michelob Ultra Arena |
| UNLV vs. Rutgers | 16:30 (truTV) at Michelob Ultra Arena |
Monday results
| No. 17 Tennessee 85, Rutgers 60 | Resume |
| Baylor 81, Creighton 74 | Resume |
| Kansas 71, Notre Dame 61 | Resume |
| No. 15 Iowa State 83, No. 14 St. John's 82. | Resume |
| #3 Houston 78, Syracuse 74 (OT) | Resume |
| No. 21 Auburn 84, Oregon 73 | Resume |
| No. 12 Gonzaga 95, No. 8 Alabama 85 | Resume |
| No. 7 Michigan 94, San Diego State 54 | Resume |
| Maryland 74, UNLV 67 | Resume |
Tuesday results
| 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 100, Maryland 61 | Resume |
| San Diego State 97, Oregon 80 | Resume |
| No. 8 Alabama 115, UNLV 76 | Resume |
This notebook will be updated later on Wednesday with new Players Era results.
