Matt Norlander is on the Vegas Strip and bouncing back and forth between the two arenas hosting this year's Players Era Championship. He'll be providing frequent updates and insider information throughout each day of the event, so check back in regularly. This is his Monday notebook.
LAS VEGAS — The Big 12 had a really good Monday in Las Vegas.
The league started the day by announcing a landmark five-year deal worth purportedly at least $50 million in revenue with Players Era. I've got a lot more on that further down the story, so be sure to scroll down and scope the details.
Let's open with the on-court stuff from Monday, though. The league went 4-0, albeit with four close games: Baylor beat Creighton (81-74), No. 15 Iowa State won out in a great fight against No. 14 St. John's (83-82), Kansas (without Darryn Peterson) got separation down the stretch against Notre Dame (71-61) and, the surprise of the day: third-ranked Houston needed overtime to beat Syracuse (78-74).
In the preseason, I said on Eye on College Basketball that I thought the league would ascend back to its status at the No. 1 conference. There's a long way to go, but through Monday night, the Big 12 has six teams still undefeated and a collective record of 75-14.
And with four of the nine teams that will be 1-0 after Monday's slate here at Players Era, the conference has a healthy shot to have the eventual winner come Wednesday night. We'll see what Tuesday brings, when Iowa State plays shorthanded Creighton, Baylor gets tested against St. John's, Kansas faces suddenly interesting Syracuse and Houston gets the biggest test of all: No. 17 Tennessee.
You can check the tip times for all those games at the very bottom of this story. Let's tour through the other action I saw on Monday.
ISU loses Lipsey to injury; St. John's PG concerns remain
The theme coming out of Iowa State's 83-82 win over St. John's: point guard play. And lack thereof.
Iowa State's Tamin Lipsey went down with a tough shot to the groin area with 2:09 remaining, prompting him to sit the rest of the game. Lipsey, a senior, is one of the better floor generals in college basketball. His status is uncertain for Iowa State's Tuesday morning Vegas-time tilt against Creighton.
“We're still evaluating,” ISU coach TJ Otzelberger said after the game. “The training staff, medical staff, just told us it's going to be a day-to-day, lower body extremity, so I don't have great detail on it. We haven't had time to really, truly evaluate him over time. So we'll get back to the hotel, check him out and see what that means.”
I caught up with Otzelberger one-on-one after the presser and he told me the injury is on the opposite leg from the groin issue that beleaguered Lipsey last season. Given how soft-tissue/groin/hamstring injuries can be fickle, it would be no shock if Lipsey didn't play Tuesday, or even Wednesday.
But we'll see. Thanks in part to one of the better games of Milan Momcilovic‘s career (23 points, 5-of-9 3-point shooting), ISU was able to win out without its point guard on the floor in the pivotal final two minutes. The win improved ISU to 5-0 and was the Clones' second victory against a Power Five school this season (Mississippi State is the other).
St. John's also didn't have its starter at the 1 available down the stretch. The Johnnies dropped to 3-2 with their second loss vs. a power-conference opponent (Alabama being the other), as the glaring weakness of not having a true high-major point guard reared its head. Dylan Darling, a transfer from Idaho State, got his first start of the season and wound up fouling out with just four points and three assists.
As St. John's and ISU traded blows in the final minutes, the Red Storm had a chance to tie and send it to OT, but Pitino opted not to call timeout on SJU's final possession. I asked Pitino afterward why the no-call and he dismissed the question, citing St. John's getting two stoppages in final minute of game time. Still, St. John's wound up with a busted play that led to center Zuby Ejiofor launching a prayer from deep that didn't fall. Dillon Mitchell put back an offensive board as time expired.
“With the game on the line, we didn't come up with the rebounds to put the game away,” Pitino said afterward.
And that was pretty much his talking point: losing out on box-outs and not winning enough of the physical, one-on-one battles. Despite being irked by the loss, Pitino said he wasn't disappointed in the team's effort — and in fact was satisfied with the overall execution of the offense against a quality opponent.
“I have no gripes with the way our guys played,” he said. “It's a disappointing loss, very disappointing loss for us. But we've got to do something. You can't lose the game by giving second shots up. You're not going to win games that way. So, we'll make the adjustments.”
It's important to not overstate or knee-jerk on Day 1 of these three-day/game MTEs, but with that said, St. John's game on Tuesday vs. Baylor is a matchup to monitor. A preseason top-10 team, SJU would be one of the bigger disappointments of the first three weeks of the season if it leaves Las Vegas 1-2 or worse.
New-look Baylor passes test vs. Creighton
One of the more under-discussed bizarre stories of the offseason was Scott Drew having to replace his entire roster. A high-major program flipping over every scholarship is the kind of thing that happens due to a coaching change.
For a coach with a national championship on his résumé, it was bizarre. He also hasn't complained, at least not to my knowledge, about being put in a predicament not coach wants to be in.
And because of all the turnover, Baylor didn't enter the season ranked. The Bears weren't even projected to be in the top six of the Big 12. The hesitation was understandable. Baylor slipped last season, after all (20-15, a No. 9 seed in the NCAAs).
But in BU's second test of the season against a power-conference opponent, the new-look Bears looked pretty nice. Drew's team beat Creighton 81-74 in the lid-lifter at Michelob Ultra Arena, leading wire-to-wire. When I talked to Drew in recent weeks, he felt great about this team's ability to jell and truly embrace each other. They didn't feel like a group that had just met a few months ago.
“You work as hard as you can in the portal and trying to put together a team in a short period of time,” Drew said after the win. We're always prayerful. We get who God wants us to have. We've got a good group that we enjoy going to practice with. They enjoy being together, and life is short. You want to be around people you enjoy, and that's been a blessing.”
That chemistry played out nicely: Baylor's starters all hit double figures with Tennessee transfer Cameron Carr leading the way with 21 points. Carr could emerge as one of the breakout players at this event by the end of it if he keeps this up and Baylor can go at least 2-1.
Baylor's 4-0 and will get No. 14 St. John's on Tuesday. The Bluejays are 3-2, with both their losses to power-conference teams (the other at No. 12 Gonzaga) and faces No. 15 Iowa State. Greg McDermott's team is trying to be NCAA Tournament caliber after losing one of the best players in school history, Ryan Kalkbrenner, in addition to the likes of Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal. Making matters more difficult for the Jays, 6-10 starter Jackson McAndrew is out for the year due to a broken foot suffered less than a week ago.
Big 12, Players Era agree to massive five-year deal
The Big 12 is getting into the equity space. But by investment, not loan.
The conference, Players Era and EverWonder Studio jointly announced Monday a partnership that will guarantee eight of the league's 16 teams inclusion in the Players Era Championship over the next five years.
The 18-team event that is paying out millions to schools and players will increase to a 32-team field in 2026 and beyond, Players Era organizers told CBS Sports. The expansion plan and the economics of how Players Era is pulling off something unprecedented has prompted a lot of reaction around college basketball.
In exchange for at least 25% representation in Players Era, the Big 12 hopes to earn back big money on its commitment.
“Over the next six years, Players Era will commit no less than $50 million dollars to Big 12 basketball programs in rights fees,” Players Era co-founder Seth Berger said.
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The league is represented in the 2025 field by Baylor, Houston, Iowa State and Kansas. The informal arrangement is to send the top eight teams in the Big 12 standings at the end of each season into the ensuing season's Players Era event, though that will not be a hard-and-fast rule. For example, Arizona will likely be a top-eight team in the Big 12 this season, but the Wildcats are scheduled to play in the 2026 Maui Invitational.
“If a school has prior commitments, we're never going to hurt a school, but ultimately, in the long-term the vast majority of [the top eight] Big 12 schools will play every year,” Players Era co-founder Ian Orefice told CBS Sports.
The Big 12 could potentially end up with more than eight of the 32 spots, as Kansas, Baylor, Houston and Iowa State all have deals with Players Era into the end of the decade, Berger told CBS Sports, with Kansas' being the longest at six years and Houston's being a “lifetime” agreement so long as Kelvin and/or Kellen Sampson are coaching the Cougars.
“The Big 12 Conference is thrilled to grow its partnership with Players Era,” Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark said. “The tournament is a tremendous platform to showcase our conference, student-athletes and coaches as the best in college basketball, and we look forward to continuing to make Players Era a national marquee event.”
“You think about, if you're anchoring Players Era with the eight best Big 12 teams every year, it is already the best event in the country,” Orefice said. “With the commitments we've received now from the Big 12 and best teams in the country, we believe we are where we need to be to make sure Players Era is around for the long-term. We want all of the best teams, so we are actively talking to a few of the other select schools to figure out where we land in 2026 and beyond.”
In addition to the 18 teams playing in this year's event, other teams that recently agreed to join Players Era include Louisville, Florida, Virginia, Miami and Texas A&M. Should all 18 schools playing in 2025 return for 2026, that means 24 of the 32 spots for next year are accounted for, per Berger, who's been involved in deep discussions with a few more schools trying to secure spots in the weeks to come.
Players Era has been under consistent scrutiny from competitors over its claims that it's a sustainable long-term model. The event will pay out more than $20 million to schools this year and has received major sponsorships from Geico, MGM Resorts, Publicis Groupe, Lilly, Sam's Club and more.
“The 2025 men's tournament itself is profitable,” Orefice said. “We are incredibly proud to have made the financial commitment to schools.”
Other high-major leagues were approached by Players Era about multi-year deals that would ensure representation in the event, per sources, but the Big 12 was the only conference willing to make the commitment. Monday's announcement is the next step in what organizers see as a huge evolution of what's now overtaken the Maui Invitational as the most prominent nonconference regular-season event in college hoops.
Berger and Orefice told CBS Sports they hope to secure a four-year media rights deal by the end of December. They have had discussions with “four premium distributors.” Players Era is currently a property under Warner Bros. Discovery, with the games airing on TNT and truTV.
Big tournament, bigger money: How the Players Era event is changing college basketball in just its second year
Matt Norlander
“I think we're really close to getting this done. And when it's done, I think the number of teams that want to fill these last remaining spots is going to be many,” Berger said. “I feel like this is an opportunity to have a global impact for thousands of college basketball players.”
2026 FORMAT: The 2026 Players Era will include four eight-team pools. The Big 12 will get at least two teams per pool, with the expectation that Big 12 schools will not play each other in the group stage. The tournament will play out over approximately three weeks in November 2026, with 16 teams one week, 16 more the next. From there, the four champions of each group will exclusively playing as the “Four Kings” of their respective pools in a final stage, with all four of those schools earning prize money that will total approximately $1 million. The winners of each group/pool will be determined by record, head-to-head, margin of victory (with a cap, as to not run up the score) and points per game allowed as tiebreakers.
“There were many people who challenged the premise that early season college basketball can bring meaningful revenue for the event organizer and for the broadcast networks. Typically that's been left to broad season packages, conference championships and March Madness,” Orefice said. “If Players Era is even 10% of March Madness, it is a runaway financial success for the players, the schools and everyone involved.”
2025 Players Era schedule, scores
Games played in Las Vegas | All times ET
Monday's games
| No. 17 Tennessee 85, Rutgers 60 | Recap |
| Baylor 81, Creighton 74 | Recap |
| Kansas 71, Notre Dame 61 | Recap |
| No. 15 Iowa State 83, No. 14 St. John's 82 | Recap |
| No. 3 Houston 78, Syracuse 74 (OT) | Recap |
| No. 21 Auburn 84, Oregon 73 | Recap |
| No. 12 Gonzaga vs. No. 8 Alabama | 9:30 p.m. (TNT) at Grand Garden Arena |
| No. 7 Michigan vs. San Diego State | 10:30 p.m. (truTV) at Michelob Ultra Arena |
| UNLV vs. Maryland | 12 a.m. (TNT) at Grand Garden Arena |
Tuesday's games
| Rutgers vs. Notre Dame | 1 p.m. (TNT) at Grand Garden Arena |
| No. 15 Iowa State vs. Creighton | 2 p.m. (truTV) at Michelob Ultra Arena |
| Kansas vs. Syracuse | 3:30 p.m. (TNT) at Grand Garden Arena |
| No. 14 St. John's vs. Baylor | 4:30 p.m. (truTV) at Michelob Ultra Arena |
| No. 3 Houston vs. No. 17 Tennessee | 6 p.m. (TNT) at Grand Garden Arena |
| No. 7 Michigan vs. No. 21 Auburn | 8:30 p.m. (TNT) at Michelob Ultra Arena |
| No. 13 Gonzaga vs. Maryland | 9:30 p.m. (truTV) at Grand Garden Arena |
| Oregon vs. San Diego State | 11 p.m. (TNT) at Michelob Ultra Arena |
| UNLV vs. No. 8 Alabama | 12 a.m. (truTV) at Grand Garden Arena |
Wednesday's games
| Premier Four | |
| Third-place game | 7 p.m. (TNT) at Grand Garden Arena |
| Championship | 9:30 p.m. (TNT) at Grand Garden Arena |
| Consolation games TBD |
Thursday's games
Consolation games TBD
