We have seen some great in-season tournaments in the past (Battle 4 Atlantis, Maui Invitational, etc.), but the Players Era Festival has simply taken things to another level. Last year’s debut featured 8 teams, but this year there is an 18-team field featuring some of the best teams from the best conferences in the country. It is taking place this week in Las Vegas, and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is covering all the angles so you can look forward to an abundance of access in the days ahead. Jon Teitel continues our coverage from Sin City with a recap of Baylor-Creighton.
What a delicious pregame meal: bacon/egg/cheese burrito, potatoes, waffles, muffins, and OJ! Another sign that this is a terrific tourney is that Grant Hill is doing the color commentary:
Let’s tip it off from Michelob Ultra Arena:
Fun fact: the St. John’s fans who showed up early before their team played in Game 2 are cheering against their conference rival Creighton in Game 1, while Iowa State fans…are doing the very same thing to Baylor! These 2 long-time coaches know each other well, as Greg McDermott/Scott Drew faced each other in the 2023 NCAA 2nd round (a 9-PT win by Creighton):
The Blue Jays relied on the long ball early, as both Nik Graves (left) and Blake Harper (right) made a pair of shots from behind the arc in the opening stanza:
In contrast, the Bears did most of their damage inside the arc. Cameron Carr (left) made a runner in the lane, a scoop, and a pair of pull-up jump shots, while Obi Agbim (right) made several jump shots of his own to help give his team a 44-36 halftime lead:
Creighton climbed back into the game in the 2nd half with the help of 3-PT shots from the law firm of (Josh) Dix, (Hudson) Greer, and (Isaac) Traudt:
Unfortunately, they got killed on the board by Caden Powell (left) and Dan Skillings Jr. (right), who each had multiple offensive REB that led to put-backs as Baylor hung on to win it 81-74:
In the postgame press conference, I asked Skillings about his team’s balanced offense with 5 guys in double-figures. He said that since a bunch of guys had it going today they tried to get everyone involved and stay poised:
I wanted to get Coach Drew’s thoughts about the announcement earlier today that the Players Era Festival is forming a $50 million equity partnership with the Big 12 and plans to have a 32-team event beginning next season where automatic bids will be given to the top-8 teams from the previous year’s Big 12 standings. He said that Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark has done a great job of putting the conference in the best position possible and makes sure they can keep being successful. He also thinks the Players Era is a well-run tourney and even though this is just his 1st appearance here he is very impressed:
Someone else asked Coach McDermott about Hudson Greer’s breakout game (16 PTS/7-8 FG), and I followed up to see whether we might see the freshman in the starting lineup soon. Coach said that Hudson he has been on a rollercoaster ride (he almost got redshirted for the season earlier this month!) and is still a freshman but will be a really good player for them. As to who starts, it does not make a lot of difference to him: they just need some sort of consistency:
That is a wrap for Game 1 but check back all week long for all access at the Players Era Festival!
