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 Creighton-Iowa State.
Yesterday’s Hall of Fame color commentator was Grant Hill, and today’s Hall of Fame color commentator is Candace Parker:
Another delicious pregame meal: bacon/egg/cheese croissant, potatoes, pancakes, and OJ!
Let’s tip it off:
These 2 coaches (Greg McDermott/TJ Otzelberger) have known each other for decades and are very close friends. Happy birthday to Coach Mac, who turns 61 today!
Iowa State PG Tamin Lipsey exited yesterday’s game with an injury, and is in street clothes on the bench for today’s game:
Creighton tried to take advantage of Lipsey’s absence in the 1st half via an inside/outside attack. Jasen Green (left) had a scoop and a dunk and finished with a season-high 15 PTS, while Isaac Traudt (right) made a pair of shots from behind the arc:
In contrast, Iowa State focused on their big men in the paint. 6’10” Blake Buchanan (left) made a dunk and a pair of layups, while 6’9” Joshua Jefferson (right) made a REB/put-back and a pair of layups as the Cyclones took a 40-26 lead into intermission:
I missed the entire 2nd half while doing some interviews, but the Cyclones cruised to a 78-60 victory thanks in large part to Killyan Toure’s career-high 20 PTS:
In the postgame press conference, I asked Coach Otzelberger about the birthday “gift” he gave Coach McDermott. He said that he could not be more grateful to Coach Mac for giving him the opportunity to work for him in the past, but they both knew that someone would come out on each side of it today. He is proud of his guys because they made enough plays to be successful:
I noticed that Jefferson had 18 PTS/12 REB in an exhibition loss to Creighton last month and 19 PTS/10 REB in the win over Creighton today, so I wondered if it was just a coincidence. Turns out it was not: when he is intentional about what he wants to do on the floor then he can go out and do it. Tonight he was able to crash the boards, which helped his team win:
Since Coach McDermott entered today 7-1 all-time on his birthday as a D-1 head coach, I was curious what TJ usually gets him on his birthday and where this ranks among the worst gifts that TJ ever gave him. He joked that this was as poor as TJ has treated him on his birthday since 1st meeting him 20 years ago! However, he is proud of the job TJ does does and the way he does it…and except for today he cheers for TJ in every single game:
That is a wrap for now but check back all week long for all access at the Players Era Festival!
