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!
Posted inNews and Notes|TaggedCreighton, Iowa State|Comments Off on All-Access at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas: Creighton-Iowa State
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 an interview of Autumn Nelson, whose son Isaiah plays for Maryland.
Your son Isaiah played 31 games as a freshman at Washington State: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? His talent and his drive: he has been training his whole life for this, so I know that he has the endurance to see it through.
In the 2024 NCAA tourney he had 3 STL in a win over Drake before losing to Iowa State: what is your favorite memory from his time in “March Madness”? I recall 1 specific play that he made to keep his team in the game against Iowa State. He only played 10 minutes but it was a monumental game-changer.
After only scoring 4 PPG as a freshman, he scored 11 PPG as a sophomore: how was he able to improve so much from Year 1 to Year 2? Reps, practice, constantly being in the gym, and improving his craft over anything else. His dad trained him to be that way and he wants to go to the NBA, so it is an instinct for him.
He also averaged 1.7 SPG last year: how is he able to balance his offense with his defense? It was how his coach played him: he had to learn to pick up his defense if he wanted to get any sort of playing time. I think that his talent lies on offense, but he has worked very hard on his defense.
He missed 10 games last year due to a left-hand injury: how bad was it, and how was he able to get back onto the court? It was bad, both physically and mentally: he had to get out of that funk and it was a bad time for him. He is normally a very resilient young man, but it took him a minute to get back onto the court, especially with the coaching change in 2024 from Kyle Smith to David Riley.
He had 12 PTS/3 STL in a loss to Gonzaga last February: any predictions for the rematch with the Bulldogs tonight? Every player on every team just seems so new: it is hard to say. Gonzaga is located in our home state, so Isaiah knows a lot of those kids…but of course I am picking Maryland!
Why did he decide to transfer last spring, and what made him choose Maryland? It just was not a good fit for him and his long-term goals. The opportunity to play in the Big 10 for Buzz Williams is the type of leadership that was custom-designed for him. It is his ideal team culture, which is big for him. Buzz hand-picked a brand-new team, but it was a plus that Myles Rice was already on the team.
He was also a teammate of Myles in Pullman: how close are they, and how nice has it been for them to reunite in College Park? It is amazing! They are brothers who have each other’s backs and have similar energy: they are cheerleaders for the team and are great role models. They are super-close, so it is wonderful for me as a mom to know that my son has someone around to ensure that he is okay.
His father Donald played basketball at Washington, and his grandfather Slick made the 1978 NBA Finals with Seattle: who is the best athlete in the family? I would choose me…even though people do not always realize that Isaiah has a mom! Donald is a very good athlete, but Isaiah has a grace about him, which I think comes more from my side.
I assume it is hard to see many of his games in person since you live across the country in Washington State: how excited are you to get to see him play 3 games in Vegas at the Players Era Festival? I feel complete again. He brings our blended families together as the final piece. It is wonderful to see him in person: he is my heart!
Posted inNews and Notes|TaggedAutumn Nelson, maryland|Comments Off on All-Access at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas: HoopsHD interviews Autumn Nelson about her son Isaiah Watts
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 last night’s action from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
As I was walking over to the other arena for the evening session, I noticed that the line to get into the Auburn-Oregon game was a LONG 1:
1 of the perks of leaving Michelob Ultra Arena to head over to the MGM Grand Garden Arena was that I got to see the TNT studio crew (Jalen Rose/Adam Lefkoe/Jamal Mashburn/Bruce Pearl):
…and for some reason (his alma mater was playing in the other arena tonight)), Chris Webber!
I missed the exciting Syracuse-Houston game (as well as a chance to meet Carmelo Anthony after he finished an interview with someone else and walked away to meet up with his son Kiyan), but hustled downstairs to join Coach Kelvin Sampson’s postgame press conference in progress. I did not get to ask him about Chris Cenac’s all-around ability (12 REB tonight and 5-6 3PM combined over the past 3 games), but he did tell another media member to not get too excited about his freshman because they are always up and down. For example, he praised Kingston Flemings’ effort vs. Auburn last week…but said that tonight he belonged in the witness protection program!
I got to see the tip-off of Gonzaga-Alabama…but not much else since I had multiple interviews to conduct.
These 2 schools had never faced each other prior to 2020, but thanks to the belief of Coaches Nates Oats/Mark Few in having non-conference schedules that are among the hardest in the nation, they are now playing their 3rd game since 2021 (all at neutral sites):
That is a wrap from last night but check back all week long for all access at the Players Era Festival!
-Houston got a battle from Syracuse and the Orange actually had a chance to win the game on their last possession in regulation, but the Cougars held on to win in overtime. If there was anything to take away from this game, it’s how much better Syracuse is than what we thought.
-San Diego State is categorically not better than what we thought. Michigan, who I had kind of picked on prior to yesterday, blew them into the sun 94-54 in the Players Era Festival.
-Gonzaga looks like a team that is 1-seed good. They had blown through their schedule going into yesterday and then pulled away from Alabama late for a very impressive 95-85 win. I don’t know how all the tiebreakers work in this Players Era Festival, but in terms of simply building a profile the tiebreakers don’t really even matter. I think Gonzaga has picked up the most impressive win so far.
-Iowa State and Saint John’s came down to the wire with Iowa State holding on 83-82. It’s their biggest win of the year and the Johnnies are still searching for their first non-home buy game win. Having said that, I’m sure by the end of the season they’ll have plenty.
-Auburn handed Oregon their first loss and picked up one of their best wins of the year so far as they held off the Ducks 84-73.
-Baylor remains unbeaten after knocking off Creighton 81-74 and picking up their biggest win of the year so far. Creighton has struggled this season, and will likely continue to struggle after sustaining some key injuries that they now have to deal with.
-The surprise of the day probable came out in Maui as Seton Hall knocked off NC State 85-74, and were pretty much in control for the entire second half. I didn’t realize this until Chad Sherwood pointed it out, but the first loss of the year by a ranked team to an unranked team, and it involved SETON HALL!! Seton Hall, who we thought might be in contention for the Stallings Award, is now unbeaten with a big win against a good team on their profile.
-Arizona State has also been surprising this year. I thought they’d be the Big 12’s doormat, but they are now 5-1 with some pretty good wins, their best of which was probably their 87-86 win over Texas in Maui yesterday.
-USC, who has been in their share of exciting games this year, was in another one yesterday as they held off Boise State 70-67 out in Maui. Since dropping their season opener to a nonD1, Boise State’s sense of urgency has gone up. This is their first loss since that game, and it’s a win that really could have helped them. The silver lining is that they get to play NC State today, and if they can beat the Wolfpack that is a win that would likely age well. USC will go on to face Seton Hall.
Some Under the Radar notes…
-Liberty remains unbeaten after beating Vermont 79-73 in the ESPN Events Invitational.
-Troy fell to Toledo 75-68 in a game that was a bit of a surprise in the Coconut Hoops Tournament
-Buffalo improves to 6-0 after knocking off VMI 78-70
-UC San Diego, who had a big season last year, is now 5-0 after knocking off Temple 91-76 in the ESPN Events Invitational
-McNeese continues to look impressive as they beat Murray State handily yesterday 73-60. The final score was much closer than what the game actually was. McNeese just bulldozed them.
-Yale got a big win against a very good Akron team 97-94 in the Paradise Jam in a game that came down to the final seconds. The Bulldogs are now 6-1 on the year with some fairly decent wins on their profile. Their margin for error is small, but they may be good enough to make a run at the bubble.
-Last but not least, everyone’s favorite team, Hawaii Pacific, fell to Hawaii yesterday 88-76. They will not pick up their second D1 win. They were actually tied in this game in the second half, but just couldn’t keep up with Hawaii.
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HIGHLIGHTED GAMES:
-IOWA STATE VS CREIGHTON (Players Era Festival). Creighton has struggled this year, and now injuries will probably result in them struggling even more. They’re coming off a loss to Baylor and have an even tougher test today against a very good Iowa State team that just got a big win against Saint John’s, and can continue to build up their profile with big early season wins.
-NC STATE VS BOISE STATE (Maui Invitational). Both teams are coming off losses and both could really use this win today to help them bounce back, especially Boise State who is still trying to offset a season opening loss to a nonD1 team. NC State was just waxed by Seton Hall in one of the more surprising results of the day and needs to have a better showing here.
-SYRACUSE VS KANSAS (Players Era Festival). Kansas was able to knock off Notre Dame yesterday, but Syracuse was probably the more impressive team even though they lost. They took Houston to overtime and had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but came up just short. Still, it was an indication that Syracuse may be a lot better than any of us thought and they’ve got more chances to pick up some big wins in this event.
-SAINT JOHN’S VS BAYLOR. The Johnnies are coming off a close and hard fought loss to Iowa State and are looking to rebound. Baylor knocked off Creighton so they have some momentum coming into this one. Saint John’s, as good as they are, still doesn’t have any wins outside of their home buy games, so today is a chance to pick up their first win with any meaning.
-USC VS SETON HALL (Maui Invitational). About a month ago I would have been shocked had you told me these two teams would be meeting and both would be undefeated at this point. Seton Hall, who showed no signs of being good at all coming into the season, picked up a big win yesterday against NC State and beat them decisively. USC has had some close calls, but they’ve managed win them all and survived against Boise State yesterday. Both teams come into this having exceeded early season expectations and both will look to continue to build on that with a win today.
-TENNESSEE VS HOUSTON (Players Era Festival). Houston barely survived Syracuse, but they did get the win and are still unbeaten. Tennessee blew Rutgers off the floor and while it wasn’t technically a buy game, it may as well have been. This is the first real test of the season for the Vols today, so we should learn something about them.
-GEORGE MASON VS FLORIDA ATLANTIC (Sunshine Slam). George Mason comes in with a perfect record and while they haven’t had any big tests yet, they’ve blown through their games the way you would expect a top 40ish team to do. They also may get a test today from FAU, who is 4-1 and who beat a pretty good LMU team yesterday. This game doesn’t have the brand names that will get people all that excited, but these are two pretty good teams who I think could both go on to have big seasons.
-KANSAS STATE AT INDIANA. Kansas State has just one loss on the year, but I think they’re way overmatched in this one today. Indiana has just looked really good early on and is worthy of their top 25 ranking.
-MICHIGAN VS AUBURN (Players Era Festival). Michigan is unbeaten, but hadn’t been as dominant in some of their games as I thought they’d be. Having said that, they blew San Diego State off the court yesterday and looked much improved. Auburn has been getting better as the year has gone on and could be much improved as well. This should be a good one.
-MARYLAND VS GONZAGA (Players Era Festival). Gonzaga is coming off a huge win against a really good Alabama team and clearly appears to be superior to Maryland, who is good, but not quite as good as Gonzaga.
-OLE MISS VS IOWA (Acrisure Classic). Both teams are unbeaten and perhaps a little undervalued this year. Both are possible/probable tournament teams, so to face each other on a neutral court could turn out to be a game that’s important to the committee later on.
-UCLA VS CALIFORNIA (Empire Classic). These are old Pac 8/10/12 rivals. Cal is 5-1, but UCLA has been the more impressive team and should be favored in this one. But, if Cal can win it, they’ll definitely have our attention.
-SAN DIEGO STATE VS OREGON (Players Era Festival). Both teams are coming off losses and neither team has really won a big game yet this year, so there may be a sense of urgency to this one, especially for San Diego State who won’t have as many chances at big wins later on.
OTHER NOTABLE GAMES:
-Towson vs Liberty (ESPN Events Invitational) – Liberty is still unbeaten, but they could get a bit of a test from a Towson team that’s looked pretty good lately and who is coming off a nice win against Rhode Island
-Michigan State vs East Carolina (Fort Myers Tip-Off) – Michigan State should roll in this one
-Rutgers vs Notre Dame (Players Era Festival) – there may be some hope for Notre Dame this year, but I’m holding out very little hope for Rutgers. They haven’t looked good at all this season
-Tulsa vs San Jose State (Acrisure Holiday Invitational) – Tulsa is off to a good start this season and this event is a chance for them to continue to establish themselves. They may be the best team in the American this year despite low preseason expectations
-LMU vs Ohio U (Sunshine Slam) – LMU can improve to 7-1 on the year with a win
-UC San Diego vs Bradley (ESPN Events Invitational) – UCSD can remain unbeaten if they can hold off a fairly decent Bradley team
-Middle Tennessee vs McNeese (Cayman Islands Classic) – McNeese has blown through their first two games in this event and as good as they’ve looked I’m kind of expecting them blow through this one as well
-Saint Bonaventure vs North Carolina (Fort Myers Tip-Off) – this appears to be a mismatch, but Saint Bonaventure does come in unbeaten and they have played a couple of decent teams, so the Tarheels better not overlook them
-George Washington @ Murray State (Cayman Islands Classic) – GW was able to bounce back from their loss to McNeese and pick up a win against Middle Tennessee. A win today would still have them in solid shape early on
-New Mexico State vs UC Irvine (Cancun Challenge) – New Mexico State is looking to remain unbeaten on the year
-UNLV vs Alabama (Players Era Festival) – Even though this event is in Las Vegas, Alabama should roll in this one and bounce back from their tough loss to Gonzaga
-Utah vs Grand Canyon (Acrisure Classic) – GCU has struggled early on and while Utah is 5-1 they haven’t really won any games of note yet, and are actually coming off a loss to Cal Poly
BUY GAMES AND GAMES THAT MIGHT AS WELL BE:
-Northern Iowa vs Loyola Chicago (Acrisure Holiday Invitational) – Northern Iowa can stay unbeaten -Mount Saint Mary’s @ Ohio State -Boston U @ Penn State -Cal State Bakersfield @ Florida State -Old Dominion @ Villanova -Quinnipiac @ UCF – Quinnipiac did manage a win against Pittsburgh -Campbell @ Wake Forest -Mississippi Valley State @ Texas A&M -South Carolina State @ Missouri -Winthrop @ Nebraska
It’s the beginning of Feast Week! Jon Teitel joins us from the Players Era and Rocco Miller joins us from Jacksonville! Chad and the panel run through all of the multi-bid conferences, recap a busy week of hoops, and preview an even busier week of hoops! Butler and Seton Hall were both expected to be at the bottom of the Big East, but both have done well in their in-season tournaments. Purdue continues to look like the best team in the country after their blowout win against Texas Tech. The Players Era and Maui Invitational are under way. We discuss all that, and more!
And for all you radio lovers, below is an audio only version of the show…
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 St. John’s-Iowa State.
Let’s tip it off:
Coaches Rick Pitino & TJ Otzelberger were both top-3 seeds in the NCAA tourney last March AND are ranked in the top-15 as we speak, so this 1 should be 1 of the premier matchups all week:
I missed most of the 1st half while typing up my Baylor-Creighton recap…but I can tell you that the leading scorers for each team were Milan Momcilovic (left) with 13 and Bryce Hopkins (right) with 10 as St. John’s took a 45-43 lead into intermission:
Lunch was delicious: beef pot pie (much better than it sounds), potatoes, cornbread, carrots, green beans, salad, brownie, and cookies!
Momcilovic kept making shots from behind the arc all day long (just 6-20 in his past 3 games but started 5-7 today), and his teammate Tamin Lipsey came out hot in the 2nd half with a pair of jump shots and an AST in the 1st 4 minutes:
Lipsey finished with 16 PTS in 33 minutes…but did not actually finish the game. He went to the locker room with an injury with just over 2 minutes left, then came back to the bench with 37 seconds left but did not go back into the game. St. John’s had the ball and trailed by a single point with 10 seconds left: Oziyah Sellers scored a team-high 20 PTS but could not make his final layup attempt with a lot of traffic in the lane as the Cyclones hung on for dear life to win it 83-82.
In the postgame press conference, I asked Coach Otzelberger about facing his friend/Creighton coach Greg McDermott tomorrow morning. He said that he is extremely fortunate to have known “Coach Mac” since high school. McDermott gave him his 1st opportunity at Iowa State in 2006, and if not for that chance he would probably not be sitting here today. He has a great sense of gratitude for all that McDermott has done for him: he does not look forward to coaching against friends because he wants to see them be successful…except for tomorrow!
Coach Pitino was NOT in a good mood after the loss, but I assumed a “safe space” would be facing Baylor coach Scott Drew tomorrow in a rematch of 1 of the best games of last season (Baylor had a 1-PT 2-OT win over the Johnnies at the 2024 Baha Mar Championship). He dismissed my premise by explaining that that he is not facing Drew specifically (but rather his Baylor team), and that Coach Drew is similarly facing St. John’s. Both rosters are very different from their game last November, but he did admit that he respects Coach Drew and it will be a great test:
That is a wrap for Game 2 but check back all week long for all access at the Players Era Festival!
Posted inNews and Notes|TaggedSt. John’s|Comments Off on All-Access at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas: St. John’s-Iowa State
