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
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 Tony Heise, whose son Nate plays for Iowa State.
Your son Nate was born/raised in Minnesota and began his college career at Northern Iowa, where he made the 2021 MVC All-Freshman Team: how was he able to come in and contribute right from the start? He knew that the only way he would see the floor was playing good defense, and if you play good defense for Coach Ben Jacobson then he will let you play. He gained a lot of valuable experience.
He only played 2 games in 2022 before suffering a season-ending hand injury: how bad was it, and how was he able to get back onto the court? He broke a finger badly and they had to put a pin in there. It took almost 6 months to heal.
He was named to the MVC Scholar-Athlete 2nd-Team multiple times: how does he balance his work on the court with his work in the classroom? He is a pretty smart kid. Throughout high school/college he knew that an education is the #1 thing you need to succeed in the real world.
Why did he decide to transfer in 2024, and what made him choose Iowa State? He knew that he had a chance to go to the next level and always liked Iowa State assistant coach Kyle Green. It is not far from home so he chose the Cyclones over the Gophers.
Last December he scored 10 PTS/4-7 FG in a 9-PT win at Iowa: how big a deal is the Cy-Hawk rivalry? That is a really fun rivalry and he is a big-game player (like today when he is facing St. John’s). Throughout high school/college he has played well in those type of games.
Last March in the NCAA tourney he scored 9 PTS in a win over Lipscomb and 13 PTS in a loss to Mississippi: what was your favorite memory from his 1st trip to “March Madness”? I played basketball from when I was a kid all the way through college but never had the opportunity to make the NCAA tourney. Nate finally got the opportunity and took advantage: it was a dream come true.
This year he was named the team’s 1st-ever defensive captain: what is his secret for playing good defense? He is a smart player who can see plays developing before they happen. He takes pride in it and knows that he has to be a stopper/leader for his team.
He has won 18 of his 20 career home games in Ames: how do you explain “Hilton Magic” to someone who has never seen it in person? It is hard to say. He loves playing in front of a big crowd with all the fans/excitement: it gets him pumped up.
You/your spouse/your son Ryan all played college basketball, and your daughter Taylor won gold medals for Team USA at 2 of the past 3 women’s ice hockey world championships: who is the best athlete in the family? That is a tough 1…but Taylor has been winning gold medals around the world and will probably make the Olympic team this winter.
Any predictions for the Cyclones this week? They had a really good win today and have good team chemistry. Everyone has bought in and if everyone is clicking then they can be a very good team.
Posted inNews and Notes|TaggedIowa State, Nate Heise, Tony Heise|Comments Off on All-Access at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas: HoopsHD interviews Tony Heise about his son Nate
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!
Posted inNews and Notes|Taggedbaylor, Creighton|Comments Off on All-Access at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas: Baylor-Creighton
