Players Era Updates Day 3: Kansas, Iowa State go 3-0 without star guards; No. 3 Houston still work in progress

Matt Norlander has spent the past few days on the Vegas Strip, bouncing back and forth between the two arenas hosting this year’s Players Era Championship. He’s been providing insider information throughout each day of the event. You can read his Monday notebook here and his recap from Tuesday here. 

LAS VEGAS — When the AP Top 25 refreshed on Monday, Kansas found itself in a place it hadn’t been since 2005.

Unranked in the month of November.

That departure will be a one-week deal, however, as Kansas earned by far its best win of the season on Wednesday, beating No. 17 Tennessee 81-76 in the third-place game of the Players Era Championship. The Jayhawks did it in head-turning fashion: without star point guard Darryn Peterson for the sixth straight game; after trailing by as many as 12 in the second half; and after losing key wing, senior Tre White via foul-out with 8:23 remaining and Tennessee leading 59-56.

“Who would’ve thought we got better when Tre was out of the game,” KU coach Bill Self said after the Jayhawks snagged their first win over a top-70 team this season.

The Volunteers were 24 hours removed from beating Houston by three points in a bruising battle. Did catching Tennessee on its third game in as many days, but specifically after the Houston test, help the Jayhawks?

“Absolutely,” Self told CBS Sports. “But you could look at it multiple ways, to playing without Darryn and we for two nights in a row, we play four guys 35 minutes each. This is a gut-check game, and this doesn’t have anything to do with scouting. It doesn’t have anything to do with calling plays. What it is: Hey, guys, go hoop and ball this game and try to play from a principal standpoint, the way that we’re that way we want to play.” 

Self also wasn’t too shy to admit he didn’t expect a 3-0 record after the way his team had been playing without Peterson. 

“We came here doubting how good we could be,” he said. “What it should do is give us confidence that, if we are whole we can learn to play together.”

Kansas’ players won $300,000 in additional NIL earnings opportunities, while Tennessee will get $200,000.

“I actually told the team today we’re playing with house money, because we literally were,” Self said. “They’re playing for 300 but you already got 200.” 

Whether Tennessee is a top-10, top-15 or top-20 team, it’s still one of the most aggressive and strongest defensive groups in the country. For Kansas to find a way to work a win here is major for Self’s team. 

Said Self: “Without Darryn, this goes a lot further with me than any recent win that I can remember in the last couple of years.”

That’s a big statement. Wednesday was a big win. It’s been a while since this program was even in a position to have a victory with this kind of surprise value to it. Bench player Elmarko Jackson had 17 in what was his best game as a Jayhawk. Melvin Council Jr. matched him with 17, and KU was able to win out in no small part because potential All-American Ja’Kobi Gillespie was held well below his season average (11 points on 5-of-19 shooting).

Now we wait for Peterson to return. The hope is it won’t be much longer. Kansas’ next game is in six days and it’s a big one. UConn comes to town Tuesday. 

“He’s working his ass off,” Self told CBS Sports, adding that Kansas got Peterson a gym to get basketball work in every day in Vegas. “[He] looks good, but until he doesn’t feel it, we’re still in the air.”

Peterson will be evaluated again on Friday, Self said, and noted he wants him to practice at least once before he returns for a game. 

“There’s a chance that UConn is not in play, so we’ll just have to wait and see how he looks on Friday,” Self told CBS Sports.

Iowa State looks top-10-good even without Lipsey

The team that has a claim to the biggest gripe over the format of the 2025 Players Era Championship is Iowa State.

The Cyclones went 2-0 against St. John’s and Creighton, winning those games by a total of 19 points. It wasn’t enough to finish in the top four, however, which meant ISU not only didn’t make the championship or third-place game on Wednesday, it had to face Syracuse at 10 a.m. local for the first game of the day — with no bonus NIL money on the line.

T.J. Otzelberger’s team looked like it was playing pissed off: Cyclones 95, Orange 64. There were 18 teams involved in this sophomore edition of the Players Era Championship. Iowa State will fly back to Ames as one of three with a 3-0 record in the event. The Cyclones are ranked No. 15 but should see their standing jump into the top 10 of the AP rankings next week.

This very much looks like a top-10 squad — all the more because ISU won two games without starting point guard Tamin Lipsey, who is dealing with a groin issue. Otzelberger said after Wednesday’s win that they’ll take a cautious approach before ISU’s next game against Alcorn State a week from now, on Dec. 3, but it sure seems like Lipsey should be able to be back for the huge battle at No. 1 Purdue on Saturday, Dec. 6. 

To get a better sense of what Lipsey’s dealing with, I asked Otzelberger if he would’ve played if, say, the injury he has right now was happening in the NCAA Tournament. 

As for not getting to play Tennessee or Kansas or Gonzaga or Michigan, Otzelberger was diplomatic about the matter in the postgame press conference. 

“How our team operates is just whatever is in front of us we are going ti tackle with the best intent and mindset, mentality, and that’s where we’ll keep our focus,” he said. “Our guys did a great job of doing that today, and that’s really all that matters.”

After the presser, Otzelberger talked with a small group reporters and he echoed what he told me on Tuesday after beating Creighton: “Look, I don’t care, 10 out of 10 times, we’re not taking the shot against (Greg) McDermott. Anyone can rip me if they want. To me, the right thing to do is we don’t take that that shot.”

Big picture on Iowa State is the team is again going to be one of the best in the Big 12. Joshua Jefferson‘s playing like an All-American through the first three-plus weeks of the season. He averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists over the past three days. I also love French freshman Killyan Toure‘s game. What a silky, savvy player. 

With Lipsey sidelined, Toure moved into a more prominent role, totaling 49 points on 15-of-24 shooting against Creighton and Syracuse. He also had six assists and three steals Wednesday. 

“I just played my game, took the opportunity to win, because that’s the most important thing. The win matters more than what I’m doing on the court, the stats and all that stuff,” Toure told CBS Sports. “We showed our identity on the court in these three games.”

Iowa State’s next big-stage opportunity is at Mackey Arena in 10 days. That’s a tough ask, but given how good ISU has looked, it’ll be one of the best matchups of the first week of December. 

Sampson: I want us to look our worst in November

Kelvin Sampson’s Cougars will leave Las Vegas with a 2-1 record after beating Syracuse on Monday, losing in a heavyweight fight Tuesday vs. Tennessee, then overpowering Notre Dame on Wednesday. The third-ranked Cougars held off the Fighting Irish 66-56 in the second men’s game of the day out here. Houston got out to a 26-4 lead to start the game, then the Irish pushed as hard as they could to close it to a four-point gap in the second half. 

Things eventually settled in Houston’s favor.

It was the second year in a row Notre Dame had to face Houston at Players Era. 

“I am going to petition to never, ever see them again,” Fighting Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry said tongue-in-cheek afterward.

Houston is 7-1 and has almost a week and a half off before hosting Florida State on Dec. 6. Sampson said afterward that the break is critical coming off three games in three days with a team more reliant on freshman than he’s ever had. To wit: Kingston Flemings was incredible in the Tennessee loss, but managed only one point (and five assists) against Notre Dame.

“People judging us right now see us fragmented,” Sampson said. “There are some teams that play their best basketball in November. I’d rather play my worst basketball in November.”

After loss to Tennessee, Houston had to wait until close to 9 p.m. local time to find out its opponent. That meant Notre Dame and Houston had less than 15 hours to prep for their game. Shrewsberry said one of his assistant actually banked on their team likely getting the loser of Houston-Tennessee, while Sampson said his team’s play against Tennessee was more on his mind than the timeliness of knowing the final opponent.

“Yeah, that was interesting,” he said. “Not knowing the opponent took a back seat to the disappointment of not playing better. Sometimes it’s not about whether you win or lose, you want your team to play better. … We’re not operating at a deficit. It’s all the same. It’s just your attitude and how you approach it.”

Reminder: Last season’s Cougars started 4-3, then went 31-2 all the way to the national title game. This team’s ceiling can match that, but Sampson said it’s going to take a lot of patience with a freshman group that needs more time and a lot more learning. 

2025 Players Era Results

Wednesday’s scores, schedule

Thursday’s schedule

Monday’s scores

Tuesday’s scores

This notebook will update later on Wednesday, as more results from Players Era come in.