Over the Thanksgiving break, the Players Era Festival will play host to 18 different men’s collegiate programs. The structure of this tournament is different from a stereotypical survive-and-advance bracket format. Each team will play two games on Monday and Tuesday before being ranked based on record. On Wednesday night, there will be a third-place game at 7 p.m. followed by the championship game at 9:30 p.m. Tiebreakers will include point differential, points scored and points allowed. With nine games occurring on each of the opening two days, more than two teams will find themselves with a record of 2-0 following the culmination of Tuesday night’s games. This format sets up an exciting and dynamic two days of pool play action, where teams will constantly be pushing the pace in spite of the score to gain an advantage in a possible tiebreaker scenario.
An immense amount of talent will be displayed over the Thanksgiving holiday. Nine AP top-25 teams will take the floor in Las Vegas, including the likes of Houston, Michigan, Alabama and Gonzaga. No. 2-ranked Houston is coming off a National Championship appearance earlier this year and has already picked up a huge win against Auburn in Birmingham. In Ann Arbor, head coach Dusty May and the Wolverines reloaded in the offseason, bringing in immense talent through the transfer portal. May successfully recruited Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois), Aday Mara (UCLA) and Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina), contributing to an early 4-0 record. Meanwhile, Alabama is off to a hot start in non-conference play with ranked wins over St. John’s and Illinois. The Crimson Tide average a remarkable 91 points per contest through four games. Coaching in his 27th year, Gonzaga head coach Mark Few has the Bulldogs playing at their best through five games. The Bulldogs boast home wins against Oklahoma and Creighton, alongside a road win over Arizona State. These four teams will be the favorites in a stacked tournament field.
Notre Dame will travel to the entertainment capital of the world to participate in this tournament for a second year in a row. In 2024, the Irish lost all three of their matchups in Las Vegas against the likes of Rutgers, Houston and Creighton. However, junior guard Markus Burton sustained a knee injury early in the Irish’s first matchup and was unavailable for the rest of the tournament. Hoping for better results and an injury-free road trip, Notre Dame will face off against Kansas on Monday afternoon at 3:30 p.m., Rutgers on Tuesday afternoon at 1 p.m. and an undetermined third opponent on either Wednesday or Thursday, depending on results.
The Kansas Jayhawks have gotten off to an underwhelming 3-2 start and will be searching for a bounce-back victory when they travel to Las Vegas. After an opening night blowout win against Green Bay, Kansas lost to North Carolina 87-74 at Chapel Hill. Less than two weeks following their second-half collapse, Kansas fell 78-66 to Duke in the State Farm Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden. ESPN’s second-ranked prospect in the class of 2025, Darryn Peterson, has sat out the past three games for the Jayhawks while nursing a hamstring injury. On some boards, Peterson is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft. He led Kansas in scoring in their loss against North Carolina with 22 points. News regarding his injury will be ever-important as the Irish approach another early-season test.
Notre Dame and Rutgers have a history of thrilling matchups. Last year in this same tournament, the Irish suffered an emotional overtime loss against the Scarlet Knights. In a game where future NBA second overall draft pick Dylan Harper dropped 36 points on 12-of-22 shooting for Rutgers, the Irish fell 84-85. These two teams are also just over three years removed from a dramatic double-overtime First Four matchup in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame sent Rutgers home, winning by a score of 89-87, with Paul Atkinson Jr. leading all scorers with 26 points. It will be hard to recreate the drama the past two matchups have produced when the two meet on Tuesday.
Despite a brutal loss to Ohio State last Sunday, where they held a lead with less than 20 seconds to go, there is heavy optimism for the Irish as they head into what will be the hardest part of their non-conference schedule.
