Player Era Updates Day 3: Iowa State a top-10 team even without a star; 7-1 Houston is still a work in progress

Matt Norlander has spent the past few days on the Vegas Strip, going back and forth between the two arenas hosting this year’s Players Era Championship. He provided inside information every day of the event. You can read his Monday notebook and his here Tuesday recap here.

LAS VEGAS — The team laying claim to the biggest criticism of the 2025 Players Era Championship format is Iowa State.

The Cyclones defeated St. John’s and Creighton 2-0, winning those games by a total of 19 points. However, it wasn’t enough to finish in the top four, meaning that ISU not only didn’t make the championship or third place finish on Wednesday, but also had to play Syracuse locally at 10 a.m. for the first match of the day – with no bonus NIL money on the line.

TJ Otzelberger’s team looked like it was playing pissed off: Cyclones 95, Orange 64. There were 18 teams involved in this second edition of the Players Era Championship. Iowa State flies 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 status rise into the top 10 of the AP rankings next week.

This looks an awful lot like a top-10 selection — especially since ISU won two games without starting point guard Tamin Lipsey, who is dealing with a groin problem. Otzelberger said after Wednesday’s win that they will take a cautious approach before ISU’s next game against Alcorn State in a week’s time on Dec. 3, but it certainly appears Lipsey should be able to be back for the huge battle at No. 1 Purdue on Saturday, Dec. 6.

To get a better idea of ​​what Lipsey is dealing with, I asked Otzelberger if he would have played if, for example, the injury he has now had occurred during the NCAA Tournament.

As for not getting to play against Tennessee, Kansas, Gonzaga or Michigan, Otzelberger was diplomatic about the matter during the post-game press conference.

“How our team operates is exactly what’s in front of us, we’re going to approach it with the best intentions and mentality, and that’s what we’re going to keep our focus on,” he said. “Our guys did a great job today, and that’s really all that matters.”

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

The big picture for Iowa State is that the team will once again be one of the best in the Big 12. Joshua Jefferson is playing like an All-American through the first three weeks of the season. He averaged 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists over the past three days. I also love the play of French freshman Killyan Toure. What a silky smooth, smart player.

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

“I just played my game and took the opportunity to win because that’s the most important thing. The win is more important than what I do on the pitch, the statistics and all that stuff,” Touré told CBS Sports. “In these three games we showed our identity on the field.”

Iowa State’s next chance at a big stage is in 10 days at Mackey Arena. That’s a tough question, but given how good ISU has looked, it will 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 bout Tuesday vs. Tennessee and overwhelming Notre Dame on Wednesday. The third-ranked Cougars held off the Fighting Irish 66-56 in the second men’s match of the day here. Houston jumped out to a 26-4 lead to start the game, then the Irish pushed as hard as they could to close the deficit to a four-point lead in the second half.

Things eventually turned out in Houston’s favor.

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

“I’m going to petition to never see them again,” fighting Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry said ironically afterwards.

Houston is 7-1 and has almost a week and a half off before hosting Florida State on December 6. Afterward, Sampson said the break is critical after three games in three days with a team that relies more on freshmen than he ever has. To wit: Kingston Flemings was incredible in the Tennessee loss, but scored just one point (and five assists) against Notre Dame.

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

After the loss to Tennessee, Houston had to wait until almost 9:00 PM local time to find its opponent. That meant Notre Dame and Houston had less than 15 hours to prepare for their match. Shrewsberry said one of his assistants was banking 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.

“Yes, that was interesting,” he said. “Not knowing that the opponent was in the background because of the disappointment of not playing better. Sometimes it’s not about whether you win or lose, you want your team to play better. … We don’t operate with a deficit. It’s all the same. It’s just your attitude and how you approach it.”

As a reminder, last season’s Cougars started 4-3 and then went 31-2 until the national title game. This team’s ceiling can match that, but Sampson said it will take a lot of patience with a freshman group that needs more time and a lot more learning.

2025 player era results

Wednesday’s results, schedule

Thursday’s schedule

Monday’s results

Tuesday’s results

This notebook will be updated later on Wednesday as more Players Era results come in.