2025 Players Era Festival
College basketball tournament
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The 2025 Players Era Festival was an early-season college basketball tournament. It was the second edition of the Players Era Festival and the first to feature men's and women's teams. The tournament was played from November 24 to November 27, 2025. After the 2024 men's edition featured eight teams, in 2025 it was expanded to include 18 teams. The men's tournament was changed from an elimination tournament to a Swiss-system in 2025, with the teams with the best record and the largest margin of victory point differential advancing to the championship. A women's tournament was created in 2025, including four teams. Every participating team was guaranteed at least $1 million in NIL. An additional $12 million was given to teams based on performance.[1][2][3] The Michigan Wolverines won the men's tournament, and the Texas Longhorns won the women's inaugural edition.
(Las Vegas, Nevada)
| Season | 2025–26 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 18 | ||||
| Finals site | MGM Grand Garden Arena, (Las Vegas, Nevada) | ||||
| Champions | Michigan (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | Gonzaga (1st title game) | ||||
| Semifinalists | |||||
| Winning coach | Dusty May (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan) | ||||
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| Season | 2025–26 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | 4 | ||||
| Finals site | Michelob Ultra Arena, (Las Vegas, Nevada) | ||||
| Champions | Texas (1st title) | ||||
| Runner-up | South Carolina (1st title game) | ||||
| Winning coach | Vic Schaefer (1st title) | ||||
| MVP | Rori Harmon (Texas) | ||||
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Standings
Men's
Point differentials for each game are capped at a maximum of twenty points, even if a team wins by more than twenty. First tie break is average margin of victory, second tie break is total points scored and the third tiebreak is total points allowed.
| Team | GP | W | L | PD [a] | PF | PA | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan | 2 | 2 | 0 | +40 | 196 | 126 | Advanced to Championship Game |
| Gonzaga | 2 | 2 | 0 | +30 | 195 | 146 | |
| Tennessee | 2 | 2 | 0 | +23 | 161 | 133 | Advanced to 3rd Place Game |
| Kansas | 2 | 2 | 0 | +21 | 142 | 121 | |
| Iowa State | 2 | 2 | 0 | +19 | 161 | 142 | Consolation Games |
| St. John's | 2 | 1 | 1 | +14 | 178 | 164 | |
| Alabama | 2 | 1 | 1 | +10 | 200 | 162 | |
| Houston | 2 | 1 | 1 | +1 | 151 | 150 | |
| San Diego State | 2 | 1 | 1 | -3 | 151 | 174 | |
| Notre Dame | 2 | 1 | 1 | -5 | 129 | 134 | |
| Baylor | 2 | 1 | 1 | -8 | 162 | 170 | |
| Auburn | 2 | 1 | 1 | -9 | 156 | 175 | |
| Maryland | 2 | 1 | 1 | -13 | 135 | 167 | |
| Syracuse | 2 | 0 | 2 | -15 | 134 | 149 | |
| Creighton | 2 | 0 | 2 | -25 | 134 | 159 | |
| Rutgers | 2 | 0 | 2 | -25 | 123 | 153 | |
| UNLV | 2 | 0 | 2 | -27 | 143 | 189 | |
| Oregon | 2 | 0 | 2 | -28 | 153 | 181 |
Bracket
Men's
Group Stage
| Date | Time | Winning Team | Losing Team | Score | Location | Television | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 24, 2025 | 10:00 AM | No. 17 Tennessee | Rutgers | 85–60 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | TNT | |
| 12:30 PM | Kansas | Notre Dame | 71–61 | ||||
| 3:00 PM | No. 3 Houston | Syracuse | 78–74OT | ||||
| 6:30 PM | No. 12 Gonzaga | No. 8 Alabama | 95–85 | ||||
| 9:00 PM | Maryland | UNLV | 74–67 | ||||
| 11:00 AM | Baylor | Creighton | 81–74 | Michelob Ultra Arena | TruTV | ||
| 1:30 PM | No. 15 Iowa State | No. 14 St. John's | 83–82 | ||||
| 5:00 PM | No. 21 Auburn | Oregon | 84–73 | ||||
| 7:30 PM | No. 7 Michigan | San Diego State | 94–54 | ||||
| November 25, 2025 | 10:00 AM | Notre Dame | Rutgers | 68–63 | MGM Grand Garden Arena | TNT | |
| 12:30 PM | Kansas | Syracuse | 71–60 | ||||
| 3:00 PM | No. 17 Tennessee | No. 3 Houston | 76–73 | ||||
| 6:30 PM | No. 12 Gonzaga | Maryland | 100–61 | TruTV | |||
| 9:00 PM | No. 8 Alabama | UNLV | 115–76 | ||||
| 11:30 AM | No. 15 Iowa State | Creighton | 78–60 | Michelob Ultra Arena | |||
| 2:00 PM | No. 14 St. John's | Baylor | 96–81 | ||||
| 5:30 PM | No. 7 Michigan | No. 21 Auburn | 102–72 | TNT | |||
| 8:00 PM | San Diego State | Oregon | 97–80 |
Consolation Games
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Championship Day
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Women's
| Semifinals November 26 TruTV | Championship November 27 TruTV | ||||||||
| 4 | Texas | 76 | |||||||
| 3 | UCLA | 65 | |||||||
| 4 | Texas | 66 | |||||||
| 2 | South Carolina | 64 | |||||||
| Duke | 66 | ||||||||
| 2 | South Carolina | 83 | Consolation November 27 TruTV | ||||||
| 3 | UCLA | 89 | |||||||
| Duke | 59 | ||||||||
Broadcasting
TNT Sports holds the exclusive rights to broadcast the 2025 Players Era Festival. Unlike last season, games will air only on TNT or TruTV. All games will additionally stream on HBO Max.[6]
The commentary teams for the tournament are as follows
- Brian Anderson, Grant Hill, and Lauren Jbara (lead)
- Brandon Gaudin, Candace Parker or Robbie Hummel, and Nabil Karim
- Spero Dedes, Greg Anthony, and Jared Greenberg
- JB Long, Candace Parker, and Autumn Johnson or Chelsea Sherrod
Notes
- Capped at 20 per game