It's still difficult in November to get a lot of people to care about a random basketball game in Las Vegas between two schools that are historically more likely to meet in a College Football Playoff than a Final Four.
The crowd at MGM Grand Garden Arena suggested as much.
It looked pretty empty.
And who knows if the financials will ever make enough sense for the Players Era Festival to continue long-term? (There are reasons to be skeptical, and event organizers have already acknowledged they didn't plan to break even this year.) But, all that aside, there was something super-fun, and undeniably cool, about watching two good college basketball teams -- one from the Big Ten, the other from the SEC -- compete for real money late Saturday night.
Final score: Oregon 83, Alabama 81.
For winning the first ever Players Era Festival, the Ducks will leave Las Vegas with $1.5 million designed to be dispersed to players. That's $250,000 more than second-place Alabama received, meaning Oregon's players earned an extra quarter-million Saturday simply by scoring more points than Alabama's players in both teams' eighth game of the season. If the total of $1.5 million were dispersed evenly to the men who are averaging at least 3 minutes per game for Oregon, it would come to roughly $136,000 per player.
That's not bad for a week of work during Thanksgiving break from college.
As for the game, Nate Bittle got a stick-back dunk that broke a tie with 4.4 seconds remaining and eventually became the game-winner. It was a big-time play from a fourth-year player having a breakthrough season, as Bittle is now averaging a career-high 14.6 points and a career-high 9.4 rebounds in a career-high 27.5 minutes per contest.
NATE BITTLE OH MY GOODNESS 😱
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) December 1, 2024
HE'S GOT THE WINNER FOR OREGON 🤯 pic.twitter.com/gh9SzCOyRX
The upset of Alabama pushed the Ducks to 8-0 after they were unranked in the preseason and picked sixth in the unofficial Big Ten poll conducted by The Columbus Dispatch and The Indianapolis Star. It's a start that's compelled me to move Oregon to No. 11 in Sunday morning's updated CBS Sports Top 25 And 1 daily college basketball rankings, where Kansas remains No. 1 for the 28th straight day to start the season.
Alabama is down to No. 12.
And San Diego State is a new addition to the Top 25 And 1, at No. 25, after upsetting Houston on Saturday 73-70 in overtime, to improve to 4-2 with wins over Houston and Creighton and losses only to teams ranked ahead of them in the Top 25 And 1 -- specifically No. 10 Gonzaga and No. 11 Oregon. Houston, now 0-3 against top-70 teams at BartTorvik.com, is down to No. 26.
SDSU's jump from unranked to No. 25, combined with Houston's fall from No. 10 to No. 26, pushed Oklahoma out of the Top 25 And 1, no fault of its own. The Sooners are now what amounts to No. 27.
Top 25 And 1 rankings
Rk | Teams | Chg | Rcrd | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  | KJ Adams finished with 22 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 86-51 win over Furman. The Jayhawks' next game is Wednesday at Creighton. | -- | 7-0 |
| 2 |  | Johni Broome finished with 21 points and 16 rebounds in Wednesday's 90-76 win over Memphis. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday at Duke. | -- | 7-0 |
| 3 |  | Milan Momcilovic finished with 24 points and three assists in Wednesday's 99-71 win over Colorado. The Cyclones' next game is Wednesday against Marquette. | -- | 5-1 |
| 4 |  | Kam Jones finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday's 94-62 win over Western Carolina. The Golden Eagles' next game is Wednesday at Iowa State. | -- | 8-0 |
| 5 |  | Felix Okpara finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 78-35 win over UT Martin. The Vols' next game is Tuesday against Syracuse. | -- | 7-0 |
| 6 |  | Jaxson Robinson finished with 19 points and three rebounds in Friday's 105-76 win over Georgia State. The Wildcats' next game is Tuesday at Clemson. | -- | 7-0 |
| 7 |  | Trey Kaufman-Renn finished with 25 points and 13 rebounds in Friday's 80-78 win over Ole Miss. The Boilermakers' next game is Thursday against Penn State. | -- | 7-1 |
| 8 |  | Tyrese Proctor finished with 13 points and four assists in Friday's 70-48 win over Seattle. The Blue Devils' next game is Wednesday against Auburn. | 1 | 5-2 |
| 9 |  | John Tonje finished with 22 points and five rebounds in Saturday's 74-53 win over Chicago State. The Badgers' next game is Tuesday against Michigan. | 2 | 8-0 |
| 10 |  | Ben Gregg finished with 24 points and eight rebounds in Friday's 90-65 win over Davidson. The Zags' next game is Saturday against Kentucky. | 2 | 7-1 |
| 11 |  | Nate Bittle finished with 19 points and nine rebounds in Saturday's 83-81 win over Alabama. The Ducks' next game is Wednesday at USC. | 13 | 8-0 |
| 12 |  | Mark Sears was 3 of 14 from the field in Saturday's 83-81 loss to Oregon. The Crimson Tide's next game is Wednesday at North Carolina. | 4 | 6-2 |
| 13 |  | Jayden Nunn finished with 23 points and four assists in Wednesday's 91-60 win over New Orleans. The Bears' next game is Wednesday at UConn. | -- | 5-2 |
| 14 |  | PJ Haggerty finished with four turnovers and one assist in Wednesday's 90-76 loss to Auburn. The Tigers' next game is Wednesday against Louisiana Tech. | -- | 6-1 |
| 15 |  | Jaden Akins finished with 14 points and three rebounds in Wednesday's 94-91 overtime win over North Carolina. The Spartans' next game is Wednesday at Minnesota. | -- | 6-2 |
| 16 |  | RJ Davis was 6-of-18 from the field in Wednesday's 94-91 overtime loss to Michigan State. The Tar Heels' next game is Wednesday against Alabama. | -- | 4-3 |
| 17 |  | Kasparas Jakucionis finished with 23 points and six rebounds in Thursday's 90-77 win over Arkansas. The Illini's next game is Friday at Northwestern. | -- | 6-1 |
| 18 |  | Jaland Lowe finished with 28 points and four rebounds in Friday's 91-90 overtime win over Ohio State. The Panthers' next game is Wednesday at Mississippi State. | -- | 7-1 |
| 19 |  | Meechie Johnson was 3 of 9 from the field with four turnovers in Friday's 91-90 overtime loss to Pitt. The Buckeyes' next game is Wednesday at Maryland. | -- | 5-2 |
| 20 |  | Tre Johnson finished with 21 points and five rebounds in Friday's 90-68 win over Delaware State. The Longhorns' next game is Wednesday at NC State. | -- | 6-1 |
| 21 |  | Walter Clayton Jr. finished with 19 points and three blocks in Friday's 88-51 win over Wichita State. The Gators' next game is Wednesday against Virginia. | -- | 8-0 |
| 22 |  | Simas Lukosius finished with 16 points and four assists in Wednesday's 77-59 win over Alabama State. The Bearcats' next game is Tuesday at Villanova. | -- | 6-0 |
| 23 |  | Dre Davis was 2 of 11 from the field in Friday's 80-78 loss to Purdue. The Rebels' next game is Tuesday at Louisville. | -- | 6-1 |
| 24 |  | Enoch Cheeks finished with 20 points and seven rebounds in Wednesday's 85-67 win over UConn. The Flyers' next game is Tuesday against Western Michigan. | 1 | 6-2 |
| 25 |  | Miles Byrd finished with 18 points and six rebounds in Saturday's 73-70 overtime win over Houston. The Aztecs' next game is Wednesday at Fresno State. | NR | 4-2 |
| 26 |  | Joseph Tugler was 1-of-6 from the field in Saturday's 73-70 overtime loss to San Diego State. The Cougars' next game is Saturday against Butler. | 16 | 4-3 |
In: San Diego State
Out: Oklahoma
