Why Tennessee missed the championship game, playing for third in Players Era Festival

LAS VEGAS — Tennessee Basketball isn’t playing for the Players Era Festival championship after missing out on the title game because of point differential. Instead, the Vols will face Kansas in the third-place game, set for 7 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday on TNT at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

No. 17 Tennessee (7-0) won 76-73 aginast No. 3 Houston, the highest-ranked team in the 18-team field, Tuesday night. The Vols beat Rutgers 85-60 on Monday.

No. 7 Michigan will face No. 12 Gonzaga in Wednesday’s championship game, with both teams jumping ahead the Vols and Kansas based on point differential.

Michigan blew out Auburn 102-72, giving the Wolverines a plus-40 differential over two games. Gonzaga hammered Maryland 100-61 for a plus-30 differential. Gonzaga beat Alabama 95-85 Monday night and Michigan beat San Diego State 94-54.

Tennessee had plus-23 point differential, missed title game by eight points

Tennessee has a plus-23 point differential after the wins over Houston and Rutgers. Kansas has a plus-21 point differential after a 71-61 win over Notre Dame on Monday and a 71-60 win over Syracuse on Tuesday.

The Players Era used six factors to rank field from 1-18 after the first two days of the event: Overall record, head-to-head, point differential with a maximum of 20 points per game, points scored, points allowed and Associated Press Top 25 ranking.

The Michigan-Gonzaga winner will get an extra $1 million in NIL money in the championship game, while the runner up will get $500,000. Tennessee can get an extra $300,000 with a third-place finish or $200,000 with a fourth-place finish. 

“I want to be clear,” Players Era co-founder Seth Berger said Tuesday night, “that there is no money on the line in terms of playing and competition. That is not what the event is about. Each team qualifies for additional NIL compensation guarantees.

“… This year it hits $1 million dollars in guaranteed NIL compensation to the first-place team, $500,000, $300,000, and $200,000, second through fourth.”

Rick Barnes: ‘Obviously the money that is involved too, but that’s not the drive’

Berger added all 18 teams in the Players Era Festival makes more than $1 million in NIL opportunities from the event, on average.

“We’ll obviously never disclose anything of any school’s contract because we’re a private company,” he said, “but on average what I will tell you is each school makes more than $1 million dollars in NIL competition guarantees for their kids.”

Tennessee coach Rick Barnes said Tuesday night that it’s less about money and more about the competition the Vols will have faced after three games in three days.

“You’re coming out here,” Barnes said, “obviously you know you’re going to have great competition, and obviously the money that is involved too, but that’s not the drive. You come out here knowing that you want to play, get a good read for where you are and that was our goal coming out here.”