How To Watch: Tennessee vs. Kansas in the Players Era Festival third-place game

LAS VEGAS — Tennessee Basketball will face Kansas in the third-place game at the Players Era Festival Wednesday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Tipoff between the Vols and Jayhawks is set for 7 p.m. Eastern Time on TNT and HBO Max.

Tennessee (7-0) rallied from down 11 points to beat No. 3 Houston 76-73 on Tuesday. Kansas (5-2) beat Notre Dame 71-61 on Monday and Syracuse 71-60 on Tuesday.

Michigan and Gonzaga will play in the championship game after both teams jumped Tennessee on point differential. The Vols are plus-21 after two games, but Michigan is plus-40 and Gonzaga is plus-30.

The Vols are 2-3 in five games against Kansas under Rick Barnes. The two teams have played six times over the last eight seasons, with Kansas leading 5-3 in the all-time series dating back to 2008.

How To Watch: No. 17 Tennessee vs. Kansas

When: Tuesday, 7 p.m. Eastern Time | Where: MGM Grand Garden Arena

TV: TNT

Streaming: HBO Max

Radio: WNML 99.1 FM in Knoxville (John Wilkerson, Steve Hamer). The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee.

How the Vols got to the third-place game

Ja’Kobi Gillespie on Tuesday led Tennessee with 22 points in the rally from down 11 to beat Houston. Jaylen Carey scored 13 off the bench, to go with seven rebounds and Nate Ament battled foul trouble and missed shots, finishing with nine points, five rebounds and four assists while going 1-for-8 from the field. 

Bishop Boswell starred all over the court on both ends against Houston, scoring 10 points on 4-for-4 shooting with four rebounds and three assists. JP Estrella had eight points and five boards and Felix Okpara added nine points.

Gillespie on Monday scored a career-high 32 points and made a career-high six 3-pointers while sparking the 85-60 romp over Rutgers. Ament added 20, going 4-for-6 from the 3-point line.

Kansas not ranked after losses to North Carolina, Duke

The two losses for Kansas this season came at North Carolina, 87-74 on November 7, and 78—66 against Duke at Madison Square Garden on November 18.

Five-star freshman guard Darryn Peterson has missed the last five games for Kansas after scoring 43 points over his first two games, including 22 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in the loss at North Carolina. 

Kansas is not ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 or Coaches Poll. The Jayhawks are No. 19 overall in the KenPom.com ratings, ranked No. 57 in adjusted offensive efficiency (116.1) and No. 9 in adjusted defensive efficiency (94.2). 

Tennessee, ranked No. 16 in the Coaches Poll and No. 17 in the AP Top 25, is up to No. 10 overall in the KenPom ratings after the win over Houston. The Vols are No. 14 on offense (121.4) and No. 10 on defense (94.5).