It's KU-Tennessee for 3rd place

When the dust settled after the first two days of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, the Kansas men's basketball team's 2-0 record and +21 point differential was just enough to move the Jayhawks into the money rounds.

Unranked KU will play No. 17 Tennessee, which also went 2-0 and had a point differential of +23 in the event's third-place game, with $300,000 on the line for the winner. Tipoff is slated for 6 p.m. (central) on TNT.

The losing team will take home $200,000, in addition to the $1 million NIL guarantee provided to all of the teams that participated in the event.

No. 7 Michigan (2-0, +40) and 12th-ranked Gonzaga (2-0, +30) will play in the title game, with $1 million more on the line for the winner and $500,000 going to the team that finishes in 2nd place.

Here's a look at the standings of the Top 14 teams entering Day 3.

It's a new event with an unusual format, and it appears to be evolving quickly and in grand fashion. After fielding just 8 teams in 2024, the Players Era expanded to 18 teams this year and already has announced plans to go to 32 teams in 2026.

The Big 12 Conference is at the heart of that expansion, with the Big 12 and Players Era agreeing to a $50 million equity partnership that will guarantee that the top eight teams in the previous season's Big 12 standings earn a spot in the field.

That means, at next year's event, 25% of the teams there will be from the Big 12 Conference, a move that, both Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark and Players Era founder Seth Berger believe will further cement the Big 12 as the marquee conference in college hoops.

"The Big 12 Conference continues to lead collegiate athletics' movement into a new landscape, and we are incredibly proud to enter into this partnership," Berger said in a news release announcing the partnership.

The $50 million included in the deal is a rights agreement, which will be paid out on top of the prize money and NIL guarantees provided to each team that participates.

The format is changing, too, with four 8-team pools playing over 3 weeks, with the winners of those pools meeting up in Week 3 to play for the top prize.

The Players Era is a completely new way of doing college basketball and it has received mixed reviews from fans and coaches, but, the consensus opinion is that it's here to stay and it's only going to grow and get bigger from here, as event organizers strive to make the Players Era Festival the unquestioned biggest thing in college basketball outside of March Madness.

Here's a quick recap of how KU fared during the first couple of days of the event.

The Jayhawks once again played without superstar freshman Darryn Peterson but looked good in both wins and appear to be coming together quickly.

Day 1: KU 71, Notre Dame 61

"Moments That Popped"

Notes & Numbers

Day 2: KU 71, Syracuse 60

"Moments That Popped"

Notes & Numbers

— For tickets to all KU athletic events, visit kuathletics.com