Players Era Basketball Tournament: Auburn's First Opponents

Exposure, scouting opportunities, and more are on the line as 18 elite NCAA men's teams hit the stage in Las Vegas for the Players Era Men's Championship, the largest tournament outside of March.

The tournament will feature international-style group play with championship matchups. Beginning on November 24th, teams will play two group games. Teams finishing 2–0 advance to the championship day matchups on Wednesday; point differential and total points act as tiebreakers.

Tune in on November 24th for Auburn’s matchup against Oregon at 8 PM ET, and November 25th at 8:30 PM ET for Auburn vs. #7 Michigan. It’s an early-season test for the Tigers, with Oregon falling just shy of the top 25 and Michigan sitting at No. 7 in the AP top 25.

How to watch Auburn vs. Oregon
Date: Monday, November 24 | Time: 8:00 PM ET
Location: Michelob Ultra Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
TV: TruTV | Live Stream: HBO MAX

How to watch Auburn vs. Michigan
Date: Tuesday, November 25 | Time: 8:30 PM ET
Location: Michelob Ultra Arena (Las Vegas, NV)
TV: TNT| Live Stream: HBO MAX

Oregon Looks to Defend Title

Oregon enters Las Vegas as the reigning Players Era champions with an 83-81 win over Alabama in last year's tournament. They look dangerous again this year with returning point guard Jackson Shelstad, center Nate Bittle, and Elon transfer guard Takai Simpkins.

The Ducks are currently undefeated with an unimpressive resume consisting of home wins over Hawaii, Rice, South Dakota, and Oregon State. Oregon ranks 83rd nationally in scoring at 74.3 PPG. The Tigers, ranked 18th, are scoring 93.4 PPG with a +23.8 score margin.

Unfortunately for Auburn, their highest scorer may not play in this one. Confirmed through medical examinations, Keyshawn Hall has a lateral ankle and foot sprain. As of now, there's no timeframe for when he'll be back and Steven Pearl has said he's not going to rush it and they want him at 100%. Hall will travel with the team and was seen boarding the plane without ankle support, so a return sooner rather than later seems likely.

If Hall is to sit out against Oregon, Auburn is going to have to rely more on KeShawn Murphy, Sebastian Williams-Adams, Tahaad Pettiford, and Elyjah Freeman for offensive production. Murphy scored his season-high of 19 against Jackson State last week. I expect Simon Walker to continue earning minutes after going 5-for-5 from deep in just eight minutes against Jackson State.

My Prediction:
Auburn 84, Oregon 79

Michigan: Sweet 16 Rematch

Auburn and Michigan have only faced off twice in basketball, in the 1993 Fiesta Bowl Classic where the Wolverines won 102-81 and last year's Sweet 16 where Auburn ended Michigan's run with a 78-65 win.

With wins over Oakland, Wake Forest, TCU, and Middle Tennessee, Michigan is 4-0. However, with two close wins against Wake Forest and TCU, they've taken a tumble from their No. 3 pre-season rank.

Michigan distributes the ball well: no player averages above 15 PPG, yet the offense scores just shy of 90 PPG. The Wolverines are also a top-10 rebounding team with 45.5 boards per game.

With 20 assists per game, they're also prone to turning the ball over, an issue that plagued them in their 2024-25 season. They coughed it up 20 times during their exhibition against Cincinnati. They don't have a three-point shot either. The Wolverines are shooting at 32.7% beyond the arc, or 196th in the nation.

Michigan's lack of offensive identity and the improvement in defense Auburn showed against Houston lend me to believe this is a winnable game regardless of the ranking gap. Keep Yaxel Lendeborg contained and win the turnover battle and Auburn has a good chance to head into the second round 2-0. Maybe a little too early to call, but Michigan is looking a bit fraudulent.

My prediction:
Auburn 87, Michigan 83

Final Thoughts

Money changing hands isn’t a new concept in Las Vegas, but last year’s inaugural Players Era event still drew its share of skepticism. To their credit, all attending teams were paid on time, and seven of the eight programs are back this year. Every team in the field this year is guaranteed at least a $1 million NIL payout.

The downsides, at least in my view, are the continued push toward commercialization of college basketball beyond the point of no return and the breakneck schedule of three games in three days.

Still, when an event expands from eight teams to 18 in one year with plans for 32 in 2026, the pros are clearly outweighing the cons for someone, if not everyone. Auburn gets a chance to showcase its new roster on a national stage against some of the best teams in the country. Half the field is ranked: No. 2 Houston, No. 24 Kansas, No. 22 Auburn, No. 16 Iowa State, No. 20 Tennessee, No. 14 St. John’s, No. 13 Gonzaga, and No. 11 Alabama.

Auburn must go 2-0 to qualify for the championship game. Either way, it’ll be entertaining to watch this kind of production in November.