KU basketball to play 3rd place game at Players Era tourney. Here’s the opponent
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- KU will play No. 17 Tennessee in Players Era third-place game Wednesday 6 p.m. Central.
- KU holds plus-21 differential, trailing Michigan, Gonzaga, Tennessee in tourney rankings.
- Third-place team earns an extra $300,000 NIL payout; fourth-place gets $200,000.
The Kansas Jayhawks, who defeated Notre Dame by 10 points and Syracuse by 11 in the first two games of the Players Era tournament, will meet undefeated and No. 17-ranked Tennessee on Wednesday in the third-place game of the tourney.
Tipoff is 6 p.m. Central at MGM Grand Garden Arena. It will be shown on TNT.
KU’s plus-21 points differential finished behind Michigan (plus-40) and Gonzaga (plus-30), who will meet in the 8:30 p.m. Central title game. Tennessee wound up with a plus-23 differential after defeating No. 3 ranked Houston 76-73 in a second round game Tuesday. Tennessee beat Rutgers 85-60 (max of 20 points per game allowed) in the first round.
Iowa State’s point differential was plus-19, meaning the Cyclones barely missed qualifying for the consolation game.
KU leads the all-time series against the Vols 5-3. KU won the last meeting 69-60 on Nov. 22, 2023, in Honolulu. Tennessee, coached by Rick Barnes, has won two of the last three in the series.
According to tourney officials, the third-place finisher will receive an additional $300,000 in NIL money (each team in the tourney is guaranteed $1 million). The fourth-place finisher will receive $200,000.
