Gonzaga the new favorite to win Players Era Festival after beating Alabama

The Zags will take on Maryland Tuesday night in Las Vegas

Nov 24, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Gonzaga Bulldogs guard Jalen Warley (8) grabs a rebound against Alabama Crimson Tide forward Amari Allen (5) and forward Keitenn Bristow (10) during the first half in a 2025 Players Era Festival group play game at MGM Grand Garden Arena. | Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Gonzaga Bulldogs secured a tidy $1M paycheck for participating in the Players Era Festival this year, but the team has its eyes on an even bigger payday.

After defeating Alabama on Monday night in Las Vegas, Gonzaga vaulted up to the best odds to win the tournament, with BetMGM putting the Zags at +200 heading into Tuesday's slate of games.

Michigan (+250), Tennessee (+400), and Kansas (+750) followed suit, with the highest-ranked team in the field, Houston, coming in next at +1200.

Gonzaga is one of nine teams to begin the Players Era Festival 1-0, and has a matchup with the Maryland Terrapins at 6:30 PM PT on Tuesday night - a game in which the Zags are favored by 14.5 points.

Should Gonzaga beat Maryland, they will very likely be one of four teams selected to play in either the third-place or championship game on Wednesday, slated for 4:00 and 6:30 PM PT, respectively.

Finishing top four will net the Zags some extra NIL money, with the biggest payout going to whoever wins the title game.

In addition to record, teams with the highest point differential will be prioritized when seeding the teams after Tuesday's games. This does not take into account quality of opponent, however, which means that Tennessee's 25-point win over Rutgers will carry more weight than Gonzaga's ten-point win over Alabama, even though not a single person would argue that beating Rutgers, who lost to Central Connecticut earlier this year, was a better win by the Vols.

Gonzaga is the new favorite to win Players Era after defeating Alabama last night (via @BetMGM) pic.twitter.com/a9kehJTLyN

— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) November 25, 2025

This incentivizes Gonzaga not only to beat Maryland on Tuesday, but to do so by as big a margin as possible in order to secure a spot in the top four heading into Wednesday's games.

Fortunately, Gonzaga has not had many issues dominating opponents all season long, with every single one of their six wins coming by at least ten points. In fact, Gonzaga's +191 scoring margin through six games - coupled with a pair of wins over AP Top 25 teams - puts them in rare company. The last team to accomplish both those feats through six games was the UConn Huskies back in 1998-1999, and they went on to win the national championship under coach Jim Calhoun.

Regardless of where Gonzaga gets seeded, a win over Maryland will ensure the Zags get another quality opponent out of this three-game tournament. Potential matchups include Tennessee, Kansas, Iowa State, Houston, Michigan, Auburn, and Baylor, helping to set coach Few's team up for success heading into December and matchups with Kentucky, UCLA, and Oregon - all away from home.

Gonzaga tips off against the Terrapins on Tuesday at 6:30 PM, with the game broadcast on truTV and HBO MAX.