Iowa State Basketball Playing in Revamped Players Era Festival

The Iowa State Cyclones were one of 18 teams that got to participate in the Players Era Festival ahead of Thanksgiving during the 2025-26 men’s college basketball season.

There were a few gripes from fans about the format of the event. Each team played two pool play games before getting put into a bracket based on point differential. It led to some unfortunate outcomes, such as Iowa State missing out on the money rounds of the event despite a 2-0 record.

However, this year’s event will be different. 24 teams are being invited in 2026, and it is being broken up into two brackets. The competition will span two weeks.

An eight-team field will start play the week of Nov. 16, and the week of Thanksgiving will feature a 16-team field, with 37 games being played and aired on ESPN.

Iowa State will be back at revamped Players Era Festival

Iowa State Cyclones guard Killyan Toure (27) drives to the basket defended by Creighton Bluejays forward Jasen Green. — Nov 25, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Iowa State Cyclones guard Killyan Toure (27) drives to the basket defended by Creighton Bluejays forward Jasen Green (0) during the first half in a 2025 Players Era Festival group play game at Michelob Ultra Arena. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"College basketball is the hottest and one of the fastest-growing sports properties in the country," Players Era CEO Seth Berger said in a statement, via ESPN. "The players have never been better, and record ratings for early season college basketball reflect that. Led by top programs from multiple conferences across the sport, the teams in our field are stronger than ever. We can't wait to bring March to November with the number one college basketball network in the world, ESPN.”

Going back to a bracket format after receiving feedback on how the 18-team field was held is a good idea. The original eight-team tournament held in 2024 was won by the Oregon Ducks.

Separating the event into two brackets will bring even more eyes to the Players Era Festival, which already features some of the best teams in men’s college basketball.

13 of the participants made the 2026 NCAA Tournament field, including the national champion Michigan Wolverines, who will be part of the 16-team field along with Iowa State.

Players Era announce their 2 BRACKETS.

Will be 2 separate over 2 weeks in November. With the general MTE restrictions it is impossible to do one big 24 team bracket without any tiebreakers or uneven game totals (trust me I tried)

They heard the concerns & gave us BRACKETS. pic.twitter.com/4qVfIwHnAt
— Ryan Hammer🔨 (@ryanhammer09) May 7, 2026

There are a lot of familiar opponents who will be participating in the event this year. The Big 12 is guaranteed eight slots per year based on conference standings. The Houston Cougars, Kansas Jayhawks and West Virginia Mountaineers are in the eight-team field.

Along with the Cyclones, the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Baylor Bears, TCU Horned Frogs and Kansas State Wildcats are in the other bracket.

Two of Iowa State’s opponents in 2025, the St. John’s Red Storm and Creighton Bluejays, are back again as well and are featured in the 16-team bracket alongside them. As are the Tennessee Volunteers, who eliminated the Cyclones from the Sweet 16 this past March.

With a large sum of NIL money up for grabs, this is another great opportunity for T.J. Otzelberger to grow the program and get his team some national recognition. Their performance in Las Vegas last year helped put them on the map.

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