Another Feast Week, another buffet of elite nonconference matchups that offers college basketball teams the chance to pad their NCAA tournament résumés with high-quality wins.
The best action will come out of Las Vegas, where 18 of the nation’s top teams — including eight of the AP Top 25 — will play in the Players Era Festival, which guarantees each participating program $1 million. The marquee matchups include Alabama vs. Gonzaga on Monday and Houston vs. Tennessee on Tuesday, culminating in a championship game on Wednesday.
While the talent is concentrated in the desert, there are still notable matchups elsewhere this Thanksgiving week. ESPN’s Myron Medcalf, Jeff Borzello and Joe Lunardi preview the must-watch contests below — and analyze results as they happen.
All times in Eastern.
Jump to: Results and analysis
Monday
8 p.m. | Players Era Festival
Both teams are looking to notch their first noteworthy win of the campaign, as Oregon swept through a soft opening to its schedule while Auburn came up just short against Houston in its one big game so far. With Tigers leading scorer Keyshawn Hall expected to miss this one after suffering an injury in the loss to Houston, they will need Tahaad Pettiford to break out of his early-season slump. One of the nation’s most talented point guards, Pettiford is averaging only 10.8 points and shooting just 28.8% from the field. Pettiford will go against Ducks star Jackson Shelstad, who appears to be developing into a consistent scorer and playmaker. — Borzello
9:30 p.m. | Players Era Festival
This game has the makings of an offensive thriller with two of the most capable scoring outfits in college basketball. Gonzaga (94.0 points per game) and Alabama (91.0 PPG) are not only ranked in the top 10 in adjusted offensive efficiency on KenPom; they play at a top-75 pace. Triple digits might be needed to win this one. Gonzaga’s Braden Huff and Graham Ike are 6-foot-10 towers who power a team that has played superior defense thus far. As for Alabama, Aden Holloway (17.7 PPG) and Labaron Philon Jr. (20.5 PPG) appear to be early contenders for SEC Player of the Year. — Medcalf
Tuesday
5 p.m. | Players Era Festival
Some of the country’s most talented offensive players will compete in this one. For Baylor, the emergence of Tennessee transfer Cameron Carr as one of college basketball’s elite scorers has been a pleasant surprise; he has paired incredibly well with powerful scorer Tounde Yessoufou, a projected lottery pick. On the other side, St. John’s will counter with Bryce Hopkins and Zuby Ejiofor. But the big question is whether the Red Storm will get consistent guard play: Ian Jackson and Joson Sanon can score but also can struggle as decision-makers, while Dylan Darling is a sound lead guard but lacks the explosiveness of the other two. — Borzello
6 p.m. | Players Era Festival
Tennessee will hope Nate Ament (No. 4 in ESPN’s latest 2026 NBA mock draft) can lead the No. 1 offensive rebounding team in America to a win over the No. 1 defensive in America after the Volunteers lost to the Cougars in the Elite Eight last March. On the other side, Kelvin Sampson built his Houston program on experience, but NBA prospects Kingston Flemings (projected No. 19) and Chris Cenac Jr. (projected No. 7) could be the ticket to the coach’s first national title. We might not see either team hit 70 points in this game, but the efforts of star freshmen could decide the outcome. — Medcalf
1:17
Houston Cougars vs. Auburn Tigers: Game Highlights
Houston Cougars vs. Auburn Tigers: Game Highlights
8:30 p.m. | Players Era Festival
We’re still waiting to see the best of both Auburn and Michigan, though each had a dominant performance last week before heading out to Nevada, with the Tigers defeating Jackson State 112-66 and the Wolverines beating Middle Tennessee 86-61. The question is whether either opponent gets more consistent point guard play. Auburn’s Tahaad Pettiford has really struggled shooting the ball after looking like one of the most dynamic guards in the country last season, while Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau registered nine assists and 13 turnovers across his past three outings. With injured Tigers forward Keyshawn Hall expected to sit, Auburn also needs to find a counter for Yaxel Lendeborg. — Borzello
4:30 p.m. | Fort Myers Tip-Off
Kentucky at last week’s Champions Classic — while the Tar Heels already equaled their Quadrant 1 win total from a season ago by knocking off Kansas. North Carolina remains short-handed with guard Seth Trimble out for the foreseeable future, but 6-foot-10 freshman Caleb Wilson has been a double-double generator. The Spartans are older, with three seniors in their top six, but have yet to shot the ball well. If form holds, this will come down to UNC’s offense against Tom Izzo’s typical smothering defense. — Lunardi
8 p.m. | CBS Sports Thanksgiving Classic
This version of Duke has an edge over last season’s edition: a remarkable ability to get to the free throw line, with nearly a 50% rise in free throw rate from last season as of writing. That strength, visible in last week’s win over Kansas, allows Cameron Boozer & Co. to control the flow of the game and the post. An Arkansas team that needed a miracle to beat Winthrop last week will demand another epic effort from freshmen Darius Acuff Jr. and Meleek Thomas, who are averaging a combined 35.1 points and 8.5 assists per game. Equally important for this contest in Chicago will be the Razorbacks’ defensive effort in the paint from Nick Pringle and Trevon Brazile (1.8 blocks per game). — Medcalf
Friday
12:30 p.m. | SentinelOne Showdown
Two of America’s supreme offenses will face off at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Black Friday. Sign me up. Each suffered its first loss of the season last week, with UConn falling at home to Arizona and Illinois dropping one to Alabama in Chicago. How healthy will the Huskies be for this one? Tarris Reed Jr. missed the Arizona loss with an ankle injury, while Braylon Mullins (ankle) hasn’t played yet this season. UConn is capable of exploiting Illinois’ defensive issues, while the Huskies could be vulnerable to the Illini’s offensive rebounding prowess. — Borzello
Players Era Festival
It was billed as a battle between two of the best defensive teams in the country, two teams that force turnovers at a high rate — specifically, in the case of Iowa State, at the highest rate. But the first half was more up-tempo and back-and-forth than expected, before the defensive grind-it-out affair commenced down the stretch. Iowa State’s frontcourt duo of Milan Momcilovic (23 points) and Joshua Jefferson (17) caused problems for St. John’s defense, and the Red Storm really struggled to generate clean looks down the stretch without a consistent playmaker at the point of attack.
All eyes for Iowa State are on Tamin Lipsey, who left the game in the final minutes and went straight back to the locker room with his jersey over his face. — Borzello
