Previewing Syracuse’s final Players Era Festival game vs. No. 15 Iowa State
Syracuse will try to take advantage of its final Players Era Festival game versus No. 15 Iowa State, looking to snag its first Quad 1 win since the 2023-24 campaign. Courtesy of Joseph Alleyne | @joeyyarchives on Instagram
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LAS VEGAS — The Players Era Festival is a confusing event to wrap your head around. After tournament bylaws suggested that Syracuse would play a consolation game on Thursday if Oregon lost to San Diego State, Players Era officials abruptly announced late Tuesday night SU will play No. 15 Iowa State Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST.
It didn’t even matter that the Ducks got crushed by the Aztecs; the tournament changed its predetermined scheduling format on the fly. College basketball fans across the country haven’t been pleased with the Players Era, its private-equity origins nor its projected 32-team field in 2026. But if you’re Syracuse, you just have to play the games you’re told to play.
That leaves the Orange with a tough matchup against the Cyclones, who went 2-0 in Players Era pool play and are KenPom’s No. 6-ranked team in Division I.
Here’s everything to know before Syracuse (4-2, Atlantic Coast) battles No. 15 Iowa State (6-0, Big 12) Wednesday in the consolation round of the Players Era Festival:
All-time series
Syracuse leads 2-0.
Last time they played
The people writing this preview weren’t born yet. On Nov. 24, 1990, the Orange beat the Cyclones 83-67. Fittingly, this game also took place on Feast Week, except in the tournament most people associate the week with: The Maui Invitational.
SU head coach Adrian Autry was still a player for the Orange back then. He started the game and dropped 12 points on 5-for-7 shooting while Syracuse’s leading scorers, Dave Johnson and Billy Owens, combined for 51 points to lead it past ISU.
KenPom odds
Syracuse has a 19% chance of winning, with a projected final score of 80-70.
The Cyclones report
Much like SU, Iowa State is missing its best player: point guard Tamin Lipsey. However, we saw how last time went when the Orange faced a team without its top player, when they faltered against a Darryn Peterson-less Kansas.
The Cyclones, led by fifth-year head coach T.J. Otzelberger — who brought ISU’s program back from the dead — have plenty of options besides Lipsey. Forward Joshua Jefferson scores 18.3 points per game, while 6-foot-8 3-point specialist Milan Momcilovic is averaging 15.7 a contest and draining 46.5% of his 3s on 43 attempts thus far.
Iowa State is a tall and lengthy team and stands out as one of the top defenses in the country. Per KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency metric, the Cyclones are sixth in the nation with a 93.2 rating. They’re also one of the best turnover-forcing teams in D-I, ranking third in the country with a 25.7% caused turnover percentage.
How Syracuse beats Iowa State
The best chance the Orange have at an upset win is by turning this into a defensive dog fight. With or without Lipsey, Iowa State is one of the best offensive and defensive teams in the country.
Without Donnie Freeman, SU can’t rely on its offense to go bar for bar with the Cyclones, who are averaging 80.5 points in the Player Era. For comparison, the Orange are averaging 72.5, and that’s with an additional five minutes from their overtime bout versus Houston.
So, Syracuse will need to lean into what Autry wants its new identity to be: that of a stalwart defensive unit. That was on display versus the Cougars, as SU held them to shoot 36% from the floor. Against Kansas, it wasn’t as apparent, but the Jayhawks still only connected at a 44% clip.
In all likelihood, the Orange will need to hold Iowa State to around 70 points to give themselves an opportunity to win.
Stat to know: 68.9
Syracuse isn’t the only bad free-throw shooting team stepping on the MGM Grand Arena’s hardwood at 10 a.m. local time. The Cyclones are shooting just 68.9% from the charity stripe, which ranks 244th in the country.
It’s far better than SU’s 56.2% clip, which is the second worst (No. 364) in the nation, but still not inspiring. If the game does turn into a defensive dog fight, increased free throws could come as a result. In that scenario, the team that is less awful from the line could make the difference in who wins.
Player to watch: Joshua Jefferson, forward, No. 5
A day after facing Kansas star Flory Bidunga, the Orange will go up against another top forward in Iowa State’s Jefferson — who ranks second on the Cyclones in EvanMiya’s player performance rating metric with a well above-average mark of 7.78.
It’s easy to see why. Jefferson averages close to 20 points per game, pulls in 8.2 rebounds a contest and displays solid court vision, too, totaling 4.2 assists per game. It’ll be tough for Syracuse to fend off Jefferson without Freeman’s presence down low. Yet again, William Kyle III and Sadiq White will be tasked with a difficult assignment.
