Ann Arbor — The Wolverines are looking to win big in Las Vegas.
And they’re not the only ones. Michigan and 17 other men’s college basketball teams will hit the strip during Thanksgiving week for the Players Era tournament, a groundbreaking event that’s in its second year.
“I think we’re all excited for two reasons. I think we all know what one of the reasons is,” guard L.J. Cason said with a big grin.
That, of course, would be the NIL-related earnings that are up for grabs. A maximum payday of $2 million awarded to the team that wins the tournament, which runs Monday through Thursday with every team playing three games.
Each participating team is guaranteed $1 million in “NIL opportunities and activities in accordance with NCAA rules” in the Las Vegas area, according to a signed game contract obtained by The Detroit News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The champion will receive an additional $1 million in NIL funds, and the runner-up will get $500,000. The third- and fourth-place finishers will reportedly land an extra $300,000 and $200,000, respectively.
The second reason? The loaded field — one that features 10 teams that have been ranked in the AP Top 25 so far this season — provides prime résumé-building opportunities and a chance for Michigan to back up its national ranking.
“I think a lot of people don’t think we’re a real deal,” Cason said. “We’re going to go and prove people wrong.”
Forward Yaxel Lendeborg has seen similar remarks on social media, though he doesn’t pay them any mind.
“We know who we are,” Lendeborg said. “We’re not acting like we’re the best team in the nation. We’re playing like we’re the hunters still, not the hunted, regardless of our ranking.”
Michigan will be in the hunt for another November tournament title under head coach Dusty May. Last season, the Wolverines took home the Fort Myers Tip-Off title after winning two games in three days against a pair of Power Five opponents.
That experience — both on and off the court — paid off in the long run, as the Wolverines went on to win three games in three days to capture the Big Ten tournament title before reaching the Sweet 16.
“Us winning that championship early season last year, that gave us hope that we can be champions,” Cason said. “I think us winning (in Vegas) with the teams in that tournament, it would definitely give us a feeling that we can probably win it all.”
This one will be a tougher task, especially with the Las Vegas tournament expanding from eight teams in its inaugural year and adding more top competition.
Michigan’s first two opponents will be San Diego State, the preseason favorite to win the Mountain West, and No. 22 Auburn. Seeding based on records and competitive metrics like point differential, total points scored, and points allowed will determine Michigan’s third opponent.
There will be no shortage of motivation in the first couple matchups. Lendeborg will be looking to deliver some payback in Monday’s “long overdue meeting” with San Diego State, the same team that knocked him out of the NCAA Tournament during his first year at UAB two seasons ago.
Cason and the other returners on Michigan’s squad will be out for revenge in Tuesday’s Sweet 16 rematch against Auburn, even though most of the key players from that meeting are gone.
“I think we all know what that game is going to be like, what intensity it’s going to bring,” Cason said. “We all want it. We all know what we came here for. We all want to win a national championship.
“(Last season’s Auburn loss) definitely pushed me to be better knowing that I know what it takes to get there, and I know what it’ll take to get past that. I have bigger dreams than just the Sweet 16 now.”
May listed three things he’s hoping to leave Las Vegas with: some vitamin D, a healthy roster and a better understanding of what it’ll take for this team to repeat as Big Ten tournament champs come March.
May added that while some coaches and programs might not put as much value into an early-season tournament like the Players Era — which Michigan has signed a multiyear agreement to compete in this year and next, with a third-year option for 2027 — he isn’t one of them.
“We want to win the Big Ten tournament again. We want to be in position to compete for it,” May said. “Three games in three days gives us an opportunity to prepare like that, to take care of our bodies and prioritize the next game immediately when the buzzer sounds after Game 1 and Game 2.
“Then we’ve got to be able to learn on the fly, where we don’t have time to practice in between. We go straight from a game, film session, walkthrough and be able to apply things. That’s the secret sauce of an elite team.”
Regardless, it’s an experience that will allow May and his staff to learn more about their group. Doing so while heading home with some hardware and extra cash would be a jackpot.
“We are 100% a growth mindset program. We need to be better next week than we are today,” May said. “Whether we win or whether we lose, we’re not going to be too high or too low because our season is long, and we have a high ceiling.”
Michigan vs. San Diego State
▶ Tipoff: 10:30 p.m. Monday, Michelob Ultra Arena, Las Vegas
▶ TV/radio: TruTV/94.7
▶ Records: No. 7 Michigan 4-0; San Diego State 2-1
▶ Outlook: This is the second all-time meeting between the programs and Michigan won the first matchup in Ann Arbor in 2021. San Diego State is coached by Brian Dutcher, a former longtime Michigan assistant who’s in his ninth season at the helm. The Aztecs are coming off a 108-107 double-OT loss to Troy at home.
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