The Stretch 4: Auburn basketball's new Era truly takes off in Vegas
What's the latest on Keyshawn Hall? What's the word on Oregon? What's the biggest key? And how does an 18-team tournament even work?
LAS VEGAS — This time last year, Auburn basketball started a three-day sprint that ended with the Tigers winning the Maui Invitational.
That was quite the achievement for Bruce Pearl, who talked with great pride about having his team’s name up there with some of the best squads ever produced by the likes of Bill Self, Mike Krzyzewski and Tom Izzo.
It was Maui’s most-loaded field ever — and it might have been the last of its kind.
This year, the tournament synonymous with “Feast Week” has a different look. NC State is the only ranked team. USC is receiving votes. But everybody else is further off the national radar in a field that has local Division II program Chaminade in it.
Where did all the big names go? Well, two that played an all-timer of a first-round matchup in Maui last season — Auburn and Iowa State — are now in Las Vegas. So are Houston, Michigan, Alabama, Gonzaga, St. John’s, Tennessee and Kansas. They were all ranked last week. San Diego State, Oregon, Creighton and Baylor received votes.
Auburn’s run in Maui last year turned out to be in the final season of eras for the program and the multi-team event (MTE) concept itself. So it’s fitting that the first MTE of the Steven Pearl era is literally the evolution into a new Era for the sport.
Welcome to the Players Era Festival, an event that Auburn has agreed to play in for the next few seasons. The hook for the Players Era is simple: If you win, your players get paid in NIL money. After a successful eight-team launch last year, Players Era more than doubled in size for the 2025 edition, which tips off Monday.
Auburn will open the evening session at the Michelob Ultra Arena at Mandalay Bay by facing Oregon, which has quietly been one of the most consistent programs in the country under head coach Dana Altman. Then, on Tuesday, it’s a Sweet 16 rematch with a Michigan squad that many believe is even better than the one from last season.
“It’s a great litmus test early in the year to kind of see where we’re at,” Pearl said Friday, a day before Auburn left for Vegas. “Obviously, Maui was probably the best field in Maui history — and to be able to go out there and win that was really, really cool and a lot of fun.
“Now, with 10 new guys going out to Players Era, to have the opportunity to play Oregon and then a top-10 team in Michigan… great opportunities.”
Auburn has already faced one powerhouse program this season, falling just short of a win over Houston in Birmingham over a week ago. Oregon and Michigan both easily have the potential to be Quad 1 games for the NCAA Tournament résumé, as well as whoever Auburn might face in its third matchup in Vegas.
Monday will start an ultra-demanding stretch of non-conference basketball for Auburn, which will host NC State and visit Arizona next week. But this team felt like it could beat Houston, perhaps the best team in the country, and almost did it. So this step up in competition is a welcome one for the Tigers.
“All-time high,” wing Elyjah Freeman said. “We’ve been prepping all summer and all fall, just getting ready for this time to play all these great teams. I’m looking forward to playing some good basketball.”
Let’s open The Observer’s coverage from Vegas with this week’s edition of The Stretch 4 preview — breaking down both the Oregon opener and the tournament itself, but starting with an injury update on a key player for Auburn.
