Matt Norlander is on the Vegas Strip and bouncing back and forth between the two arenas hosting this year's Players Era Championship. He'll be providing frequent updates and insider information throughout each day of the event, so check back in regularly. You can read his Monday notebook here .

LAS VEGAS — Among the many things the Players Era will give college hoops this week, some additional crystallization on which teams have the goods ranks near the top.

And on Tuesday, we learned Tennessee is again one of the most physical and impressive defensive teams in the country. The biggest matchup of Day 2 played out at MGM Grand Garden Arena: No. 17 Tennessee 76, No. 3 Houston 73. The Vols atoned for their 19-point Elite Eight loss to the Cougars last season.

Tennessee was able to

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