Kansas State Wildcats vs. Saint Louis Billikens: Prediction, time, TV and lineups
The details
When/where: 6 p.m. Saturday at Sprint Center in Kansas City.
TV/radio: ESPN+ (streaming only, subscription required); KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City.
Projected lineups
P | No. | Saint Louis | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 32 | Jimmy Bell | 6-10 | Fr. | 2.9 |
F | 11 | Hasahn French | 6-7 | Jr. | 13.8 |
G | 12 | Jordan Goodwin | 6-3 | Jr. | 15.6 |
G | 15 | Demarious Jacobs | 6-2 | So. | 7.7 |
G | 1 | Yuri Collins | 6-0 | Fr. | 5.1 |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 11 | Antonio Gordon | 6-9 | Fr. | 6.0 |
F | 14 | Makol Mawien | 6-9 | Sr. | 8.2 |
G | 20 | Xavier Sneed | 6-5 | Sr. | 14.4 |
G | 00 | Mike McGuirl | 6-2 | Jr. | 7.1 |
G | 2 | Cartier Diarra | 6-4 | Jr. | 12.2 |
About Saint Louis (9-2): The Billikens will present a challenge for the Wildcats inside, particularly when it comes to rebounds. Saint Louis is one of the nation’s top rebounding teams. Goodwin and French both average more than 10 per game. As a team, the Billikens corral an offensive rebound after 37.8% of their shots. One of their biggest weaknesses comes at the free throw line, where they are shooting just 52.5% this season. Saint Louis is led by former Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford. It is off to a 9-2 start that features victories over Belmont and Boston College. Its losses came against Seton Hall and Auburn.
About Kansas State (6-4): The Wildcats will get some reinforcements for this game. Freshman forward Montavious Murphy is expected to play his first game since Nov. 13. That’s good news for K-State, which began they year 3-0 with him in the lineup and has struggled without him. Reserve forward James Love should also be available after seeing two minutes of action in K-State’s last game. The Wildcats are looking for answers. They have lost four of their last six games and Bruce Weber might distribute minutes differently than usual for this one. K-State in 4-0 in Wildcat Classic games at Sprint Center under Weber.
Prediction: K-State figures to be a slim favorite in this game, but a victory will be hard to come by. Saint Louis made the NCAA Tournament last season and has enough size to bother the Wildcats inside. But K-State tends to play well in Kansas City and it is getting Murphy back for this game. That should help limit Saint Louis on the glass. With a home crowd cheering them on, the Wildcats win a close one.
K-State 67, Saint Louis 63.