K-State Wildcats vs. Baylor Bears: Basketball prediction, lineups, time, and TV info

The details

When/where: 8 p.m. Wednesday at Ferrell Center, Waco, Texas.

TV/radio: ESPN2; KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City.

Projected lineups

About No. 2 Baylor (14-0, 7-0 Big 12): The Bears might be the best team in college basketball. They are off to a 14-0 start that has featured 12 double-digit victories. Their narrowest win came by eight points against both Texas Tech and Kansas. Coach Scott Drew has turned his team into an efficient machine on both ends of the court, as the Bears lead the Big 12 in offense (86.1 points per game) and rank second on defense (62 points per game). MaCio Teague led Baylor with 23 points in its first victory over K-State last month, while Jared Butler had 13 assists in the 100-69 beatdown.

About Kansas State (5-11, 1-6 Big 12): Little has gone right for the Wildcats this year. They have lost six straight games since January began and only one of those defeats came by single digits. They are coming off a 69-47 home loss against West Virginia. The good news for Bruce Weber’s team is that they will be at close to full strength against Baylor, as freshman guard Nijel Pack is expected to play after missing four straight games in COVID-19 protocol. He should come off the bench and play around 20 minutes. The Wildcats will have 11 scholarship players available against the Bears. Antonio Gordon will hope to duplicate his strong effort against Baylor last month when he scored 23 points on eight shots.

Prediction: This game is a mismatch of David-and-Goliath proportions.

And before you point out that David defeated Goliath with nothing more than a slingshot and a rock, remember that Goliath hadn’t humiliated David a month earlier on his own turf the way Baylor demolished K-State by 31 at Bramlage Coliseum in December.

Weber said Tuesday that the Wildcats will have nothing to lose in the rematch as 26 1/2-point underdogs.

“We lost by infinity last time,” Weber said. “I’m not sure you can get higher than infinity.”

It’s possible K-State could play Baylor closer than expected by slowing the game down and making some outside shots, but the Wildcats have been cold on offense of late and turned the ball over 28 times in their last game against West Virginia. The Bears have too much firepower on offense and too much depth on defense for the Wildcats to keep pace.

The final margin will likely depend on how early Drew decides to empty Baylor’s bench with a big lead in the second half.

Baylor 87, K-State 59

Kellis Robinett

The Wichita Eagle

Kellis Robinett covers Kansas State athletics for The Wichita Eagle and The Kansas City Star. A winner of more than a dozen national writing awards, he lives in Manhattan with his wife and four children.