K-State Wildcats vs. Omaha Mavericks: Basketball lineups, time, TV, score prediction
The details
When/where: 7 p.m. Wednesday at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.
TV/radio: ESPN+ (streaming network, subscription required); KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City.
Projected lineups
P | No. | Omaha | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 23 | Frankie Fidler | 6-7 | Fr. | 14.0 |
F | 44 | Isaiah Chandler | 6-7 | Jr. | 8.0 |
G | 2 | Darrius Hughes | 6-7 | Jr. | 5.5 |
G | 0 | Sam’I Roe | 6-1 | Sr. | 7.5 |
G | 25 | Felix Lemetti | 6-1 | Jr. | 7.5 |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 1 | Kaosi Ezeagu | 6-10 | Jr. | 7.0 |
F | 25 | Ismael Massoud | 6-9 | So. | 5.0 |
G | 00 | Mike McGuirl | 6-2 | Sr. | 3.0 |
G | 13 | Mark Smith | 6-4 | Sr. | 12.0 |
G | 24 | Nijel Pack | 6-0 | So. | 18.0 |
About Omaha (1-1): The Mavericks, of the Summit League, opened the season with a 67-57 victory over Hastings College and then followed that up with a 73-69 loss at Ball State. Omaha trailed by as many as 29 in that game but fought back to make it a one-possession game in the final moments. Frankie Fidler is the team’s leading scorer. Omaha has good size in its front court for a mid-major team.
About Kansas State (1-0): The Wildcats are off to an 1-0 start after opening the season with a 67-57 victory over Florida A&M. It wasn’t all that an impressive of a performance from K-State, but it was a solid win considering Bruce Weber was breaking in three new transfers and usual starting center Davion Bradford was limited coming off an illness. Bradford will once again be on a minutes count in this game, but he should be close to full strength. Mike McGuirl only scored three points in the opener. It will be interesting to see if he bounces back with a better showing in Game 2.
Prediction: K-State needed a last-second three from Selton Miguel to beat Omaha 60-58 last season. But the Wildcats are in a much better place now than they were back then.
Wednesday’s game should not be nearly as close. K-State has improved its roster significantly since then, while Omaha appears to have taken a step back.
Ken Pomeroy projects K-State as a 20-point favorite. That might be a little generous, considering the Wildcats haven’t beaten many times by huge margins since Barry Brown, Kamau Stokes and Dean Wade ran out of eligibility. But it’s possible if K-State gets a good shooting day from its guards.
Kansas State 76, Omaha 59.