K-State Wildcats vs. LSU Tigers: Basketball lineups, TV, time, odds, prediction
THE DETAILS
When/where: 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, John Gray Gym
TV: FloHoops (streaming service)
Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita
Betting line: LSU by 2 1/2
Over/Under: 141 1/2
STARTING LINEUPS
P | No. | LSU | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 12 | KJ Williams | 6-10 | Sr. | 17.4 |
F | 20 | Derek Fountain | 6-10 | Jr. | 5.6 |
G | 1 | Cam Hayes | 6-2 | Jr. | 7.5 |
G | 3 | Justice Hill | 6-0 | Sr. | 10.8 |
G | 44 | Adam Miller | 6-3 | So. | 17.4 |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 3 | David N’Guessan | 6-9 | Jr. | 6.0 |
F | 35 | Nae’Qwan Tomlin | 6-10 | Jr. | 11.6 |
F | 11 | Keyontae Johnson | 6-6 | Sr. | 18.0 |
G | 5 | Cam Carter | 6-3 | So. | 7.8 |
G | 1 | Markquis Nowell | 5-8 | Sr. | 14.8 |
About LSU (5-0):
The Tigers are much like the Wildcats. They are playing under a new coach who completely rebuilt the roster in his first season. So far, the results have been good with Matt McMahon leading the way. LSU is off to a 5-0 start with wins over Kansas City, Arkansas State, New Orleans, Illinois State and Akron. The Tigers rank No. 40 in Ken Pomeroy’s national ratings system. They are good from three-point range, shooting 39.2% for the season, and sharp on defense. LSU is allowing opponents to make 25.4% of their shots from three-point range and 45.2% within the arc. Adam Miller and KJ Williams both lead LSU with 17.4 points per game.
About Kansas State (5-0):
The Wildcats remain perfect on the season after defeating Nevada 96-87 in overtime in the semifinal round of the Cayman Islands Classic. Markquis Nowell and Keyontae Johnson both had standout games for K-State on Tuesday. Nowell finished with 29 points and 11 assists. Johnson had 28 points and nine rebounds. They formed a dynamic duo that refused to let K-State lose that game. David N’Guessan has also had a strong tournament and chipped in eight points and eight rebounds on Tuesday. One weakness for K-State so far has been turnovers. The Wildcats rank 297th nationally in that category and have committed 36 turnovers in two games at the Cayman Islands Classic.
Prediction
This should be a fun game. K-State and LSU might as well be mirror images of each other, like the classic meme that depicts one Spider-Man pointing at another Spider-Man. Jerome Tang took over the K-State men’s basketball program last March and quickly brought in 11 new players. Matt McMahon is the new coach at LSU and he had to replace 13 departing players.
These are two brand new teams with brand new coaches.
Two more similarities: They are both undefeated against a modest schedule. Akron and Nevada are both decent teams that could potentially end up in the NCAA Tournament, but this is the first major challenge both LSU and K-State have faced. The winner will be rewarded with a trophy.
LSU will benefit from a small rest advantage on Wednesday. It has played in early games all week in this tournament and beat Akron by double digits on Tuesday. K-State has been playing in the night game and is coming off a hard-fought overtime victory against Nevada. That could be one of the main reasons why LSU is a small favorite.
The Tigers will challenge the Wildcats with their defense. They haven’t allowed a single opponent to score more than 62 points in a game this season. But K-State is also the best defense that LSU has played. Both of these teams have been turnover prone, so the side that scores most in transition could easily walk away with a victory.
This should be a close game. I like K-State if things go down to the wire. The Wildcats have already won a back-and-forth game that went to overtime this week. LSU has not been challenged.
K-State 68, LSU 66
Last game prediction: K-State 67, Nevada 64
Season record: 5-0.
Season record against the spread: 3-2.