Kansas State vs. New Orleans: Basketball game preview, TV, time, odds and prediction
Jerome Tang and the Kansas State Wildcats will begin the 2024-25 basketball season when they take on the New Orleans Privateers at 7 p.m. on Tuesday inside Bramlage Coliseum.
Here’s everything you need to know before tipoff, including a score prediction:
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan
Stream: ESPN+
Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita
Betting line: K-State by 26.5
Over/Under: 151.5
STARTING LINEUPS
P | No. | New Orleans | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 22 | Kerwin Prince | 6-8 | Sr. | N/A |
G | 5 | James White | 6-5 | Sr. | N/A |
G | 13 | Jamond Vincent | 6-4 | Sr. | N/A |
G | 2 | Jah Short | 6-3 | So. | N/A |
G | 1 | JR Jacobs | 5-10 | So. | N/A |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 14 | Achor Achor | 6-9 | Sr. | N/A |
F | 1 | David N’Guessan | 6-9 | Sr. | N/A |
G | 33 | Coleman Hawkins | 6-10 | Sr. | N/A |
G | 11 | Brendan Hausen | 6-4 | Jr. | N/A |
G | 3 | CJ Jones | 6-5 | Jr. | N/A |
About New Orleans (0-0)
The Privateers are coming off a season in which they went 10-23 and finished near the bottom of the Southland Conference standings. Stacy Hollowell is in his first year as coach. New Orleans predominantly uses a small lineup that features four guards and one forward.
The Privateers played an exhibition game against Southern Miss and took the game to overtime before losing 105-102. James White led New Orleans with 23 points in that contest.
About Kansas State (0-0)
The Wildcats will officially debut a roster that features nine new players on Tuesday at Bramlage Coliseum. Fans got a preview of what to expect last ween when they beat Fort Hays State in an exhibition game. But this one is for real.
Coleman Hawkins, CJ Jones and Brendan Hausen were all impressive during the preseason. It will be interesting to see how much Achor Achor and Max Jones get to play in this game. Jones is working his way back from a toe injury, but he is one of the team’s best players when healthy. Achor started at forward against Fort Hays State, but he has been away from the team because of a family emergency over the past few days. For that reason, Tang said his playing time will be unpredictable in the season-opener.
K-State game prediction
Kansas State wants to win this game with style points.
That type of thing hasn’t mattered to Jerome Tang in the past, but it is important for the Wildcats now that victory margin is used to determine a team’s NET ranking.
Winning by 30 can help a team reach the NCAA Tournament. Winning by five can hurt a team’s postseason resume.
Last season, the Wildcats won seven games in overtime, including a pair of contests they were supposed to win easily against North Alabama and Oral Roberts. All those close wins ended up hurting K-State in March.
“It’s definitely on our mind,” Tang said. “We didn’t think about it last year, and it hurt us. Our wins hurt us. Wins can hurt you if you don’t do what the numbers say you’re supposed to do. We actually even talked to the team about it.”
With that in mind, I expect the Wildcats to pull away from the Privateers for a drama-free victory.
New Orleans isn’t afraid to play fast, which should help K-State get extra looks in this game. The Wildcats also possess a significant size advantage inside, and they should be able to exploit it with Coleman Hawkins, David N’Guessan and other forwards.
K-State 88, New Orleans 60
Record last season: 25-9
Record ATS last season: 17-17
Record O/U last season: 23-11