K-State Wildcats vs. Oklahoma State Cowboys: Basketball lineups, TV, time, odds, pick

THE DETAILS

When: 6 p.m. Tuesday

Where: Bramlage Coliseum, Manhattan

TV: ESPNU

Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita

Betting line: K-State by 5

Over/Under: 138

STARTING LINEUPS

About Oklahoma State (9-6, 1-2):

The Cowboys are coming off a 56-46 home loss against the Texas Longhorns. But they were more competitive in their other two Big 12 games, falling by two on the road against Kansas and then defeating West Virginia. Bryce Thompson is the guard who makes the Cowboys go, averaging 12.1 points. Avery Anderson has also been good in the backcourt this season. Mike Boynton’s team is capable of playing games at a slow pace and winning with defense, as it hasn’t allowed more than 69 points in a Big 12 game this season.

About Kansas State (14-1, 3-0):

The Wildcats checked in at No. 11 in the Associated Press Top 25 on Monday after spending every other week of the season unranked. K-State made a huge jump after starting conference play 3-0 with wins over West Virginia, Texas and Baylor. Jerome Tang’s team has been scoring at a crazy pace in recent games, as it dropped 116 points on the Longhorns and then 97 on the Bears. Markquis Nowell has topped 30 points in each of his past two games. Keyontae Johnson still leads the team in scoring for the season. Ismael Massoud and Abayomi Iyiola will once again be asked to play meaningful minutes as David N’Guessan is expected to be out for a while with an injury.

Prediction

Now we find out how the Kansas State men’s basketball team handles life in the Big 12 as a favorite.

The Wildcats won as underdogs in each of their first three conference games. But it is now Oklahoma State that is looking to pull off an upset against highly ranked K-State.

That personality swap could have an impact on this game. So could the crowd at Bramlage Coliseum, which is expected to be the biggest and loudest of the season.

K-State has been itching to play in front a big home crowd all season and it will be highly motivated to win while playing inside the Octagon of Doom.

Oklahoma State will make that a challenge, though. Unlike Texas and Baylor, the Cowboys seem capable of slowing down the Wildcats with their defense. Big 12 teams are averaging 61.6 points against them this season. They held the Longhorns to 56 points a few days after they scored 103 against the Wildcats.

Bryce Thompson and Avery Anderson have also played well against K-State many times in the past. They will not lack confidence heading into this game, even against K-State’s rebuilt roster.

Winning games in the Big 12 is never easy, and Oklahoma State will remind K-State of exactly that on Tuesday. If the Cowboys successfully slow the pace of this game and prevent the Wildcats from making more than 50% of their shots it should be a close contest until the end.

That being said, I’m not betting against Nowell or the Wildcats until their offense cools off.

K-State 73, Oklahoma State 67

Last game prediction: Baylor 78, K-State 73

Season record: 12-3.

Season record against the spread: 10-5.