K-State Wildcats vs. UTRGV Vaqueros: Basketball lineups, TV, time, odds, prediction

Kellis Robinett
Charlie Riedel/AP

THE DETAILS

When/where: 8 p.m. Monday, Bramlage Coliseum

TV: ESPN+ (streaming service)

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

Betting line: K-State by 17 1/2

Over/Under: 147 1/2

STARTING LINEUPS

P

No.

UTRGV

Ht.

Yr.

PPG

F

15

Daylen Williams

6-8

Jr.

0.0

F

10

Dima Zdor

6-10

Sr.

0.0

G

13

Sherman Brashear

6-5

So.

0.0

G

4

Will Johnston

6-3

So.

0.0

G

1

Justin Johnson

6-6

Sr.

0.0

P

No.

Kansas State

Ht.

Yr.

PPG

F

23

Abayomi Iyiola

6-10

Sr.

0.0

F

25

Ismael Massoud

6-9

Jr.

0.0

F

11

Keyontae Johnson

6-6

Sr.

0.0

G

5

Cam Carter

6-3

So.

0.0

G

1

Markquis Nowell

5-8

Sr.

0.0

About UTRGV (0-0): K-State fans will recognize the coach who leads the Vaqueros onto the court at Bramlage Coliseum on Monday. Head coach Matt Figger used to be an assistant with the Wildcats under Frank Martin. This is his second season at UTRGV. The team finished with a record of 8-23 last year. This season could also be a struggle, as the Vaqueros were picked to finish last in the WAC preseason poll this.

About Kansas State (0-0): The Jerome Tang era will officially begin at tipoff on Monday. K-State will debut a new coaching staff and a rebuilt roster against UTRGV. The Wildcats looked good in their lone dress rehearsal last week when they defeated Washburn 76-49 in an exhibition. Cam Carter led all scorers in that game with 13 points and Nae’Qwan Tomlin scored 11. Tang played everyone on the roster last week, but he has been considering redshirts with a few players. Fans should expect a smaller rotation in the season-opener.

Prediction

The Texas-Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros should provide a more challenging test for K-State than Washburn, but this is still a mismatch. UTRGV only won eight games last year and was picked to finish last in the WAC this season. K-State is still learning how to play Tang’s style of basketball, and the Wildcats aren’t the prettiest team on offense. So no one should expect perfection in the season-opener. But K-State has more size, depth and talent. It should be able to win this game comfortably.

K-State 77, UTRGV 57.

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