The No. 3 seed Kansas State Wildcats (23-9, 11-8 Big 12) face off against the No. 14 seed Montana State Bobcats (25-9, 18-3 Big Sky) Friday at Greensboro Coliseum in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Montana State beat the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks 85-78 at Idaho Central Arena on March 8 in the semifinals of the Big Sky Conference Tourney, their eighth consecutive win. RaeQuan Battle led the way with 25 points.
Kansas State fell short in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Conference Tourney on March 9 at T-Mobile Center, falling to the TCU Horned Frogs 80-67. Desi Sills had 14 points and four blocks in defeat, leading the team.
The Bobcats have been led this season by Battle, who is averaging 17.4 points per game. Meanwhile, Jubrile Belo is grabbing 6.1 rebounds per game, and Darius Brown II is dishing 4.8 assists. Keyontae Johnson (17.7 ppg) and Markquis Nowell (16.8) have powered the Wildcats on offense.
Johnson also has pulled down 7.0 rebounds per game, while Nowell has distributed 7.6 assists per game, third-most in the nation. In the last 10 games, Montana State is 9-1 with an average margin of +5.5 (72.7-67.2). Kansas State has split the last 10 (5-5), scoring 71.8 points per game on average while holding opponents to 70.6 (+1.2 margin).
BOBCATS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Sam Lecholat: 2.4 | 6.2 | -3.8
Points per game:
Caleb Fuller: 9.4 | 6.8 | +2.6
Rebounds per game:
Darius Brown II: 6.6 | 4.5 | +2.1
Assists per game:
Robert Ford III: 1.2 | 1.9 | -0.7
WILDCATS HOT/COLD
(Last Five | Season Average | Differential)
Points + Rebounds + Assists:
Cam Carter: 14.2 | 10.9 | +3.3
Abayomi Iyiola: 3.2 | 6.1 | -2.9
Rebounds per game:
Keyontae Johnson: 4.8 | 7.0 | -2.2
SportsTips’ College Basketball Pick:
Kansas State -7.5 (-115)
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*Odds correct at time of publication, courtesy of BetMGM.
