Kansas State Wildcats vs West Virginia Mountaineers Prediction, 3/4/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas State Wildcats vs West Virginia Mountaineers

Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023

Location: WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV

TV: ESPN+

The West Virginia Mountaineers (17-13) host the Kansas State Wildcats (23-7) at WVU Coliseum on Saturday.

The Kansas State Wildcats faced off with Oklahoma and went home with a win by a final score of 85-69 in their last game. In the matter of fouls, the Wildcats ended up with 14 and Oklahoma totaled 16 fouls. They also made 8 of 20 tries from beyond the perimeter. Oklahoma finished shooting 84.6% from the charity stripe by making 11 of their 13 shots. In addition, Oklahoma grabbed 22 rebounds (4 offensive, 18 defensive), but wasn't able to record a block. Oklahoma totaled 15 assists and had 6 steals in the matchup. When discussing defense, Kansas State allowed their opponent to shoot 43.1% from the floor on 25 of 58 shooting. They also dished out 22 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 13 turnovers and having 8 steals. When talking about grabbing rebounds, they earned a total of 33 with 9 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Wildcats converted 12 of their 19 shots for a percentage of 63.2%. Kansas State ended with a 53.3% field goal percentage (32 out of 60) and knocked down 9 out of their 19 shots from beyond the arc.

Nae'Qwan Tomlin is someone who was a major factor in this contest. He walked away with 19 points on 8 of 9 shooting. He saw the court for 25 mins and also grabbed 5 rebounds. He finished the game at 88.9% from the field but had no assists when the game ended.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Best Bets Picks

Kansas State will take the court with a mark of 23-7 so far this season. They turn it over 14.0 times per game and as a unit are committing 17.6 personal fouls per game. As a team, Kansas State is pulling down 35.5 rebounds per contest and has 506 dimes for the year, which is 12th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Wildcats are shooting 34.2% on shots beyond the perimeter (209 of 612) and 74.8% from the free throw line. They have an average of 75.6 points per game (94th in the country) while shooting 45.4% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Wildcats are able to force 15.0 turnovers per game and they draw 18.8 personal fouls. They are conceding 29.5% on three-point shots while they are 123rd in college basketball in points per game allowed (68.0). The Wildcats defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 41.7% (713 of 1,710) and they surrender 33.5 rebounds per game as a team. They are 232nd in college basketball in giving up assists to their opponents with 402 conceded so far this year.

The last time they took the court, the West Virginia Mountaineers went home victorious with a score of 72-69 against Iowa State. The Mountaineers earned 22 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 29 for this game. They also turned the ball over 11 times, while getting 5 steals in this game. Iowa State was called for 25 fouls for the game which took the Mountaineers to the charity stripe for 23 tries. They were able to bury 19 of the free throw tries for a clip of 82.6%. Pertaining to 3-point attempts, West Virginia knocked down 9 out of 27 tries (33.3%). Overall, the Mountaineers finished shooting 22 out of 50 from the field which gave them a percentage of 44.0%. The Mountaineers allowed Iowa State to make 24 out of their 52 tries from the field which gave them a percentage of 46.2% in this matchup. They went 38.1% from distance by shooting 8 out of 21 and ended up going 13 out of 18 from the charity stripe (72.2%). In relation to rebounding, West Virginia permitted Iowa State to snag 23 in total (5 offensive).

Erik Stevenson ended up being a factor for the Mountaineers in this game. He buried 8 out of 17 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 47.1%, and totaled 2 rebounds. He recorded 23 points in his 29 mins on the court and had 1 assist in the matchup.

West Virginia has a win-loss mark of 17-13 this season. The Mountaineers commit 19.0 fouls every game while shooting 73.4% from the charity stripe. Their rate of assisting teammates is at 13.2 times per contest (172nd in college basketball) and they are turning it over 13.0 times per game. West Virginia has accounted for 2,290 points for the season (76.3 per game) and they average 33.9 rebounds per contest. As an offensive team, the Mountaineers are shooting 45.3% from the field, which ranks them 151st in college basketball.

The West Virginia defense allows 33.9% on 3-point shots (191 of 563) and their opponents are connecting on 72.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have allowed 12.1 assists and 30.9 boards per contest, which ranks 130th and 26th in those categories on the defensive end. The Mountaineers on the defensive end are ranked 203rd in the country in PPG allowed with 70.8. They are forcing their opponents into 14.6 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 44.7% from the floor (251st in college hoops).

Who will win tonight's NCAA basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kansas State

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here