Kansas State Wildcats vs West Virginia Mountaineers Prediction, 1/9/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas State Wildcats vs West Virginia Mountaineers

Date: Tuesday, January 9, 2024

Location: WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, WV

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The West Virginia Mountaineers (5-9) host the Kansas State Wildcats (11-3) at WVU Coliseum on Tuesday.

The Kansas State Wildcats played UCF and took home the win by a score of 77-52 in their last game. Kansas State ended the contest having earned a 43.1% field goal percentage (25 out of 58) and made 9 of their 24 3-point attempts. From the charity stripe, the Wildcats converted 18 of 23 shots for a percentage of 78.3%. With regard to rebounding, they earned a total of 36 with 12 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 18 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 12 turnovers and having 9 steals. When it comes to defending, Kansas State allowed 33.8% from the floor on 22 out of 65 shooting. UCF totaled 12 dimes and had 7 steals in this contest. In addition, UCF had 34 rebounds (15 offensive, 19 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. UCF shot 60.0% at the charity stripe by converting 3 of their 5 attempts. They made 5 out of their 21 shots from three-point range. Regarding personal fouls, the Wildcats left the arena with 12 and UCF totaled 20 personal fouls.

Tylor Perry is one guy who was a major contributor in the game. He accumulated 25 points on 7 out of 13 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 35 minutes and snagged 1 board. He went 53.8% from the field and earned 5 dimes.

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Kansas State enters this matchup with a mark of 11-3 this year. They average 75.9 points per contest (160th in Division 1) while connecting on 42.9% from the field. The Wildcats are connecting on 30.5% on 3-pointers (106 of 347) and 72.9% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Kansas State is pulling down 40.9 boards per contest and has racked up 216 assists for the campaign, which is 129th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They turn it over 14.2 times per game and as a basketball team they commit 15.4 fouls per game.

On defense, the Wildcats are forcing 13.1 turnovers every game while drawing 18.8 fouls. They currently rank 85th in college hoops in giving up assists to the opposition with 167 relinquished this year. The Wildcats defense is allowing a FG percentage of 40.3% (350 of 869) and they surrender 34.9 boards per contest as a squad. They are relinquishing 33.1% on 3-pointers and they are 111th in college hoops in PPG allowed (68.1).

When they last played, the West Virginia Mountaineers took a defeat with a final score of 89-55 when they faced Houston. The Mountaineers corralled 19 defensive rebounds and 9 offensive boards totaling 28 in the game. They turned it over 10 times, while recording 3 steals in this matchup. Houston was called for 19 personal fouls for the game which took the Mountaineers to the charity stripe for 20 attempts. They were able to knock down 15 of the free throws for a rate of 75.0%. When talking about three-point attempts, West Virginia buried 4 of their 23 attempts (17.4%). When the final whistle blew, the Mountaineers finished shooting 18 out of 56 from the floor which had them at 32.1%. The Mountaineers permitted Houston to bury 34 of their 64 attempts from the floor which gave them a rate of 53.1% for the game. They finished 50.0% from 3-point land by connecting on 9 out of 18 and walked away from this one shooting 12 of 14 from the charity stripe (85.7%). In the matter of cleaning up the glass, West Virginia allowed Houston to pull down 38 in total (9 on the offensive side).

Pat Suemnick was important for the Mountaineers for the contest. He totaled 12 points in his 27 mins of playing time, but wrapped up this contest with no dimes. He made 6 of 8 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 75.0%, and added 5 rebounds.

West Virginia has a win-loss mark of 5-9 so far this season. The Mountaineers have committed 14.0 fouls every game and they go 73.0% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 12.6 times per contest (251st in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.4 times per game. West Virginia has scored 943 pts so far this year (67.4 per game) and they collect 37.5 rebounds per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Mountaineers are hitting on 40.4% from the floor, which ranks them 335th in the country.

The Mountaineers on the defensive side of the court are 167th in the nation in points per game surrendered with 70.9. They are forcing 9.3 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 41.6% from the floor (112th in D-1). The West Virginia defense concedes 33.7% on 3-point shots (120 of 356) and opponents are connecting on 69.9% of their foul shots. They surrender 13.3 dimes and 37.6 boards every game, which has them ranked 225th and 296th in the nation.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kansas State

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