K-State Wildcats vs. Milwaukee Panthers: Basketball lineups, time, TV and prediction
The details
When/where: 7 p.m. Friday at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas.
TV/radio: ESPN+ (streaming service, subscription required); KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City.
Projected lineups
P | No. | Milwaukee | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 12 | Amir Allen | 6-8 | Sr. | 3.2* |
F | 5 | C.J. Wilbourn | 6-7 | So. | 4.4* |
G | 13 | Courtney Brown | 6-7 | So. | 4.6* |
G | 24 | Josh Thomas | 6-4 | Sr. | 10.2* |
G | 3 | Te’Jon Lucas | 6-2 | Sr. | 14.6* |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 1 | Kaosi Ezeagu | 6-10 | So. | 7.5 |
F | 11 | Antonio Gordon | 6-9 | So. | 4.0 |
G | 00 | Mike McGuirl | 6-2 | Sr. | 15.2 |
G | 3 | DaJuan Gordon | 6-4 | So. | 10.6 |
G | 24 | Nijel Pack | 6-0 | Fr. | 10.0 |
*Stats from last season.
About Milwaukee (0-0): There’s not much to say about the Panthers right now. Milwaukee hasn’t played a game yet because of COVID-19 issues and will open its season on Friday against K-State. The Panthers are coming off a 12-win season and a seventh-place finish in the Horizon League under coach Patrick Baldwin.
About Kansas State (1-4): The Wildcats are trying to bounce back from one of their worst losses in recent history, an 81-68 defeat against Fort Hays State. Bruce Weber’s team is off to a disappointing start overall. Their only victory came at home against UMKC, by four points. Mike McGuirl is having an encouraging senior season, as he leads the team with 15.2 points. It will be interesting to see if Kaosi Ezeagu and Montavious Murphy are able to play in this game. They were both sidelined against Fort Hays with minor injuries.
Prediction: Believe it or not, this is an excellent bounce-back opportunity for the Wildcats.
Yes, they have played poorly this season. Yes, they just got smoked by a Division II team at home. Yes, there is an incredible amount of pessimism surrounding K-State at the moment.
Forget all that for a moment. None of those factors should prevent Weber’s team from picking up its second win of the year on Friday.
If ever there was a time for the Wildcats to play with maximum effort and emotion, this is it. Their pride will be questioned if they don’t.
Milwaukee is also far from an intimidating opponent. The Panthers (ranked 285th nationally by Ken Pomeroy) ended last season on a six-game losing streak and will be trying to figure things out on the fly against K-State while the Wildcats will be playing their sixth game together.
K-State isn’t good enough to take any opponent for granted, so another loss is possible here. But it should have something to prove and finally take care of business as a home favorite.
Kansas State 69, Milwaukee 63.
This story was originally published December 11, 2020 at 6:00 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats vs. Milwaukee Panthers: Basketball lineups, time, TV and prediction."