K-State Wildcats vs. Nebraska Huskers: Basketball lineups, TV, time, score prediction
.jpg "Kansas State forward Kaosi Ezeagu, left, gestures during a conversation with coach Bruce Weber during the second half of the team’s NCAA college basketball game against Marquette on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2021, in Manhattan, Kan. (AP Photo/Nick Krug)")
The details
When/where: 5 p.m. Sunday at Pinnacle Bank Arena, Lincoln, Nebraska.
TV/radio: Big Ten Network; KKGQ (92.3 FM) in Wichita, KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City.
Projected lineups
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 1 | Kaosi Ezeagu | 6-10 | Jr. | 7.4 |
F | 25 | Ismael Massoud | 6-9 | So. | 8.0 |
G | 3 | Mark Smith | 6-4 | Sr. | 10.0 |
G | 24 | Nijel Pack | 6-0 | So. | 14.4 |
G | 1 | Markquis Nowell | 5-8 | Jr. | 13.2 |
P | No. | Nebraska | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 13 | Derrick Walker | 6-9 | Jr. | 9.1 |
F | 11 | Lat Mayen | 6-9 | Jr. | 4.6 |
G | 30 | Keisei Tominaga | 6-2 | So. | 7.7 |
G | 1 | Alonzo Verge | 6-3 | Sr. | 16.0 |
G | 5 | Bryce McGowens | 6-7 | Fr. | 16.2 |
About Nebraska (5-6): The Huskers have lost four consecutive games since starting the season 5-2. Their losses have come against North Carolina State, Indiana, Michigan and Auburn. Aside from a quadruple overtime loss to the Wolf Pack, they all came by lopsided margins. Fred Hoiberg is in his third season at Nebraska, but he hasn’t yet duplicated the success he previously found at Iowa State. The Huskers have never won more than seven games in a season under Hoiberg. They like to play fast season, with an average possession length of 15.1 seconds. Alonzo Verge and Bryce McGowens are their two main scorers.
About Kansas State (6-3): The Wildcats have won four of their past five games, with the only loss coming by a single point against Marquette last week. K-State wasn’t at full strength for most of those games, but that should change on Sunday when Nijel Pack, Selton Miguel and Mike McGuirl are all expected to play against the Huskers. Transfer point guard Markquis Nowell has stepped up without Pack and now they may play together in the same starting lineup. Mark Smith has played a valuable role as a rebounder in recent games and now leads K-State with an average of 7.8 boards per game.
Prediction: This is a game K-State needs to win if the Wildcats hope to contend for a spot in the NCAA Tournament later this season.
The Huskers are one of the worst basketball teams in the Big Ten, but they are still one of the best opponents on K-State’s nonconference schedule.
Nebraska will be the fifth well-known opponent K-State has played this year. After this, the Wildcats play home games against McNeese State and Morgan State. Then Big 12 play begins. This is the last chance for Bruce Weber’s team to boost its resume before January arrives.
So far, K-State has a quality victory over Wichita State but not much else.
The Wildcats can add a road win over Nebraska to the list if they play good defense on Sunday. The Huskers are much more competitive when they score at least 70 points (5-2) than when they get held below that number (0-4). K-State has held all but two of its opponents below 70 points this season, so that seems doable from the Wildcats.
If K-State can play this game at its pace and keep the scoring down, it will have the advantage as these former conference rivals play for the first time since 2011.
K-State 66, Nebraska 62.
This story was originally published December 19, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats vs. Nebraska Huskers: Basketball lineups, TV, time, score prediction."