K-State Wildcats vs. Utah Utes: Big 12 basketball game time, TV, odds and prediction
The Kansas State men’s basketball team will try to bounce back from a road loss against BYU when it stays away from home and plays the Utah Utes on Monday.
Here’s everything you need to know before tipoff, including a score prediction:
When: 8 p.m. Monday
Where: Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City, Utah
TV: ESPN2
Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita
Betting line: Utah by 1.5
Over/under: 146.5.
STARTING LINEUPS
P | No. | Utah | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 10 | Jake Wahlin | 6-10 | So. | 6.3 |
F | 2 | Ezra Ausar | 6-8 | Jr. | 11.0 |
F | 34 | Lawson Lovering | 7-1 | Sr. | 8.6 |
G | 25 | Miek Sharavjamts | 6-9 | Jr. | 7.0 |
G | 55 | Gabe Madsen | 6-6 | Sr. | 15.6 |
P | No. | Kansas State | Ht. | Yr. | PPG |
F | 33 | Coleman Hawkins | 6-10 | Sr. | 10.8 |
F | 1 | David N’Guessan | 6-9 | Sr. | 12.8 |
G | 2 | Max Jones | 6-4 | Sr. | 9.7 |
G | 11 | Brendan Hausen | 6-4 | Jr. | 11.8 |
G | 0 | Dug McDaniel | 5-11 | Jr. | 11.4 |
About Utah (14-11, 6-8 Big 12)
The Utes are coming off a 74-67 victory over Kansas in which Gabe Madsen scored 24 points. Utah has been hard to beat all season at home, as they own a 13-3 record at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.
Madsen is the team’s leading scorer, followed by Ezra Ausar. The Utes play a big starting lineup, which makes them hard to score against in the paint. But they are not as stingy against the 3. It is the same story on offense. The Utes make 54.8% of their shots from within the arc but only 33.7% from distance.
About Kansas State (13-12, 7-7 Big 12)
The Wildcats are coming off an 80-65 loss against the BYU Cougars in which Dug McDaniel and Brendan Hausen both had strong offensive outings but received little help from their teammates.
K-State was on a six-game winning streak before that setback. The Wildcats will look to get back to their winning ways, and inch closer to the NCAA Tournament, on Monday against Utah. McDaniel has been on a roll for the Wildcats lately, as he has averaged nearly 18 points in his past seven games.
K-State game prediction
Kansas State’s winning streak came to an end on Saturday against BYU, but its hopes of reaching the NCAA Tournament live on.
That makes a Monday game against Utah important for the Wildcats. They badly need a bounce-back victory to remain in the conversation for an at-large berth into the March Madness.
On paper, things have lined up well for K-State to do exactly that.
Utah is coming off the high of beating Kansas. K-State is coming off the low of losing to BYU. It’s possible the Wildcats are catching the Utes at a good time. They are, without a doubt, the more motivated team going into this game.
But winning this matchup will not be easy. It is considered a tossup by oddsmakers and the Utes play their best at home. K-State has also been on the road since Friday. For that reason, Utah may benefit from a larger home-court advantage than usual.
The keys to this game will be paint defense and 3-point shooting on offense.
K-State struggled to defend the paint against BYU and allowed the Cougars to make 21 of 32 from 2-point range. But the Wildcats had to worry about BYU shooting from the outside. That shouldn’t be the case against Utah.
Jerome Tang’s should be able to pack it in on defense. If that happens, and K-State makes a few 3-pointers to spread out Utah’s big defense, I expect K-State to pick up a win during its road swing through the Mountain Time Zone.
K-State 75, Utah 69
Last game prediction: BYU 85, K-State 78
Actual score: BYU 80, K-State 65
Season record: 17-8
Season record ATS: 12-13
Season record O/U: 13-12
This story was originally published February 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "K-State Wildcats vs. Utah Utes: Big 12 basketball game time, TV, odds and prediction."