The No. 14 West Virginia Mountaineers travel to Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan for a showdown with the struggling Kansas State Wildcats, who are still a 1-win team in conference play. Check out our preview of this game below.
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Betting Preview for the West Virginia Mountaineers vs Kansas State Wildcats NCAA College Basketball Game on January 23 2021
Where: Bramlage Coliseum
When: Saturday, January 23, 2021, 4:00 PM ET
Line: West Virginia Mountaineers (odds) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (odds) – view all 2021 NCAAB lines
TV Broadcast: ESPN
Betting on the West Virginia Mountaineers (odds)
Record: 9-4 Overall / 2-3 Conference
The Mountaineers are finally going to see action again after a 13-game layoff. In their most previous game, the Mountaineers suffered a 72-70 home loss to the No. 4 Texas Longhorns. Their last win was on Jan. 4 in Stillwater against the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 87-84. West Virginia plays at quite a frenetic pace. Bob Huggins’ team is averaging 64.0 field goal attempts per game, 11th in the nation. It’s just that the Mountaineers are not efficient with their possessions. They are averaging 74.9 points per game on just 41.6 percent shooting from the field. West Virginia can afford to miss many of its shots because the Mountaineers are so great in getting the ball back with their elite offensive rebounding. The Mountaineers are fourth in the nation with 13.0 offensive rebounds per game and 14th in offensive rebounding percentage (35.3). Kansas State is not even a good rebounding team as it is second-last in the Big 12 with just 32.6 rebounds per game and last with 22.0 defensive rebounds per contest.
The over is 5-0 in West Virginia’s last five games on the road.
Betting on the Kansas State Wildcats (odds)
Record: 5-10 Overall / 1-6 Conference
Kansas State has yet to win in 2021. The Wildcats are 0-5 straight up since the start of the year, and those losses were mostly ugly, to say the least. Over that five-game stretch, the Wildcats lost by single-digit just once, though they were able to cover the spread twice. The last time they were on the court, the Wildcats suffered a 76-50 road loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in Norman on Jan. 19. The Big 12 has been incredibly tough this season, but at least Kansas State has secured at least one win in conference play, and that’s it’s victory over the Iowa State Cyclones in Ames back in December. There isn’t a lot to like about the Wildcats this season, but they at least are trying to be unselfish on offense. They are currently 29th in the nation with a .606 assist/field goal made ratio. Mike McGuirl leads Kansas State in scoring with 11.7 points per game on 36.8 percent shooting from the field.
Kansas State is 3-0 against the spread in its last three games against West Virginia.
Writer’s Prediction
West Virginia wins, 77-63.
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