The Rhode Island Rams and the Kansas State Wildcats meet Monday in college basketball action from John Gray Gymnasium. Rhode Island is 1-2 so far this year following a win over Stony Brook in their last game. As for Kansas State, they’re 3-0 and coming off a win over UMKC in their most recent outing. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Rhode Island took a tough loss to Quinnipiac in their opener. The Rams were down three points after the first half and ended up with a 67-62 defeat. Rhode Island lost again in game two, this time 70-66 to Texas State.
The Rams got their first win of the year on Tuesday versus Stony Brook. Rhode Island posted a 34-30 advantage in the first half and a 40-34 edge in the second for a 74-64 win. Tyler Stephenson-Moore led the team with 16 points.
Over on the Kansas State side, they had a pretty easy opener matchup against UTRGV and won 93-59. In game two against California, the Wildcats kept it going. Kansas State was up 36-21 by the break and cruised to the 63-54 win.
Kansas State posted another strong showing Thursday versus UMKC. The Wildcats were up 41-25 at halftime, then kept the pace in the second half for a 69-53 win. Keyontae Johnson led the team on 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists.
PICK: I’m going with Kansas State. The Wildcats have three solid outings in the books so far, and they’re generally doing a nice job on defense. Kansas State shot 41.4 percent from the field in their win over UMKC with 14-of-17 (82.4 percent) from the line, 34 rebounds and 18 team assists. Rhode Island has gotten past 66 points just once this year (though it’s a small sample size) and I don’t think the Rams will have the legs to cover in this one.