Kansas State vs UTRGV 11/7/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
UTRGV Vaqueros (0-0) vs. Kansas State Wildcats (0-0)
November 7, 2022 9:00 pm EDT
The Line: Kansas State Wildcats -19.5 / UTRGV Vaqueros +19.5; Over/Under: +148
(Get latest betting odds)
The UTRGV Vaqueros and the Kansas State Wildcats meet in college basketball action from the Bramlage Coliseum on Monday night.
The UTRGV Vaqueros will look to bounce back after a disappointing 2021-22 season in year one under coach Matt Figger, finishing 8-23 overall including a 3-15 mark in WAC conference play. The Vaqueros lose one of their top scorers from last year in Marek Nelson (10.4 PPG, 4 RPG) as well as Xavier Johnson (9.6 PPG), but do bring back their top scorer from last year in Justin Johnson, who had 17.7 PPG and 6.7 RPG to lead UTRGV’s returning unit.
The Kansas State Wildcats will try to rebound from a frustrating 2021-22 season where the Wildcats finished at 14-17 overall, including a 6-12 mark in Big 12 conference play. The Wildcats entered the Big 12 tournament as the 8-seed, getting bounced in the first round by West Virginia, ending their season. The Wildcats have to replace two of their top guys from last year in Nijel Pack (17.4 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.2 APG) and Mark Smith (12.7 PPG, 8.4 RPG) but do have a lot of top-end help coming to the cause. Markquis Nowell is back after logging 12.4 PPG and 5 APG while Desi Sills had 12.6 PPG for Arkansas State and Tykei Greene had 14 PPG and 8.1 RPG for Stony Brook. Keyontae Johnson also transfers in from Florida with the hopes that he has a clean bill of health after sitting for much of the last two years with heart issues. Only time will tell if Bruce Weber’s bunch can rally together, get cohesive and make a run back to the NCAA tournament.
UTRGV is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 road games and 6-2 ATS in their last 8 Monday games while the under is 5-1 in their last 6 road games. Kansas State is 16-34-3 ATS in their last 53 home games and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games overall while the over is 10-1 in their last 11 games overall.
I get the case to be made for the underdog here, but I’m not looking to get in front of K-State right now as this roster looks loaded with potential. There just wasn’t a whole lot that went right for the Vaqueros last year and I don’t think it’s going to get easier to start this season. Give me Kansas State in a beatdown.
