The Kansas State Wildcats had to sweat it out, but they are back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time in three seasons. Kansas State finished at just 20-13 but due to the strength of the Big 12, got into the Big Dance. They will now face another team that is back in March Madness for the first time in a few seasons, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Wake Forest posted a winning record for the first time in three seasons under Danny Manning and like Kansas State, finished with a mediocre record but got into the tourney by virtue of the strength of its conference.
Don’t miss the hardwood action from the UD Arena at 9:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. Catch every moment of the game live on truTV. We will have NCAA basketball odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every other First Four college basketball matchup.
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Wake Forest (PK) vs. Kansas State
Kansas State finished the season with four straight covers and likely got into the tournament thanks to its win over Baylor in the Big 12 Tournament. Overall, the Wildcats were a pretty solid team away from Manhattan, finishing the season with an 11-6 ATS mark away from home. The under has cashed in five of their last seven games.
Wake Forest had a very effective offense this season and that led to a lot of games that finished over the total. Over had a sterling record of 21-8-1 in Demon Deacons’ games this season and six of their last seven finished over as well. Wake is just 3-3 ATS and 2-4 SU overall in its last six non-home games though.
Key Stat
The Demon Deacons had one of the worst defenses in college basketball this season. Wake Forest had a defense that was outside the Top-300 in the country, allowing 77.9 PPG and that defense really faltered down the stretch. In its last seven games, only once did it hold an opponent under its season average and that was lowly Pittsburgh.
Even Boston College could score on this defense. The Eagles attempted 17 more shots than the Demon Deacons did in the first round of the ACC Tournament and if BC wasn’t BC, that could have been the end for Wake Forest. That’s good news for a Kansas State team that struggled to create offense at times in the Big 12.
Matchup to Watch
Rebounding has been a major issue for the Wildcats all season long. Kansas State averaged just 32.7 rebounds a game, one of the worst totals in the country, and was frequently harassed by bigger, longer teams.
That makes the matchup with John Collins all the more scary. Collins is a physical freak who started coming into his own this season and came a few rebounds away from averaging a double-double on the season. He is exactly the kind of player that can punish the Wildcats in the paint.
DJ Johnson and Dean Wade will likely be matched up against him and need to be able to slow him down. If they can get Collins in foul trouble, that would be big.
Free College Basketball ATS Picks
Bruce Weber is one of the more underrated coaches in the country. He was a successful coach at Illinois, taking the Fighting Illini to the NCAA Tournament six times in nine years, and has been solid at Kansas State as well, making it here three times in five seasons. Weber is far more seasoned than Manning is and that will be a factor to watch.
Look for Kansas State to edge out a close win here over Wake Forest. The Wildcats are great at getting other teams to adhere to their style of play and will slow the game down enough to squeak by the Demon Deacons.
College Basketball Odds: Kansas State 66, Wake Forest 64
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