The West Virginia Mountaineers are on the road to take on the Kansas State Wildcats on Tuesday, March 3.
This is the second matchup between these squads, with West Virginia winning the first 59-54.
The Mountaineers are 1.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook. The game total is set at 142.5 points.
Here’s my prediction, preview and pick for Tuesday’s West Virginia vs. Kansas State matchup.
West Virginia vs. Kansas State prediction, preview
West Virginia is a potential bubble team for the NCAA Tournament. It’s 17-12 overall and 8-8 in the Big 12 with two games remaining. The first of two is against Kansas State, who is 11-18 overall and 2-14 in conference.
A victory against the Wildcats doesn’t do much for the Mountaineers. It’s an expected win, so they’ll need to win the last two regular season games and play well in the Big 12 Tournament to have a shot at the Big Dance.
West Virginia has been wildly inconsistent since its 5-0 start. It hasn’t won more than two games in a row, but it also has key victories over No. 22 Kansas and No. 19 BYU. The Mountaineers enter this contest after defeating BYU, but they had lost three straight prior to this. Two of the three losses came against two of the three worst Big 12 teams.
There isn’t much to say positively about Kansas State either. The team has lost three straight and nine of its last 10. The only win came against Baylor at home. Kansas State is at home for this matchup, which gives the team a real advantage over West Virginia. The Wildcats are 9-8 at home vs. 1-9 on the road.
West Virginia vs. Kansas State pick, best bet
Kansas State has home-court advantage, but it’s not enough to overlook the team’s season-long misery. The Wildcats are 2-14 in conference, having only beaten Baylor and Utah. West Virginia won the first matchup by five and should win again on the road.
It may be ugly, but the Mountaineers will be victorious.