The West Virginia Mountaineers take on the Kansas State Wildcats. Check out our college basketball odds series for our West Virginia Kansas State prediction and pick. Find how to watch West Virginia Kansas State.
The West Virginia Mountaineers are almost done with their season. It has been an emotionally exhausting journey for interim head coach Josh Eilert, a 40-year-old who was given the impossible task of stepping in for Bob Huggins, one of the winningest head coaches in college basketball history and one of the better coaches of the past 35 years. An elite coach could fill in for Huggins, but not an interim selection with relatively little experience. Eilert was simply not in a position to succeed. It's hard to assign blame to him. Huggins, whose behavior essentially got himself fired, is really the man to blame for West Virginia's brutal season, which has the Mountaineers in the bottom tier of the Big 12 Conference. WVU will surely look at a significant upgrade at the head coaching position, and that will be a big story in the coming offseason.
Kansas State made the Elite Eight last year. Coach Jerome Tang did a spectacular job with the program. This year, things have not gone as smoothly, and everyone can point to one specific reason for it: Big man Nae'Qwan Tomlin got into trouble for off-court reasons and was unable to play for Kansas State. The program decided to move on from him. Tomlin was a big part of last season's team, and KSU was looking forward to having him for this new campaign. Tomlin's absence was a massive loss for this roster. It left Tang shorthanded. Everyone in the program, Tang included, counted on having Tomlin for this season. If they knew Tomlin was not going to play, they would have made a move in the transfer portal to find a replacement.
Tomlin and Kansas State lost to Florida Atlantic in the Elite Eight last year. On Sunday, Tomlin beat FAU as a member of the Memphis Tigers, where he transferred after being dismissed by KSU.
The Wildcats obviously hope they won't have another roster crisis the way they did this season. It remains that they won't make the NCAA Tournament because of the depleted roster they have carried in 2024.
Here are the West Virginia-Kansas State College Basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
College Basketball Odds: West Virginia-Kansas State Odds
West Virginia Mountaineers: +9.5 (-110)
Kansas State Wildcats: -9.5 (-110)
Over: 143.5 (-105)
Under: 143.5 (-115)
How To Watch West Virginia vs Kansas State
Time: 7:00 pm ET / 4:00 pm PT
TV: ESPN2
Stream: fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why West Virginia Could Cover the Spread
The Kansas State Wildcats simply aren't a reliable or consistent team. They haven't been consistent all season. They have scored some impressive wins, but the Wildcats haven't played very strong basketball for more than maybe two games at a time. KSU just can't string long stretches of good basketball together. It has been that kind of a year for a team which, as we noted above, has lacked the roster pieces it expected to have. The formula just hasn't worked without Nae'Qwan Tomlin in the lineup.
West Virginia played really well at Iowa State on Saturday until the final six minutes. What was a very, very close game turned into a comfortable ISU win as WVU went stone-cold from the field. If West Virginia can play 40 minutes, not just 34, it should cover the large spread here.
Why Kansas State Could Cover the Spread
The Wildcats are hosting a not-very-good West Virginia team which poured out a lot of energy against Iowa State. WVU will be drained, and the Cats will take advantage.
Final West Virginia-Kansas State Prediction & Pick
This is a game to stay away from, since both teams are not particularly good. KSU probably wins, but we're not sure if the Cats are consistent enough to win by 10 or more.
Final West Virginia-Kansas State Prediction & Pick: Kansas State -9.5
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