Kansas State vs UC Irvine 3/22/19 - College Basketball Picks & Predictions

Last Updated: 08/21/2019 at 11:55 AM ET

On Friday, the No. 4 seeded Kansas State Wildcats will face the No. 13 seeded UC Irvine Anteaters in an NCAA Tournament South Region first round matchup. The Wildcats lost to the Iowa State Cyclones in the Big 12 semifinals on Friday 63-59. Dean Wade missed the game for K-State and is his status is unknown for Friday’s game.

UC Irvine reached the NCAA Tournament with a 92-64 win over Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Conference tournament championship game. The Anteaters were led in the game by Collin Welp and Max Hazzard with 23 points apiece. UC Irvine shot 61.8% from the field in the win. The tournament title was the Anteaters second in the last 5 years.
Barry Brown Jr. leads Kansas State in scoring with an average of 14.9 points per game. Dean Wade leads the Wildcats in rebounding with an average of 6.2 per game. Kanau Stokes is the leader in assists with an average of 3.4 per game. Kansas State is shooting 43.4% from the field and 33.9% from 3-point territory.

Max Hazzard leads the Anteaters in scoring with an average of 12.5 points per game. Jonathan Galloway is the leader in rebounds with an average of 8.0 per game, while Eyassu Worku leads UC Irvine in assists with an average of 2.8 per game. UC Irvine is shooting 44.8% from the field and 36.2% from 3- point territory.

Kansas State may have to play without its second leading scorer and leading rebounder Dean Wade, but its stifling defense will shut down the offensive threat of the Anteaters to compensate for the absence of Wade. Look for a low scoring game where Kansas State will prevail, but UC Irvine will play well enough to cover. Final Score Prediction, Kansas State Wildcats win but fail to cover ATS 58-56.

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