The Kansas men’s basketball team gets set to take on the NC State Wolfpack in Lawrence, Kan., on Saturday, December 14th, 2024.
Tip-off is set for 2:15 p.m. central on ESPN. The Jayhawks (7-2) are No. 10 in the Associated Press Top 25. NC State (7-3) is unranked.
The Jayhawks haven’t played since back-to-back losses on the road last week to Creighton and Missouri. Earlier this week, coach Bill Self said that what happens now doesn’t matter as long as The Jayhawks are playing well in March. That’s true but it was jarring to see Kansas lose back-to-back games on the road to unranked teams. That is a rarity in the Self era.
The Wolfpack have won two straight, including a victory over Florida State. But, that was after a three-game losing streak, all of which were to power conference teams — Purdue, BYU and Texas. So the Wolfpack are 1-3 against power conference teams and 0-1 against the Big 12.
Here is a preview of Saturday’s game.
How to Watch Kansas vs. NC State
Date: Saturday, December 12th, 2024
Time: 12:15 p.m. CT
TV Channel: ESPN
Site: Allen Fieldhouse, Lawrence, Kan.
Kansas vs. NC State Betting Odds, Lines
Opening Line: Kansas -13.5
Current Line: Kansas -14.5
Over/Under: 145
Kansas vs. NC State Predictions
It’s exam week in Lawrence, but I doubt the Jayhawks have gotten a break from Self. Losing two straight is rare for Kansas and coaches like Self actually love a chance to reset their team in December. With the week off, it’s the perfect time.
The Jayhawks have oodles of talent, but last week showed they’re too reliant on center Hunter Dickinson (15 ppg, 9.6 rpg) right now and need more consistent offense from the perimeter.
Conversely, Dickinson can’t have a bad game against even matchups, like Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Guards Zeke Mayo (10.9 ppg) and Dajuan Harris Jr. (10.7 ppg) have played well. But overall Kansas is shooting less than 35% from the 3-point line. That was a point of emphasis that hasn’t come to a head yet. And Kansas has the shooters.
NC State gets its offense from its guards — Marcus Hill (13.0 ppg), Jayden Taylor (12.5 ppg) and Dontrez Styles (10.6 ppg). The Wolfpack are a good rebounding team but don’t have a player as productive as Dickinson. And, this unit is a worse 3-point shooting team (31%).
The 1-3 record against power conference teams is telling in terms of how good NC State is. Kansas hasn’t lost at home yet this season.
Kansas guard Shakeel Moore returned to practice this week after lingering soreness in his foot from a previous surgery. It’s unclear if he will play on Saturday.
Kansas 85, NC State 75
ESPN Matchup Predictor: Kansas (87.7% Chance of Winning)
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
