Predictions: No. 4 Kansas State Wildcats vs No. 13 Portland Pilots
By 750 THE GAME STAFF
During the football season, our experts at 750 The Game like to predict the Oregon schools games. This time the staff is going to pick what they think will happen in the first round of the NCAA tournament in the matchup between No. 4 Kansas State and No. 13 Portland Pilots. According to betonline.ag Kansas State is a 22 point favorite.
No. 4 Kansas State vs No. 13 Portland Pilots in Manhattan, Kansas
John Canzano:
I’m really rooting for University of Portland to knock off Kansas State. They’re (Portland) a 13 seed playing against a 4 seed. The secret to getting by Kansas State is that Kansas State started out the season 17-1. And then sputtered for about 6-7 games. Well what happened to Kansas State? I’ll tell you what happened. Their best player 6’6″ post player (Ayoka Lee) ended up hurting her foot. Getting hurt. And they lost and sputtered sideways and were really having trouble trying to find consistency. Then she came back and the team struggled with her. She’s a dominant player, but she hasn’t been consistent. And she hasn’t been at 100%. So I kind of wonder about her health. If she’s healthy I think they (Kansas State) probably annihilate the University of Portland. If she’s not healthy. I give the University of Portland a shot.
Pick: Portland +22
Judah Newby:
I’m not going to doubt Michael Meek’s program now. They are too fun to root for. I’ll lean on the fact that they’ve been in this spot before with their NCAA Tournament appearance just last year. Give me the Pilots to keep it close in the first half and refuse to roll over against a very strong Wildcats team in Manhattan.
Pick: Portland +22
Steven Vaughan:
Head coach Michael Meek is a brilliant coach. He has led the Pilots to back to back NCAA tournament appearances. This is going to be another tough matchup for the Pilots. A true road game as this game is played at Kansas State’s arena, the Pilots are going to have to deal with Senior center Ayoka Lee who is averaging 20 ppg and 8 rpg per game. Lee is 6’6″ and the Pilots can matchup Lucy Cochrane on her, but when Cochrane needs a break or gets in foul trouble. That’s when Portland will be in trouble. I expect it to be close in the first quarter. Then Kansas State pulls away.
Pick: Kansas State -22
