PICK & PREVIEW: K-State at Butler

Butler head coach Thad Matta is remembered most for the success he had as the head coach at Ohio State, which included a couple of Final Four appearances and Big Ten titles.

Before Matta made himself one of the most feared coaches in the Midwest with the Buckeyes, he was on the sidelines at Butler from 1997-2001 as both an assistant coach and head coach of the Bulldogs. Now, he's back on the sidelines inside Hinkle Fieldhouse in 2022 after not being a head coach from 2017-2022.

In his first seven games leading Butler in 2022, Matta's team is 4-3 through their first seven games, which includes losses at Penn State (68-62) and a winless trio of games against Tennessee (71-45), BYU (75-70) and North Carolina State (76-71) in the Battle 4 Atlantis, which was held last week.

Meanwhile, Jerome Tang's K-State team is one of just 12 undefeated teams at the high major level after winning all three games in the Cayman Islands Classic last week, including overtime, wins against Nevada and LSU.

Senior guard Markquis Nowell averaged 18.7 points and 9.0 assists in the Wildcats' three games in the Cayman Islands, which earned him tournament MVP honors. Florida transfer Keyontae Johnson averaged 19.3 points, 6.0 assists and made 50 percent of his 3-point attempts in the Wildcats' undefeated vacation to the Caribbean.

Wednesday's game at Butler is the second true road game that K-State is playing this season against a high-major opponent. The Wildcats previously beat Cal in their second game of the season, but the Golden Bears remain winless on the season.

Wednesday night's game is part of the Big 12 and Big East Battle, the fourth year of the event. The matchups for the games were determined jointly by the two conferences. This season is the final year of the Big 12-Big East Battle. In the previous Big 12-Big East battles, K-State has lost to Marquette, which occurred last season.

Date: Wed., Nov. 30

Time: 5:30 p.m. CT

Location: Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,100)

TV: FS1 (PxP: Alex Faust, Analyst: Casey Jacobsen)

Radio: K-State Sports Network (PxP: Wyatt Thompson, Analyst: Stan Weber)

Betting Line: Butler -2.5 | O/U: 135.5 (FanDuel Sportsbook)

- Kansas State (6-0) continues its road trip on Wednesday night, as the Wildcats make their first trip to historic Hinkle Fieldhouse to take on Butler (4-3) at 5:30 p.m., CT in one of 10 games in the BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle series. This will be just the second meeting between the schools and the first since they met in the 2010 NCAA West Regional Final in Salt Lake City when the Bulldogs posted a 63-56 victory en route to advancing to the NCAA Championship Game.

- The champions of the 2022 Cayman Islands Classic, K-State carries a 6-game winning streak into Wednesday’s contest, which is the longest such streak since also winning 6 in a row from Nov. 9-24, 2018. The team will attempt to finish off the month of November unbeaten for the seventh time since 1996 and the first time since the 2018-19 team went 6-0.

- K-State has yet to win a game in the BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle, having lost home games to Marquette in 2019 and 2021.

- K-State was originally supposed to travel to Indianapolis to face Butler in the 2020-2021 BIG EAST/Big 12 Battle, but the game was canceled due to COVID

- Jerome Tang won two games in Hinkle Fieldhouse during the 2021 NCAA Tournament, beating Wisconsin in the Second Round and Villanova in the Elite Eight, before advancing to win the National Championship in Lucas Oil Stadium

- The Wildcats have quite the scoring duo in seniors Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell, as they are averaging 33 points per game on 48 percent (60-of-125) shooting. They are currently the second-best scoring duo in the Big 12 after the tandem of Baylor’s L.J. Cryer (17.7 ppg.) and Adam Flagler (17.0 ppg.), who are averaging 34.7 points per game. Johnson (28 points) and Nowell (29 points) joined an elite group in the overtime win over Nevada on Nov. 22, as they combined for 57 points and became just the 15th duo in school history and the first since 2010 to each top 25 points in a game.

Guard: Markquis Nowell

Guard: Keyontae Johnson

Guard: Cam Carter

Forward: Nae'Qwan Tomlin

Forward: David N'Guessan

Guard: Tykei Greene

Guard: Desi Sills

Guard: Dorian Finister

Forward: Bebe Iyiola

Forward: Ish Massoud

Guard: Nate Awbrey

Guard: Peyton Ackerman

Guard: Jayden Taylor is a homegrown prospect from Indianapolis and is in his second season as a starter for the Bulldogs. Taylor started 20 of 33 games as a freshman last season, and he's off to a great start his season averaging 16.4 points a game and 4.0 rebounds. His efficiency numbers are above average this season, and his 3-point shot is falling 37 percent of the time this season.

Guard: Chuck Harris is averaging 13.3 points a game for Butler this season while also providing them a nice boost on the glass (3.7 rebounds). Harris likely won't hurt K-State from beyond the 3-point line, but he's a good passer and sees the floor, but can also be a bit turnover prone.

Guard: Eric Hunter Jr. transferred to Butler this season after splitting time with Isiah Thompson in Purdue's backcourt a year ago. Hunter is a stout defender and a pretty heady point guard for the Bulldogs. He's never been a major scoring threat in his career, but he's averaging a career-high 12.7 points and making 43 percent of his triples this season.

Guard: Simas Lukosius is a sophomore from Lithuania. At 6-foot-6, he's a big-bodied guard with the versatility to play on the perimeter and inside at times. He's shooting nearly five 3-pointers a game and making over 41 percent of his attempts. Lukosius is averaging 5.1 rebounds a game and more than 3.0 assists for the Bulldogs this season, which are both up from last season.

Forward: Manny Bates transferred to Butler this season after playing the first three years of his career at NC State. Bates played in just one game last season for the Wolfpack because of an injury, but in seven games this season he's averaging 11.4 points a game and 7.3 rebounds. A former All-ACC Defensive team member, Bates is a solid rim protector who is averaging close to 3.0 blocks per game.

1. Perimeter Defense. Forcing Butler to make perimeter jumpers could be an advantageous way for K-State to find a road win. Butler is shooing 34.4 percent on 3-pointers as a team this season, which is pretty solid. But last season the Bulldogs were one of the worst shooting teams in the country, but that's why Matta targeted a bunch of knockdown shooters.

2. Finishing at the rim. Bates is one of the best shot blockers in the country. OVer his first two seasons playing college basketball, he ranked first and 18th nationally in block rate. But Georiga State transfer Jalen Thomas -- who comes off the bench -- is another strong shot blocker. It's not going to be easy for the Wildcats to get buckets at the rim, but attacking the rim and getting to the free-throw line would suit the Cats well.

3. The tempo. While Ohio State, Matta's teams became known for playing an up-tempo style. With Bates being a strong rim runner, he's looking to replicate that at Butler too. K-State's bigs have proven to be good rim runners this season, but the tempo of this game could challenge K-State.

Mason Voth's prediction: K-State has survived their first four games outside of Manhattan, with a couple of close calls against Cal, Nevada, and LSU. Butler lines up the next test for the Wildcats and fits into the category of Cal and LSU. Big names in rebuilds right now. The Bulldogs have been beaten by teams that are slightly better than them, some of which aren't that impressive like Penn State and NC State. I think Keyontae Johnson carries the load again and helps the Wildcats get another road victory. K-State 73, Butler 68

Alec Busse's prediction: After a strong showing in the Cayman Islands Classic, K-State returns to the United States and gets an interesting road matchup at Butler. While the Bulldogs have struggled this season against high-major opponents, I think being at home and having played a bit of a tougher schedule could bode well for Butler. Still, K-State has played in a road game this season already, so they should know what to expect. I think this is going to be anther really tight game where a few buckets or stops at the end could dictate the outcome. Butler 70, K-State 68