UNLV Rebels vs. Kansas State Wildcats

Betting Odds

Point Spread: Kansas State Wildcats (-3.5)
Game Total Line: (138)
(wagering lines available at 5Dimes)

The UNLV Rebels look to move back up in the rankings with a victory over the Kansas State Wildcats this Tuesday night in the HyVee Wildcat Classic. Tip-Off from the Sprint Center in Kansas City is set for 9 p.m. (ET) and the game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN 2.

UNLV reeled off nine straight wins to start the season, but losses in two of its last three games have the Rebels reeling themselves as they try to remain a top 25 team. Their first loss of the season was a 77-69 setback to Louisville as a three-point road underdog on Dec. 11 and their second was a shocking 68-62 loss to UC Santa Barbara as a 15 ½-point home favorite this past Saturday. UNLV is currently 10-2 straight-up on the year but just 4-7 against the spread.

The Rebels feature a trio of guards who are all averaging over 10 points a game. Junior Chance Stanback leads the group with 13.7 points per game while Oscar Bellfield, another junior, leads the team in assists with 4.3 per game. A fourth guard, senior Derrick Jasper is actually the team’s leading rebounder with 5.2 per game. UNLV is averaging 76 points per game and hitting just under 50 percent of its shots from the field, including 34.4 percent from beyond the three point line.

Kansas State lost its first game of the year to No. 1 Duke 82-68 as a 5 ½-point underdog which was not all that unexpected. The Wildcats second loss of the season just this past Saturday, a 57-44 setback to No. 24 Florida was not expected, despite the fact the line on the game closed as a ‘pick’. The Wildcats sunk themselves, shooting just 27 percent from the floor after averaging over 44 percent in their first 10 games.

The loss left them 9-2 SU for the season and just 3-4 ATS. Senior Guard Jacob Pullen leads the team in scoring; averaging 16.5 points per game and assists; averaging 3.8. Sophomore guard Rodney McGruder and junior forward are both averaging over six rebounds per game and McGruder is the team’s second leading scorer with 10.3 points per game. As a team, the Wildcats are averaging 73 points per game.

UNLV is 3-3 ATS in its last six road games and is 0-5 ATS in its last five games overall. The total has gone ‘over’ in three of its last five games.

Kansas State is 1-1 ATS at home this season as many of its early games did not have lines. The total has stayed ‘under’ in its last six games.

These two teams did play one another in the regular season last year with the Wildcats coming away with a 95-80 win as a 2 ½-point road underdog. This time around you can expect Kansas State to be favored by four or five points, making the Wildcats a great pick in the line stays under this amount.

ATS Game Pick

This line opened at 5 which had us sitting on the fence. However, the line has fallen to 3.5 at most betting shops which has us on the Wildcats.
Take Kansas State -3.5 at 5Dimes where you can get reduced juice on this game!