Creighton Bluejays vs Kansas State Wildcats Prediction, Odds, Best Bets - Week 2

Creighton takes its first road trip of the season into Bramlage Coliseum, where Kansas State has already lost once and scored 95 in its other home game. The Bluejays are favored by 3.5, and Brandon Rechsteiner is scoring 21.0 a game for the home team.

The Matchup

Kansas State hosts Creighton on Tuesday night at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, on FS1, with Creighton a 3.5-point road favorite, a total of 156.5, and the Bluejays priced at -162 on the moneyline against Kansas State at +136. Creighton is 2-0, and both wins came at home. Kansas State is 1-1, and both of its games came at home too. Somebody's home comfort ends Tuesday, and only one of them has to travel for it.

Creighton beat Kansas City 76-61 on November 3 and Le Moyne 83-55 on November 6. The Bluejays have scored 79.5 points a game and allowed 58.0, and Wes Enis leads them at 20.5 points a game. Katrelle Harmon hands out 5.5 assists a game, and Jackson McAndrew leads them on the glass at 6.0 rebounds a game. Enis, Harmon, and McAndrew are all active with no injury designations.

Kansas State lost 68-66 to South Dakota State on November 4, then beat Cal State Northridge 95-78 on November 7. Brandon Rechsteiner leads the Wildcats at 21.0 points a game and 4.0 assists a game, and Pape N'Diaye leads them on the glass at 6.0 rebounds a game. Rechsteiner and N'Diaye are both active with no injury designations. Kansas State has scored 80.5 points a game and allowed 73.0.

Last season is where the road favorite gets hard to defend. Creighton went 16-18, scoring 75.2 points a game and allowing 75.2, a team that played the Big East to a draw. Kansas State went 12-20, scoring 79.6 and allowing 81.8, a team that could score with anyone and stop no one.

The Wildcats' profile has not changed: 95 points against Cal State Northridge, and a home loss where they gave up the game's last word to South Dakota State. Creighton is the steadier program. Steady has to survive its first road crowd of the season.

Key Factors

The guard matchup sets the terms. Enis at 20.5 points a game and Rechsteiner at 21.0 are near mirror images as lead scorers, and Harmon gives Creighton the better organizer at 5.5 assists a game. Kansas State's answer is pace and volume: the Wildcats want this game in the 80s, where their scoring depth matters and Creighton's half-court defense has to defend every possession of a 156.5 total. At home, with the Bramlage crowd behind the press of the game, that style is hard to slow.

Creighton's defensive start is the favorite's best argument. Allowing 58.0 points a game, even against Kansas City and Le Moyne, reflects a team that guards its position and finishes possessions. Kansas State allowed 81.8 points a game last season and 73.0 so far, so the Bluejays will get their points. The question is whether Creighton can hold Kansas State under its home scoring rhythm for 40 minutes in its first road game, with a rotation that has not been stressed yet.

The honest counterpoint is sitting in Kansas State's first box score. The Wildcats already lost at home this season, 68-66 to South Dakota State, a team Creighton is better than. If the Bluejays' defense travels the way its numbers suggest, and Enis wins his matchup with Rechsteiner, then 3.5 is a short price on the better team and the home crowd is just noise. The bet is that a Big 12 building in November, against a home team that can score 95, asks more of a first road trip than Creighton has shown it can give.

Every pick is published with its line before the game. Odds via consensus sportsbooks at time of writing and move constantly. Must be 21+. If gambling is a problem, call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.