K-State Wildcats vs. Miami Hurricanes: Prediction for Nijel Pack reunion in Bahamas

It wasn’t that long ago that Nijel Pack was draining 3-pointers and earning All-Big 12 honors as the top guard on the Kansas State men’s basketball team.

Now he will play against the Wildcats as a member of the Miami Hurricanes.

This is the type of reunion game that is becoming more and more common in the age of the transfer portal.

What makes this matchup odd is that Pack won’t face a single former teammate when Miami takes on K-State in the championship game of the Baha Mar Hoops tournament at 1:30 p.m. in the Bahamas. Jerome Tang has replaced Bruce Weber as coach and the entire roster has turned over in the past two seasons.

Still, this game will have plenty of intrigue for K-State fans who used to cheer Pack inside Bramlage Coliseum.

Pack is averaging 13 points, 5 assists and 3.5 rebounds for the No. 12 Hurricanes. Last year, he helped them reach the Final Four.

Here’s everything you need to know before tipoff, plus a game prediction:

When: 1:30 p.m. Sunday

Where: Baha Mar Convention Center (Nassau, The Bahamas)

TV: CBS Sports Network

Radio: KCSP (610 AM) in Kansas City, KFH (1240 AM and 97.5 FM) in Wichita

Betting line: Miami by 2

Over/Under: 156.5

STARTING LINEUPS

About Miami (4-0):

The Hurricanes are off to a perfect start to the season after reaching the Final Four last year. They won their first game at the Bahar Mar Hoops tournament 79-67 against Georgia. Pack is the most experienced played on the Miami roster, but he is far from its leading scorer. That honor goes to Wooga Poplar, who is averaging 17.3 points per game. Matthew Cleveland isn’t far behind at 17.3. The Hurricanes aren’t a deep team, but they get lots of production from their starters. They are one of the nation’s top offensive teams, especially from the three-point line where they are shooting 44.8%. Their biggest weakness is two-point defense, as they are allowing opponents to make 46.2% of their shots from within the arc.

About Kansas State (3-1):

The Wildcats are coming off an overtime victory against Providence in the semifinal round of the Baha Mar Hoops tournament. K-State’s top six players were on the court for a lot of minutes in that game, which means fatigue could be a factor two days later against Miami. Tylor Perry led the Wildcats with 24 points in that game. He has been a sharpshooter for K-State since transferring in from North Texas. Arthur Kaluma had his finest game in a K-State uniform, as he scored 18 points. Jerome Tang’s team will be more short-handed than usual on Sunday. Dai Dai Ames was ejected from the Providence game for fighting, which means he is also suspended from playing in this game. The Wildcats will also be without Nae’Qwan Tomlin (suspension) and Ques Glover (injury).

Prediction:

Not having a full roster could hurt Kansas State in this game.

The Wildcats arrived in the Bahamas without an active Nae’Qwan Tomlin or a healthy Ques Glover. Now they are also without freshman guard Dai Dai Ames. That means K-State will have even less depth than normal, which is not good for a team that is coming off a back-and-forth matchup with Providence that went to overtime.

Fatigue will be a factor in the second half of this game, and Miami will have a big advantage in that department.

Miami is one of the best offensive teams in the country, and K-State will need to make shots to keep up.

If Tylor Perry and Cam Carter get hot from the outside then this will be a competitive game. If they don’t, it could be hard for the Wildcats to keep up with an opponent that is averaging 88.5 points per game and shooting 44.7% from 3-point range.

K-State will have more fans in the building, which could give the Wildcats a small home-court advantage. But this is still a good matchup for the Hurricanes.

Miami 81, K-State 74

Last game prediction: K-State 79, Providence 76 (Actual: K-State 73, Providence 70)

Season Record: 4-0

Season Record ATS: 3-1

Season Record O/U: 3-1