Bellarmine vs Kansas State Pick, Odds | NCAAB Betting Preview (Friday, Nov. 10)

Bellarmine continues its four-game road trip today with a hop, skip and a jump over to Manhattan, Kansas, where the Wildcats await licking their chops in the Octagon of Doom.

Kansas State head coach Jerome Tang has lost only once at home, sporting an impressive 15-1 record at Bramlage Coliseum. As a large favorite, that record should only improve, but overlooking the Knights would be a foolish endeavor.

Below I have a Bellarmine vs Kansas State pick and the latest odds in this NCAAB betting preview for Friday, Nov. 10.

Bellarmine is coached by the legendary Scott Davenport, who has led the program since 2005. Davenport is known for his mastery of the motion offense, and his teams can be tricky to play against with the way they pass, cut and move without the ball.

On Monday, the Knights hung with Washington for 20 minutes before getting blown out in the second half. Facing elite athleticism and length can be problematic for this Bellarmine team, and as such, power conference teams can overwhelm the Knights at times.

Last season though, Bellarmine held its own. The Knights won at Louisville and then hung around against actual elite competition, losing by 10 at Clemson, 17 at Duke, 21 at UCLA and 19 at Kentucky.

The Knights' methodical style of play limits the number of possessions in a particular contest, meaning if they can control the pace, they become difficult to grow a lead lead against.

This year’s squad should be better than last season, as the Knights rank top-35 nationally in continuity, per KenPom. Big man Curt Hopf missed the first game against Washington, but Davenport has plenty of depth at his disposal.

Washington was able to speed up the Knights, forcing 20 turnovers and running in transition. If Kansas State can repeat that game plan, it could be a long night for the Knights.

Facing ball hawk Tylor Perry could be a problem for Bellarmine's ball handlers, but K-State isn’t nearly as long as Washington. The experienced Knights should be able to control the pace a bit more in theory, but the Octagon of Doom can also be a house of horrors for visitors.

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K-State didn’t look great in its first game of the season against USC, holding the lead for just over one minute before the Trojans exerted their will for the remainder of the contest.

The Cats were without the services of Nae’Qwan Tomlin, who was suspended following an altercation at a bar, and transfer guard Ques Glover, who is on the shelf with injury.

Bellarmine is not USC. Suddenly, the Wildcats should be able to see the front of the rim, finally out of the forest of the Trojan towers, who formed redwood-sized tree trunks inside the arc.

The floor should open up, and it hasn’t been difficult to exploit Bellarmine on this end over the years. Per KenPom, Bellarmine has ranked 293rd, 312th, 286th and 307th (this season) in adjusted Defensive Efficiency. The Knights have neither the athleticism nor the length to defend elite competition.

But does K-State have enough firepower to overcome the significant spread? Without Glover and Tomlin, the Cats are down two of their best scorers.

Perry is excellent and can probably name his number, but others are unproven — and at this point, it’s apparent that Creighton transfer Arthur Kaluma is a wee bit overrated.

The Cats should be able to control the glass – they grabbed an insane 42.6% of their misses against USC – but they can’t destroy Bellarmine on post-ups, and there's not an abundance of shooters on the current roster.

The best avenue for comfortable K-State win is to pressure Bellarmine ball handlers and try to speed up Davenport’s motion offense, as Washington executed successfully.

Tang is a wizard of a head coach, and there’s no doubt he’ll have an excellent game plan in place.

Bellarmine is worth a look. Anything over 17 should be challenging for Kansas State to overcome.

Don’t let the Washington loss fool you – this is a well-coached, experienced and tough basketball team that led the Huskies by seven following 13 minutes of play. Washington shot 10-of-20 from deep in that game, an outlier number.

K-State might find it difficult to create as many turnovers as Washington did, and its offense is but a fraction of its true potential with Tomlin and Glover unavailable.

Pick: Bellarmine +17.5 (Play to +17)

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