2017 NCAA Tournament: Kansas State vs. Wake Forest preview, prediction, TV schedule

Mar 8, 2017; Brooklyn, NY, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons forward John Collins (20) drives against Virginia Tech Hokies forward Zach LeDay (32) during the first half during the ACC Conference Tournament at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports /

The 2017 NCAA Tournament begins with two First Four battles starting on Tuesday night between 16 seeds and 11 seeds.

TV Schedule: Tuesday, Mar. 14, 9:10 p.m. ET, TruTV

Arena: UD Arena, Dayton, OH

Prediction: Wake Forest 77, Kansas State 76

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons and Kansas State Wildcats both snuck their way into the Big Dance despite their resume having obvious major flaws.

Danny Manning’s squad was just 3-11 against RPI top 50 teams and if they didn’t have a big week with victories against Louisville and Virginia Tech before the end of the season, the Demon Deacons would be playing in the NIT.

Meanwhile, Kansas State was under .500 in conference play and likely wouldn’t have gotten into the field if it wasn’t for the fact that they won two games against Baylor.

So who will have the edge in Dayton on Tuesday evening?

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I’m going to go with Wake Forest because of two players: John Collins and Bryant Crawford. In March, you need multiple things to win games: an elite coach, good guards and star performers.

The Demon Deacons certainly have the star play as Collins (a sophomore) is one of the most underrated big men in all of college basketball. Even though he struggled mightily in two ACC Tournament games this past week, the 6’10” sophomore averaging 18.9 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks a night on the season and had a stretch during ACC play when he scored 20+ points in 12 straight games. In fact, Collins has been so good this season that he is suddenly a borderline lottery pick in multiple 2017 NBA mock drafts.

His counterpart, Crawford, is also a potential NBA player as he is averaging 16.1 points, 5.4 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game despite being just a second-year player.

While the Wildcats are a solid defensive team (allowing just 66.9 points per game), stopping Wake Forest’s duo won’t be an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.

On the offensive end, though, Kansas State may have an advantage with their guard play. Barry Brown and Kamau Stokes are both averaging in double figures while Wesley Iwundu can play numerous positions.

The key to Kansas State’s success will come from Dean Wade. If the sophomore forward can stretch the floor, hit big shots and open up the Wildcats’ spacing offensively for their guards to attack, the Wildcats could win this game against a solid ACC school.

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But in the end, I’ll take Collins and Crawford over any two players on Kansas State. Stars win in March.

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