This Wildcats team is loaded even without Nae'Qwan Tomlin. They added two top tier transfers: Tylor Perry from North Texas and Arthur Kaluma from Creighton. The Wildcats might be the best unranked team in the country. Their counterpart in this game, the Trojans, have a lot of expectations coming into this season. Boogie Ellis is still going to be running the show for the Trojans. Freshman Isaiah Collier will make this team tough come March. This team could struggle to start this season. Love getting the more experienced Wildcats at plus money.

Some Big 12 observers expect the Cats to regress in “Jerome Tang II” this winter, especially after key cogs G Markquis Nowell (17.8 ppg) & F Keyontae Johnson (17.4 ppg) departed. Yet many remain wary of K-State after Tang deftly worked the portal with pre-cooked additions like 6-7 Arthur Kaluma from Creighton and explosive ex-North Texas G Tyler Perry. Andy Enfield’s SC also has high hopes, with a boffo recruiting class expected to make waves, but how quickly touted frosh G Isaiah Collier learns to co-exist with holdovers like G Boogie Ellis (17.7 ppg LY) is often an awkward experience for hotshot prep additions. At some point, the pieces are likely to start fitting together for Enfield...we’re just not sure when.