Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State Prediction, Game Preview, Live Stream, Odds and Picks
No. 3 Seed Eyeing First Final Four Appearance Since 2014
FAU Underdogs Once Again
Purdue, Marquette, Duke and Kentucky were the teams in the East Regional drawing the most hype heading into the NCAA Tournament. However, No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic and third-seeded Kansas State are the last two teams standing.
No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic erased a five-point halftime lead to top No. 4 seed Tennessee and reached the Elite Eight for the first time. No. 3 seed Kansas State engaged in a classic overtime showdown with seventh-seeded Michigan State.

Kansas State, which finished third in the Big 12, was listed as the early two-point favorites according to the college basketball picks.
Kansas State reached the Final Four a total of four times from 1948-1964. However, the Wildcats have lost their last seven regional finals and that includes a 16-point loss to No. 11 seed Loyola Chicago in the 2018 South Regional final. Florida Atlantic had played in just one NCAA Tournament game before this year.
When looking at the college basketball news, Kansas State’s top four scorers combined to miss just one game this season. The Wildcats have been without freshman guard Dorian Finister since mid-December.
Florida Atlantic’s top nine players have missed a combined total of nine games this season.
Kansas State is 15th in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and 13th in the coaches’ poll. Florida Atlantic broke into both polls at No. 25 in the most recent rankings.
According to the odds to win March Madness, Kansas State (+1200) is seventh and Florida Atlantic (+2000) eighth in the odds to win the national title heading into Friday’s action.
Once again, Florida Atlantic ices the game with MESH! pic.twitter.com/pxItP037jU
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) March 24, 2023
Owls Getting Defensive
Florida Atlantic did not look like a team that finished third in Conference USA in scoring defense as the Owls were in danger of seeing their March Madness run end in the Sweet 16 matchup with favored Tennessee.
Florida Atlantic trailed Tennessee by six points with 12:51 to play. The Owls picked up the intensity on defense as Tennessee missed nine of its next 10 shots during an 18-2 run. Michael Forrest had a pair of 3-pointers and scored eight of his 11 points during the run and Johnell Davis had four points.
Davis was 6 of 6 from the foul line over the final 4:23 to send the Owls into the regional final. Now the Owls are the underdogs for the second straight game.
FAU, which has won 10 straight games, has outscored its first three NCAA Tournament opponents by 21 points in the second half and held Memphis, Fairleigh Dickinson and Tennessee to 28% shooting from 3-point range. The Owls surrendered just three fast-break points in the win over the Volunteers.
Florida Atlantic has covered against the college basketball odds in seven of its last 10 games.
Lending a Helping Hand
There have been some incredible performances by point guards over the years in the NCAA Tournament, and Kansas State’s Markquis Nowell added his name to March Madness folklore.
Nowell didn’t get to play in the NCAA Tournament during his first four seasons. The Kansas State guard is making up for lost time.
Nowell had 44 points and 23 assists in wins over Montana State and Kentucky as the native of Harlem, N.Y., earned a chance to return home to play at Madison Square Garden.
Nowell delivered a performance for the ages. He set the NCAA men’s Division I tournament record with 19 assists in an overtime win over Michigan State.
HIS CITY 🗽#KStateMBB x @MrNewYorkCityy
— K-State Men’s Basketball (@KStateMBB) March 24, 2023
Nowell either scored or assisted on Kansas State’s last five baskets in overtime in the 98-93 win. He finished with 20 points and had only two turnovers to lead the Wildcats into the Elite Eight.
Nowell and fellow New York natives Ismael Massoud and Nae’Qwan Tomlin combined for 42 points, 11 rebounds and 24 assists against Michigan State.
Five of the last six Kansas State games finished over the college basketball lines total.
Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State Game Injuries
Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State Head-to-Head
This is the first meeting between the schools. Florida Atlantic is 1-7 against teams currently in the Big 12 with the win coming against Oklahoma State in 1998. The most recent matchup was a 90-54 loss to Texas Tech in 2017.
The last time Kansas State faced a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the Wildcats topped Southern Mississippi 70-64 in 2012.
Florida Atlantic vs Kansas States Information
- Game: Florida Atlantic (34-3) vs Kansas State (26-9)
- Location: Madison Square Garden, New York City
- Day/Time: Saturday, March 25, 6:09 p.m. ET
- Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State Live stream: TBS.com
FAU vs Kansas State State Betting Lines
Florida Atlantic vs Kansas State Picks & Prediction
Florida Atlantic is 10-1 and Kansas State 9-2 in games decided by six points or less. This game could head in that direction as both teams are playing as well as they have all season long.
The teams come in 27th and 29th in adjusted defensive efficiency according to the Pomeroy college basketball ratings database. FAU is 26th and Kansas State 35th in the offensive ratings.
Florida Atlantic is +10 in rebounding margin during the NCAA Tournament while Kansas State has been outrebounded 81-56 in the last two games, including 32-12 on offensive rebounds.
Kansas State has won seven of its 12 games against teams ranked in the top 25 in the Associated Press at the time of the game. Florida Atlantic has played in just two of those games so that could give the edge to the Wildcats. Of course, the same could be said heading into FAU’s regional final against Tennessee.
Kansas State is 18-2 when listed by the Las Vegas NCAA Basketball odds as the favorite. Florida Atlantic is 6-2 as an underdog.
The Kansas State are listed at -130 in our Vegas NCAAB lines. This means that if you wager $100 on Kansas State, you have a chance to win $77. The Florida Atlantic are +110, offering a chance to win $110 on a $100 wager.
The implied probability attached to the betting lines gives Kansas Statea 56.52% chance to win, with Florida Atlantic at 47.62%