WAC Champion Utah State will meet the Southeast Region's fifth seed, Kansas State, in a second round night cap at the McKale Center. The two teams are scheduled to tip off at 9:57pm ET in Tucson, Arizona; the game will be broadcast live on truTV. The latest College Basketball Lines have the Wildcats listed as a -2 against the spread NCAA basketball predictions favorite and the Over/Under set at 128.5.
Kansas State came into this season with huge expectations after its deep run into last year's NCAA Tournament, but 
the Wildcats, until recently, have not lived up to their billing. Frank Martin's squad lost three non-conference games against top competition, falling to Duke, Florida, and UNLV, and it got off to a 1-4 start in conference play.
Kansas State found its rhythm after a 56-58 setback at Colorado, though, reeling off six straight wins to finish the regular season with a 22-9 record. The Wildcats late season surge, which resulted in them finishing fourth in the Big 12 with a 10-6 league record, was spurred by the play of senior Jacob Pullen.
Pullen, who is averaging 19.5 points per game coming into Kansas State's first round contest, tallied 153 points in the Wildcats six game win streak (25.5 ppg).
Kansas State, which is 6-4 off a loss, dropped its last game 75-87 to Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament.
Utah State (30-3) earned its third consecutive Big Dance invitation after scorching its Western Athletic Conference foes during the regular and post seasons. The Aggies won the league title by going 15-1 and they took home the WAC tournament crown after defeating San Jose State 58-54 and Boise State 77-69.
Utah State, which went 0-2 against fellow NCAA Tournament squads in the regular season (BYU, Georgetown), is led by senior forward Tai Wesley. Wesley, who is averaging 14.7 points and eight rebounds per game, produced 14 points and six rebounds in the Aggies opening round loss to Texas A&M last year (53-69).
The Aggies, which are riding an eight game win streak, are 1-13 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament dating back to an 82-91 loss against BYU in 1971.
Utah State vs Kansas State 2011 NCAA Bracket Picks:
Utah State Aggies +2 (-110), Over 128.5 (-110), +120 (Moneyline)
Kansas State Wildcats -2 (-110), Under 128.5 (-110), -125 (Moneyline)
