KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas State basketball ends a 10-day layoff at its home away from home Tuesday against unbeaten Drake at T-Mobile Center.

The Wildcats (6-3) will try to get back on track after a second-half collapse resulted in an 88-71 loss at St. John’s on Dec. 7 as part of the Big 12/Big East Bash series. But they face a red-hot Drake team that is off to a 9-0 start under first-year coach Ben McCollum, including victories over Miami (Fla.), Florida Atlantic and Vanderbilt.

McCollum, who won four NCAA Division II championships at Northwest Missouri State, brought four starters with him to Drake, including top three scorers Bennett Stirtz (17.8 points, 6.1 assists per game), Daniel Abreu (13.9 points) and Mitch Mascari (12.2 points). The Bulldogs have five players on their roster from the Kansas City metro area.

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K-State is playing its first game without backup forward Achor Achor, who left the team last week for personal reasons. Villanova transfer Brendan Hausen leads the Wildcats in scoring with 15.2 points per game, followed by super-senior forward David N’Gussan with 14.2 points and 6.8 rebounds.

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With the shot clock winding down, Drake’s Mitch Mascari leans in for a 3-pointers — he’s now 5-for-5 — and K-State falls behind 29-9.

With 7:39 left in the half, K-State still hasn’t cracked double digits, trailing Drake, 25-8. Drake is 9 of 15 from the floor, including 4 of 7 from 3 — Mitch Mascari 4-for-4 — while the Wildcats are 4 of 15 and have been outrebounded 11-6 and turned the ball over four times.

Drake has hit 5 of 9 shots and has assisted on each basket, and leads 14-4 with 11:48 left in the half.

K-State is 2 of 10, 0-for-5 from 3, with three turnovers.

Mobi Ikegwuruka, who had been sidelined with an injury, was the first Wildcat off the bench along with Dug McDaniel for David Castillo at the point two minutes into the game.

Drake races to a 9-0 lead, forcing Jerome Tang to burn a timeout with 15:27 left in the half. The Wildcats are 0 of 5 shooting, including three 3-pointers, and have turned the ball over twice.

Drake, on the other hand, is 4 of 6 with a 3-pointer and looks like the better team so far and it’s not close.

Freshman David Castillo gets his first start for K-State

The Kansas State point guard merry-go-round continues to spin. True freshman David Castillo gets his first career start tonight against Drake, making him the Wildcats’ third point guard to open a game this season.

CJ Jones started eight of the previous nine games and Dug McDaniel one. Interestingly, Castillo played just two minutes the last time out in the Wildcats’ 88-71 loss at St. John’s.

The other starters for the Wildcats tonight are the usual: guards Brendan Hausen and Max Jones, with Coleman Hawkins and David N’Guessan at forward.

Kansas State vs Drake game time today

• Date: Tuesday, Dec. 17
• Time: 7 p.m.
• Location: T-Mobile Center, Kansas City, Mo.

What channel is Kansas State vs Drake game on today?

Kansas State vs Drake prediction

K-State is a slim favorite and desperate for a victory to build momentum heading into Big 12 play, but Drake has outscored its opponents by nearly 20 points per game and ranks second nationally in scoring defense. Give a slight edge to the Bulldogs.

Prediction: Drake 70, Kansas State 65

Kansas State vs Drake betting odds

Game lines and odds from BetMGM as of Tuesday afternoon:

• Spread: Kansas State -1.5
• Over/under: 134.5 points

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Arne Green is based in Salina and covers Kansas State University sports for the Gannett network. He can be reached at agreen@gannett.com or on Twitter at @arnegreen.