The Liberty Flames (5-1) face the Kansas State Wildcats (4-1) on Sunday, November 24, 2024 at Virgin Islands Sport & Fitness Center. It begins at 8:00 PM ET on ESPN+.
Kansas State won at home over George Washington 83-71 last time out, and was led by David N’Guessan (17 PTS, 9 REB, 62.5 FG%) and Dug McDaniel (13 PTS, 5 AST, 2 STL, 45.45 FG%).
Liberty beat Louisiana 89-69 at home in its last game. Its top scorers were Kaden Metheny (20 PTS, 70 FG%, 4-6 from 3PT) and Taelon Peter (12 PTS, 62.5 FG%).
Prepare for this matchup with everything you need to know ahead of Sunday’s college hoops action.
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Kansas State Wildcats vs. Liberty Flames
Game day: Sunday, November 24, 2024
Game time: 8:00 PM ET
TV: ESPN+
Live stream: ESPN+ – Watch NOW
NCAA Basketball Odds and Betting Lines
Spread: Kansas State -2.5
Total: 134.5
College basketball odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Sunday at 3:00 AM ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
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The statistics aren’t kind. Eighty percent of pro athletes go broke soon after retiring. Kansas City Chiefs‘ Marquise “Hollywood” Brown will not be among them. Despite NFL stars’ eight-figure contracts, in most cases, their financial literacy does not match their salaries. Brown wants to change that.
“Players often leave their finances up to financial advisers who tend to invest in more traditional avenues, like stocks, because those methods also earn money for the advisers,” Brown told Mansion Global.
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“It hurts, seeing the stories of these guys who end up with nothing,” he said. “It’s a problem within the NFL, specifically for guys like myself who come from a background without a lot of money. We’re not educated on how to handle finances,” Brown, who has earned $25 million during a five-year career, continued.
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The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver, who was first drafted to the NFL in 2019 – first playing for the Arizona Cardinals and Baltimore Ravens before signing with the Chiefs this year – has cofounded Platinum Pro Capital, a private equity real estate firm with his wife, real estate influencer Zoei Brown. The firm has joined Jason Caraway of Island Sky Investments to educate professional athletes on the advantages of luxury real estate investing – in their case – in the Caribbean and other resort areas.
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According to Bloomberg, the company has backed an oceanfront luxury condo development in the U.S. Virgin Islands, is renovating a resort in Grand Bahama Island and is planning other projects in South Florida and Costa Rica.
Player investors are not urged to buy high-end rental properties from Brown’s company. Rather, they invest in his fund passively for returns on their money and the option to stay in vacation properties for free during the off-season.
“A lot of guys in our field, they like luxurious things, they are drawn to attractive places,” Brown said. “And a lot of us travel in the offseason, so instead of having a traditional house, they are drawn to places that feel like a vacation. That’s appealing to guys. I feel like it creates a sense of unity. So, owning property on Caribbean islands saves money in the long term because that’s where everybody wants to travel in the offseason. It really caught the eye of a lot of people.”
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Of course, Marquise Brown isn’t the only NFL player with a penchant for real estate investing. Many players invest individually or as a group with other players. In fact, Brown’s teammate at Kansas, Justin Watson, is an investor in Teal Henderson’s Bones Investment Group, which, as of 2023, had 78 active investors, 97% of them athletes in the NFL. Bones Investment Group’s strategy is different from Brown’s, however. They invest in commercial buildings with tenants such as Publix, Home Depot, Target, Burger King, CVS and Walmart.
“If I can expand these athletes’ horizons and kind of put them out there, you know their work ethic and their drive and their desire,” Henderson, whose husband is a former college football player and NFL agent, told ESPN, “they’re gonna dominate, right? And they’re just not in the commercial space because no one has given them the exposure and the access to it.”
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This article Kansas City Chief’s Hollywood Brown Has A Real Estate Investment Company And Wants to Empower Other Athletes To Invest originally appeared on Benzinga.com
Avery Johnson and the Kansas State Wildcats and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights will meet for the Rate Bowl on December 26, 2024, with kickoff at 5:30 p.m. ET, airing on ESPN.
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USMNT goal filled weekend: Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman, Johnny Cardoso & more! | SOTU
Alexi Lalas and David Mosse broke down the United States Men’s National Team’s goal-filled weekend, where Weston McKennie, Malik Tillman, Johnny Cardoso, and Brenden Aaronson scored for their respective clubs. The guys are excited, as the USMNT players continue to stack strong performances one after another in Europe.
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Learn more about the Kansas State Wildcats and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights.
How to Watch Kansas State vs. Rutgers
When: Thursday, December 26, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona
Live Box Score: FOX Sports
Read More About This Game
Kansas State vs. Rutgers Predictions
Kansas State’s 2024 Schedule
Date
Opponent
Score
8/31/2024
vs. Tennessee-Martin
W 41-6
9/7/2024
at Tulane
W 34-27
9/13/2024
vs. Arizona
W 31-7
9/21/2024
at BYU
L 38-9
9/28/2024
vs. Oklahoma State
W 42-20
10/12/2024
at Colorado
W 31-28
10/19/2024
at West Virginia
W 45-18
10/26/2024
vs. Kansas
W 29-27
11/2/2024
at Houston
L 24-19
11/16/2024
vs. Arizona State
L 24-14
11/23/2024
vs. Cincinnati
W 41-15
11/30/2024
at Iowa State
L 29-21
12/26/2024
vs. Rutgers
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Kansas State 2024 Stats & Insights
Kansas State is compiling 417.3 yards per game on offense (42nd in the FBS), and rank 38th on defense, yielding 338.6 yards allowed per game.
Kansas State is compiling 212.8 passing yards per game on offense, which ranks them 84th in the FBS. The defense ranks 78th, giving up 223.7 passing yards per contest.
The Wildcats are totaling 29.8 points per game on offense this year (50th in the FBS), and they are giving up 21.9 points per game (35th) on the defensive side of the ball.
The Wildcats have the 34th-ranked defense this season in terms of rushing yards (128 rushing yards allowed per game), and they’ve been better on the other side of the ball, ranking 16th-best with 204.5 rushing yards per game.
Kansas State ranks 75th in third-down efficiency (39.6%) on offense and 50th in third-down conversion rate allowed (36.7%) on defense this year.
With 14 forced turnovers (90th in the FBS) against 15 turnovers committed (40th in the FBS), the Wildcats’ -1 turnover margin ranks 65th in college football.
Rutgers ranks 72nd with 381.2 total yards per game on offense, and it ranks 83rd with 382.4 total yards allowed per game on the defensive side of the ball.
Rutgers ranks 92nd in the FBS with 204.9 passing yards per contest on offense, and it ranks 95th with 234.1 passing yards given up per game on the defensive side of the ball.
In terms of points scored the Scarlet Knights rank 70th in the FBS (27.9 points per game), and they are 57th defensively (23.8 points allowed per contest).
The Scarlet Knights are putting up 176.3 rushing yards per game on offense this season (46th-ranked). Meanwhile, they are allowing 148.3 rushing yards per game (67th-ranked) on defense.
Rutgers is putting up a 42.9% third-down conversion rate on offense this season (40th-ranked). Meanwhile, it is surrendering a 41.8% third-down rate (91st-ranked) on defense.
After forcing 12 turnovers (109th in the FBS) and turning the ball over eight times (second in the FBS) this season, the Scarlet Knights own the 44th-ranked turnover margin of +4.
The Kansas City Chiefs were on the road this holiday season, capping off their 11-day gauntlet with a big-time win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. Fueled by a high-flying offensive performance and an inspiring effort from the defense, Andy Reid’s team accomplished plenty on Christmas Day.
With that in mind, here are four takeaways from Wednesday’s game.
When Patrick Mahomes suffered a high-ankle sprain in Week 15 against the Cleveland Browns, many thought the injury would limit Kansas City’s superstar signal-caller for weeks to come. While he clearly wasn’t 100% healthy in last Saturday’s win over the Houston Texans, he still played an efficient game and looked comfortable in the pocket. That continued into this week, with Mahomes himself saying he thought he’d be in an even better spot with the ankle for Wednesday. That certainly was the case in Pittsburgh.
In one of his better performances of the season, everything clicked for Mahomes at different points in the game. Early on, he moved well in the pocket and even got a deep ball to Justin Watson to convert. In the third quarter, he got the RPO game going and let his receivers do the work. The fourth quarter saw him connect with Travis Kelce on a record-breaking score. In all, the two-time MVP completed 29 passes for 320 yards and three touchdowns. If this is Mahomes rounding into playoff form, Kansas City will be in good shape.
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Last weekend, Kansas City put up a mixed bag of defensive football against the Texans. Early on, C.J. Stroud and company had some explosive plays and didn’t have any trouble converting on third down. Things changed in the second half, even after defensive tackle Chris Jones suffered a strained calf. A Wednesday morning report confirmed that Jones wasn’t set to play in Week 17, which left the Chiefs’ defense shorthanded. While things were far from perfect without Jones, sitting him turned out to be the right call as the team managed in his absence.
Let’s get this out of the way: Pittsburgh very well could’ve – and should’ve – wound up with more points. On multiple occasions, the defense failed to contain Russell Wilson and the Chiefs struggled on third downs for most of the game. With that said, Steve Spagnuolo’s unit also forced some turnovers and generated a good deal of pressure on the afternoon. Things could’ve been worse than surrendering five yards per play against a big-play offense, especially down your top defender. Luckily for the Chiefs, they’ll take a 10-point output from the Steelers and also welcome Jones back with open arms whenever he’s healthy.
Last weekend, Chiefs rookie wideout Xavier Worthy hauled in a career-high seven passes and added 65 yards and a touchdown. He pitched in another score on Christmas, also topping his personal bests for receptions and yards with eight and 79, respectively. Mahomes and Co. have alluded to Worthy growing down the stretch of the season, which is exactly what he continues to showcase heading into the playoffs.
Kelce also deserves a huge tip of the cap. The future Hall of Fame man has already lost a step athletically and isn’t really a post-catch threat anymore, but he brought a bit of juice on Wednesday. At the age of 35 and in season No. 12, catching eight passes for 84 yards and a score will certainly do. There’s a case to be made that this was Kelce’s best game in nearly two months, and setting a record in the process is a big deal. He’s earned some rest over the next few weeks.
In the Week 17 playoff picture, the Buffalo Bills still stood a chance at securing the one-seed in the conference thanks to a head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chiefs from earlier this season. They also, however, gave the reigning champs a backup plan in case they fell flat on Wednesday. In the event that Kansas City lost to Pittsburgh on Christmas Day, they could’ve still locked up a first-round bye with a Buffalo loss or tie over the weekend. None of that applies now after the Chiefs handled business.
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As it turns out, Wednesday served as a Merry Clinchmas for the Chiefs. They now sit atop the conference and won’t have to play on Wild Card weekend, also making sure that they won’t have to hit the road until they (potentially) reach the Super Bowl. Additionally, the timing of this victory now makes Week 18’s game against the Denver Broncos more interesting from a personnel standpoint. With the most important spot in the conference playoff bracket secured, there are only good problems on the team’s hands now.
Read More: Steve Spagnuolo’s Latest Answer on Chiefs Activating Steven Nelson Is Telling