Getty Jubrile Belo and the Montana State Bobcats take on Kansas State in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The No. 14 seed Montana State Bobcats (25-9, 15-3 in the Big Sky) will take on the No. 3 seeded Kansas State Wildcats (23-9, 11-7 the Big 12) in Greensboro, North Carolina on Friday, March 17 in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
The game (9:40 p.m. ET start time) will be televised on CBS, but if you don’t have cable, you can watch a live stream on Amazon Prime, Paramount+, FuboTV or DirecTV Stream, which all come with a free trial.
Here’s a full guide on the different ways to you can watch a live stream of Kansas State vs Montana State online for free:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
Amazon Prime
Amazon Prime subscribers (Prime comes with a 30-day free trial) can watch a live stream of their local CBS station via the Prime Paramount+ channel (“Premium” plan). You can try both Amazon Prime and the Paramount+ Channel at no cost with a free trial right here:
Once you’re signed up for the Prime Paramount+ Channel, you can watch Kansas State vs Montana State live on the Amazon Video app or Amazon website.
Compatible devices for the Amazon Video app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Xbox One or Series X/S, PlayStation 4 or 5, various smart TV’s, Xiaomi, Echo Show or Echo Spot, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Paramount+
This is ultimately the same as the Amazon Prime option above, only you’ll watch on Paramount’s digital platforms instead of Amazon’s. You can watch your local CBS channel live via Paramount+ (“Premium” plan), which comes with a free trial:
Once signed up for Paramount+, you can watch Kansas State vs Montana State live on the Paramount+ app or Paramount+ website.
Compatible devices for the Paramount+ app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Samsung Smart TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
FuboTV
You can watch a live stream of CBS and 100-plus other live TV channels on FuboTV, which comes with a free seven-day trial:
Once signed up for FuboTV, you can watch Kansas State vs Montana State live on the FuboTV app or FuboTV website.
Compatible devices for the FuboTV app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Xbox One or Series X/S, Samsung TV, LG TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
DirecTV Stream
DirecTV Stream has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” CBS is included in every one, but you can pick any package and any add-on you want with your free five-day trial:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Kansas State vs Montana State live on the DirecTV Stream app or DirecTV Stream website.
Compatible devices for the DirecTV Stream app include Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
Kansas State vs Montana State Preview
The Bobcats are making their second straight tournament appearance and are fresh from winning the Big Sky tournament, beating Northern Colorado, Weber State and Northern Arizona to secure the tournament title.
RaeQuan Battle led all scorers with 25 points, while senior Jubrile Belo added 14 points in the conference finals win over Northern Arizona. Belo, who has led Montana State to back-to-back Big Sky titles, is excited to finish his collegiate career in the Big Dance.
“It took everything,” Belo said after MSU’s Big Sky championship win over Northern Arizona. “We’ve been slaving since June. Doing something that’s never been done before is a feeling you can’t explain. Doing it with your best guys, best friends, and this amazing coach (Danny Sprinkle) telling me this is going to come, and now seeing it come to life, it’s mesmerizing.”
On the other side, K-State has lost its last two games, falling to West Virginia, 89-81 in its season finale and losing in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to TCU, 80-67. The Wildcats are averaging 75.5 points and 35.6 rebounds per game, and while cleaning up the glass will be key in this game, so will controlled play.
Keeping Montana State away from the foul line will be of paramount importance for KSU, as the Bobcats are averaging just under 18 trips to the charity stripe per game.
“It means a lot knowing all the hard work we put in and where we started,” K-State senior forward Keyontae Johnson said about making it into the tourney. “We all just stayed together and figured out how to get to the tournament. Being ranked this high is really a blessing. Now we have to finish it off and get a trophy.”
“You’ve got to go be the aggressor. You can’t be on your heels in games like this,” MSU head coach Danny Sprinkle said. “Yeah, you need some bounces to go your way, but there’s going to be some upsets. Why not us?”
Here are the projected starting lineups for both teams:
Kansas State: G Markquis Nowell, G Cam Carter, G Desi Sills, F Keyontae Johnson, F Nae’Quan Tomlin
Montana State: G Darius Brown, G RaeQuan Battle, G Tyler Patterson, F Caleb Fuller, F Jubrile Belo