Monday, December 29, 2014 at 8:00 PM

Frank Erwin Center

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The Rice Owls will be taking on their toughest opponent of the season on Monday afternoon when they face the #9 Texas Longhorns. Last season, the Longhorns blew out the Owls 66-44 at home.

Last Monday, Rice saw their two-game winning streak come to an end when Lamar beat them 79-72 on the road. The Owls did not take care of the basketball in that loss, finishing with 21 team turnovers.

So far this season, the Owls have scored just 63.9 points per game while giving up 66.5 points per game to opposing offenses. Their best player has been senior forward Seth Gearhart, who is currently averaging 14.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Marcus Jackson has scored 12 points per game this year while dishing out a team-high 3.5 assists per game.

Last week, Texas had their three-game winning streak snapped when they were upset by Stanford 74-71 in overtime. Texas shot 44.6 percent from the field in that loss and were able to force Stanford into committing six turnovers.

Through 12 games, the Longhorns are grabbing 44.3 rebounds per game while only allowing their opponents to pull down 31.2 rebounds per game. Senior forward Jonathan Holmes has been one of their top performers by averaging 12.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Myles Turner leads the team in rebounding right now with 6.8 boards per game.

Rice Owls Betting Trends

Rice Owls are 3-1-0 Against the Spread

Rice Owls are 1-1-0 against the Over/Under

Texas Longhorns Betting Trends

Texas Longhorns are 7-3-0 Against the Spread

Texas Longhorns are 1-4-0 against the Over/Under

Injuries to Watch

Rice Owls

11/15/14 F Ross Wilson Undisclosed out for season

Texas Longhorns

12/28/14 C Cameron Ridley Head injured last game, "?" Monday vs. Rice
12/17/14 G Damarcus Croaker Personal has left team
11/21/14 G Isaiah Taylor Wrist out indefinitely

Tony's Pick: Take Texas Tech

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