Rice Owls vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Prediction, 2/26/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs Louisiana Tech Bulldogs

Date: Friday, February 26, 2021

Location: Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, LA

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Rice (+9)

Thomas Assembly Center is the venue where and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (17-6) will take on the Rice Owls (12-10) on Friday. Rice opens this matchup as 9-point dogs. The O/U opens at 143.

Rice heads into this matchup with a mark of 12-10 so far this year. They have an average of 76.4 pts per contest (67th in Division 1) on 45.1% from the field. The Owls are shooting 37.1% on three-point shots (234 of 630) and 72.2% from the charity stripe. As a team, Rice is pulling down 37.5 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 346 dimes this year, which ranks 30th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They cough up possession 15.2 times per contest and as a group they are committing 14.2 personal fouls every game. On the defensive end, the Owls have forced 12.9 turnovers every game while drawing 16.7 fouls. The Owls are giving up a FG percentage of 44.9% (614 of 1,369) and they concede 34.1 boards per game as a squad. They are 299th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 316 relinquished for the year. They give up 34.7% on 3-pointers and they rank 253rd in college hoops in points per game allowed (73.3).

The Rice Owls played the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 89-66 in their last contest. Rice finished the game having earned a 41.0% field goal percentage (25 of 61) and converted 9 out of their 32 3-point attempts. When they shot from the charity stripe, the Owls buried 7 of their 9 tries for a rate of 77.8%. When it comes to rebounding, they compiled a total of 29 with 10 of them being offensive. They also recorded 9 assists in this matchup while forcing 12 turnovers and getting 6 steals. Regarding the defense, Rice allowed the other team to shoot 56.5% from the field on 35 out of 62 shooting. Western Kentucky dished out 24 assists and had 8 steals for this game. Additionally, Western Kentucky totaled 30 rebounds (8 offensive, 22 defensive) and had 4 rejections. Western Kentucky shot 62.5% from the free throw line by making 5 of 8 attempts. They also made 14 of their 28 attempts from 3-point range.

Quincy Olivari is one player who played a role for this game. He ended up finishing with 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting. He was on the court for 30 minutes played and also grabbed 2 rebounds. Olivari ended up going 38.5% from the field and recorded 1 assist. Another guy that was a contributor in this matchup for the Owls was Cameron Sheffield. He grabbed 5 rebounds in his 25 min on the basketball court. He finished 50.0% from the floor in this contest by going 4-of-8 (11 points). Overall, Sheffield wasn't able to get an assist.

Louisiana Tech has a win-loss mark of 17-6 so far this year. Louisiana Tech has totaled 1,657 pts for the campaign (72.0 per contest) and they grab 38.2 boards per game. The Bulldogs are committing 15.8 fouls per contest and they connect on 68.2% from the charity stripe. As an offensive team, the Bulldogs are hitting on 43.9% from the field, which ranks them 198th in college basketball. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 11.3 times per contest (301st in college basketball) and they turn it over 13.0 times per game. The Bulldogs on the defensive side of the court are 58th in D-1 in points per game surrendered with 65.5. The Louisiana Tech defense gives up 29.9% on three-point shots (150 of 502) and opponents are converting on 70.7% of their foul shots. They surrender 11.5 dimes and 35.5 rebounds per contest, which is ranked 72nd and 202nd in D-1. They have forced 13.4 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 40.6% from the field (46th in college basketball).

When they last played, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs got the victory with a final of 69-64 against the UAB Blazers. The Bulldogs snagged 25 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive rebounds for a total of 28 for the matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while earning 7 steals in this matchup. The Blazers were called for 15 fouls for the game which took the Bulldogs to the charity stripe for 20 attempts. They were able to bury 14 of the free throw tries for a rate of 70.0%. When talking about shots from beyond the arc, Louisiana Tech converted 5 of their 21 attempts (23.8%). At the conclusion of this game, the Bulldogs ended up going 25 for 53 from the floor which gave them a rate of 47.2%. The Bulldogs allowed the Blazers to make 26 of 57 attempts from the floor which left them shooting 45.6% in this matchup. They finished shooting 25.0% from beyond the arc by shooting 4 out of 16 and finished the contest at 8 of 14 at the free throw line (57.1%). In relation to how they rebounded, Louisiana Tech allowed UAB to snag 32 overall (8 on the offensive glass).

Cobe Williams ended up being a factor for the Bulldogs in the matchup. He knocked down 4 out of 7 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 57.1%, and tallied 2 rebounds. Williams earned 16 points in his 33 minutes on the hardwood and accumulated 5 dimes for this contest. Another guy who came through for Louisiana Tech was Kenneth Lofton. He ended up with 3 dimes in 30 minutes on the hardwood, and he shot 3 out of 7 from the floor. Lofton wrapped this one up going 42.9% from the floor and also earning 13 points and 7 boards.

Who will win tonight's college basketball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Rice (+9)

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