Rice Owls vs UAB Blazers Prediction, 1/22/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs UAB Blazers

Date: Friday, January 22, 2021

Location: Bartow Arena in Birmingham, AL

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Rice (+10)

The UAB Blazers (10-2) play the Rice Owls (10-4) at Bartow Arena on Friday. The line on this matchup has UAB as 10-point favorites. The total opens at 140.5.

Rice will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 10-4 for the season. The Owls are hitting 36.8% on three-point shots (154 of 419) and 68.8% from the charity stripe. They average 79.3 points per outing (55th in the nation) while connecting on 45.5% from the field. They turn the ball over 13.9 times per game and as a group are committing 14.4 fouls every game. As a team, Rice is pulling down 39.0 boards per contest and has accounted for 237 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 17th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. When they are on defense, the Owls are forcing 14.3 turnovers every game while drawing 17.9 fouls. They are conceding 33.4% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they rank 199th in the nation in PPG allowed (71.0). The Owls defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 42.8% (377 of 880) and they concede 35.2 rebounds per contest as a unit. They rank 282nd in the country in allowing assists with 187 surrendered on the season.

The Rice Owls played the Old Dominion Monarchs and took a loss by a score of 61-58 in their last game. Rice ended the game with a 37.5% FG percentage (18 out of 48) and buried 10 of 27 3-pointers. When they shot from the free throw line, the Owls converted 12 of their 17 tries for a rate of 70.6%. Concerning rebounding, they compiled 29 with 5 of them being offensive. They also doled out 11 dimes for the contest as well as having 7 steals and 3 rejections. Concerning defending, Rice let their opponent shoot 37.5% from the field on 18 of 48 shooting. Old Dominion recorded 7 assists and had 13 steals for the contest. Furthurmore, the Monarchs pulled down 37 boards (10 offensive, 27 defensive) and earned 3 blocks. Old Dominion ended up going 71.4% from the free throw line by making 15 of their 21 tries. They also knocked down 4 of 12 attempts from beyond the perimeter.

Travis Evee is someone who was a major factor for the game. He recorded 14 points on 4 out of 9 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 34 mins and also collected 2 rebounds. Evee finished the contest at 44.4% from the field and earned 2 assists. An additional guy that had an impact in this contest for the Owls was Riley Abercrombie. He had 4 rebounds and collected 2 assists. He ended up shooting 44.4% from the field in this contest by going 4-of-9 (12 points). Overall, Abercrombie was on the court for 33 min.

UAB has a win-loss mark of 10-2 for the year. The Blazers have committed 16.3 fouls every game and they hit 70.4% from the free throw line. They are assisting teammates 10.6 times per game (318th in college basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 10.6 times per contest. UAB has tallied 891 points for the year (74.3 per game) and they collect 37.4 boards per game. On the offensive side of the court, the Blazers are shooting 46.2% from the field, which has them ranked 99th in the nation. The Blazers on defense are ranked 1st in college basketball in PPG given up with 56.4. The UAB defense gives up 26.8% on shots from distance (62 of 231) and opponents are knocking down 66.5% of their free throw attempts. They allow 9.3 dimes and 34.9 total rebounds per game, which ranks them 14th and 163rd in the nation. They are able to force 17.0 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 37.7% from the field (8th in D-1).

When they last stepped on the court, the UAB Blazers went home defeated by a final of 70-55 against the Charlotte 49ers. The Blazers were able to pull down 16 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive rebounds totaling 23 in the game. They also turned away 2 attempts while earning 5 steals for this contest. The 49ers earned 15 personal fouls in this contest which got the Blazers to the charity stripe for a total of 12 shots. They were able to make 10 of them for a rate of 83.3%. When talking about shooting from beyond the arc, UAB made 1 out of 15 attempts (6.7%). In all, the Blazers shot 22 for 54 from the field which had them shooting 40.7%. The Blazers allowed the 49ers to bury 25 of their 45 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 55.6% for this contest. They wrapped up this game 52.6% from downtown via 10 out of 19 and ended up shooting 10 of 13 at the free throw line (76.9%). When talking about attacking the glass, UAB permitted Charlotte to pull down 28 overall (4 offensive).

Tavin Lovan was important for the Blazers in the game. He knocked down 6 out of 8 for this contest for a field goal rate of 75.0%, which earned him 14 points. Lovan totaled 3 boards in his 33 minutes and added 2 assists in the game. Someone else that was pivotal for UAB was Trey Jemison. He totaled 10 points in 23 minutes played by going 5 out of 8 from the floor in this contest. Jemison wrapped this one up going 62.5% from the field in addition to totaling 2 assists and 5 total rebounds.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Rice (+10)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here