Rice Owls vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers Prediction, 2/12/2021 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Date: Friday, February 12, 2021

Location: E.A. Diddie Arena in Bowling Green, KY

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Rice (+11.5)

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers (13-4) host the Rice Owls (12-8) at E.A. Diddie Arena on Friday. Western Kentucky opens this game as 11.5-point favorites. The O/U has been set at 147.5.

Rice will enter this contest with a mark of 12-8 this year. The Owls are shooting 37.2% on 3-point shots (212 of 570) and 71.4% from the free throw line. They are averaging 77.2 pts per game (62nd in Division 1) while shooting 45.5% from the field. They are giving up possession 15.1 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 14.2 personal fouls every game. As a unit, Rice is snagging 38.0 rebounds per game and has accounted for 325 assists on the season, which has them ranked 14th in the nation in terms of passing. Defensively, the Owls are forcing 12.8 turnovers per game and they draw 17.2 personal fouls. The Owls defense is giving up an opponent FG percentage of 44.0% (550 of 1,250) and they surrender 34.2 rebounds per game as a team. They currently rank 311th in college basketball in giving up assists to the opposition with 272 surrendered this year. They are surrendering 33.4% on 3-pointers and they are ranked 233rd in the country in PPG from their opponents (72.3).

The Rice Owls faced off with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles and went home with a win by a final score of 76-68 in their last game. Rice wrapped up the game having earned a 42.9% field goal percentage (24 of 56) and converted 14 out of their 32 three-point attempts. At the charity stripe, the Owls buried 14 of 15 tries for a percentage of 93.3%. When discussing rebounding, they compiled a total of 36 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also recorded 21 assists for the matchup while getting 3 steals and 2 blocks. With respect to defense, Rice allowed the other team to shoot 42.9% from the floor on 24 out of 56 shooting. Southern Miss dished out 21 assists and had 11 steals in this contest. On top of that, the Golden Eagles grabbed 31 rebounds (9 offensive, 22 defensive) and earned 2 rejections. Southern Miss went 58.3% when shooting free throws by converting 7 of 12 shots. They made 3 of 17 attempts from distance.

Quincy Olivari is one player who played a role in this matchup. He recorded 20 points on 6 of 15 shooting. He played for 34 mins and pulled down 9 boards. Olivari finished the game at 40.0% from the field and also distributed 3 assists. An additional guy that was a contributor in this game for the Owls was Max Fiedler. He had 8 rebounds and also accounted for 5 dimes. He ended up going 66.7% from the field in the game by hitting 6-of-9 (16 points). Overall, Fiedler was on the hardwood for 28 min.

Western Kentucky has a win-loss mark of 13-4 so far this year. Western Kentucky has accounted for 1,259 pts on the season (74.1 per contest) and they collect 38.4 boards per game. The Hilltoppers are committing 15.7 personal fouls per contest and they hit 80.2% from the free throw line. As an offensive unit, the Hilltoppers are hitting on 45.1% from the field, which has them ranked 144th in the country. They are dishing out assists 12.6 times per contest (220th in D-1) and they turn the ball over 14.5 times per contest. The Hilltoppers on the defensive side of the court are 162nd in college basketball in PPG given up with 69.5. They have surrendered 12.5 dimes and 30.6 boards on a nightly basis, which is 147th and 29th in college hoops. The Western Kentucky defense surrenders 36.3% on shots from behind the 3-point line (138 of 380) and their opponents are converting on 73.2% of their foul shots. They are able to force 13.5 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.9% from the field (171st in college basketball).

In their last game, the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers walked away with a victory by a final of 68-52 against the MTSU Blue Raiders. The Hilltoppers were able to corral 33 defensive rebounds and 3 offensive boards totaling 36 in the matchup. They also stuffed 6 tries while recording 3 steals in the matchup. The Blue Raiders committed 17 personal fouls in this contest which got the Hilltoppers to the charity stripe for a total of 22 tries. They were able to make 17 of them for a clip of 77.3%. Regarding shooting from beyond the arc, Western Kentucky converted 3 of 15 attempts (20.0%). When the game finished, the Hilltoppers walked away from this one shooting 24 for 50 from the field which gave them a rate of 48.0%. The Hilltoppers permitted the Blue Raiders to convert 18 of 63 attempts from the field which had them shooting 28.6% in the game. They shot 21.7% from three-point range by shooting 5 out of 23 and walked away from this one shooting 11 out of 14 at the free throw line (78.6%). In the matter of rebounding, Western Kentucky allowed MTSU to pull down 32 overall (11 offensive).

Charles Bassey ended up having an impact for the Hilltoppers for this contest. He converted 9 out of 13 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 69.2%, which had him sitting at 23 points. Bassey pulled down 14 rebounds in his 35 mins and accumulated 2 dimes in this game. An additional guy that ended being a contributor for Western Kentucky was Josh Anderson. He notched 9 points in his 30 minutes played via 4 of 10 shooting for the game. Anderson ended the game having shot 40.0% from the floor while also contributing 3 dimes and 9 boards.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Rice (+11.5)

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