Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs Rice Owls Prediction, 2/24/2022 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Louisiana Tech Bulldogs vs Rice Owls

Date: Thursday, February 24, 2022

Location: Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Rice Owls (14-12) welcome the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (19-7) at Tudor Fieldhouse on Thursday.

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs played UTSA and notched a win by a score of 95-71 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Bulldogs ended up walking away with 18 and UTSA finished the game with 22 fouls. They also converted 5 of 22 attempts from beyond the arc. UTSA ended up going 66.7% from the free throw line by knocking down 16 of their 24 attempts. In addition, UTSA collected 34 boards (10 offensive, 24 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. UTSA distributed 10 assists and had 9 steals in this contest. In the matter of the defense, Louisiana Tech allowed their opponent to shoot 41.7% from the floor on 25 out of 60 shooting. They also doled out 21 dimes for the contest while forcing 15 turnovers and having 9 steals. With respect to grabbing boards, they collected 33 with 7 of them being on the offensive end. From the free throw line, the Bulldogs made 18 of 25 attempts for a rate of 72.0%. Louisiana Tech finished the contest with a 53.3% FG percentage (32 of 60) and made 13 of their 33 three-point shots.

Keaston Willis is someone who was a major contributor for the matchup. He walked away with 30 points on 10 of 14 shooting. He played for 28 minutes played and collected 2 rebounds. He went 71.4% from the field and totaled 1 assist.

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Louisiana Tech enters this game with a win-loss mark of 19-7 on the campaign. They have an average of 78.2 points per contest (30th in the nation) while hitting 46.1% from the floor. The Bulldogs are connecting on 34.6% on three-point shots (229 of 661) and 72.0% from the free throw line. As a unit, Louisiana Tech is pulling down 36.7 boards per game and is sitting with 392 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 79th in the country in terms of passing the ball. They are giving up possession 11.2 times per game and as a squad are committing 14.4 personal fouls every game.

On defense, the Bulldogs are able to force 14.2 turnovers per contest while drawing 17.8 personal fouls. They are ranked 192nd in college hoops in allowing assists to the opposition with 339 conceded on the campaign. The Bulldogs are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.5% (646 of 1,555) and they concede 36.1 boards per contest as a team. They relinquish 33.8% on 3-pointers and they are 180th in college hoops in PPG allowed (69.0).

In their last game, the Rice Owls went home defeated by a final of 80-78 when they played FIU. The Owls were able to pull down 22 defensive rebounds and 5 offensive rebounds for a total of 27 for the contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 5 times, while recording 4 steals for the contest. FIU was called for 10 personal fouls in this game which got the Owls to the free throw line for 7 tries. They were able to convert 5 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 71.4%. In regard to shots from distance, Rice buried 13 of 30 tries (43.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Owls ended up shooting 30 for 65 from the floor which had them shooting 46.2%. The Owls allowed FIU to make 27 of 58 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 46.6% in the matchup. They shot 33.3% from distance by going 8 of 24 and ended up shooting 18 out of 24 from the free throw line (75.0%). With respect to rebounding, Rice allowed FIU to snag 37 overall (9 offensive).

Travis Evee ended up being a major contributor for the Owls for the game. He earned 20 points in his 36 minutes on the court and had 3 assists for this game. He knocked down 7 of 18 for the matchup giving him a rate of 38.9%, and added 1 rebound.

Rice has a win-loss mark of 14-12 so far this season. The Owls are committing 14.0 personal fouls per game and they hit 72.4% from the free throw line. They are dishing out assists 16.0 times per game (32nd in the country) and they are turning it over 12.8 times per game. Rice has accounted for 1,965 pts on the year (75.6 per contest) and they grab 35.7 rebounds per game. As an offense, the Owls are shooting 46.4% from the floor, which has them ranked 61st in the country.

The Owls are ranked 300th in college hoops in points allowed per game with 73.8. They have forced 10.3 TO's every game and allow teams to shoot 44.4% from the floor (252nd in D-1). The Rice defense surrenders 33.4% on shots from distance (197 of 590) and their opponents are making 71.7% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have surrendered 14.2 dimes and 34.8 total boards per game, which ranks them 286th and 192nd in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Louisiana Tech

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