FIU Panthers vs Rice Owls Prediction, 3/4/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: FIU Panthers vs Rice Owls

Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023

Location: Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Rice Owls (17-12) will play the FIU Panthers (13-16) at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday.

The FIU Panthers faced UTSA and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 95-91 in their last contest. In relation to personal fouls, the Panthers finished with 23 while UTSA racked up 17 personal fouls. They also buried 8 out of their 20 shots from 3-point range. UTSA finished the game at 80.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 25 of their 31 attempts. Additionally, UTSA pulled down 34 rebounds (16 offensive, 18 defensive), but didn't have a block. UTSA earned 16 dimes and had 13 steals for this game. With regard to the defense, FIU allowed 47.0% from the floor on 31 out of 66 shooting. They also dished out 13 assists in this contest in addition to creating 16 turnovers and having 9 steals. In terms of rebounding, they collected a total of 27 with 6 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Panthers converted 22 of their 27 attempts for a percentage of 81.5%. FIU ended the game with a 51.8% FG percentage (29 of 56) and made 11 of their 18 three-point attempts.

John Williams is a guy who was a major factor for this contest. He ended up going 77.8% from the field but wasn't able to get an assist. He played for 19 minutes and also snagged 4 boards. He accounted for 18 points on 7 of 9 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Basketball Betting Picks

FIU comes into this contest with a win-loss record of 13-16 this season. They average 72.3 pts per contest (171st in the country) while going 46.8% from the field. The Panthers are hitting 32.2% on three-point shots (195 of 606) and 70.6% from the charity stripe. As a team, FIU is snagging 31.7 boards per contest and has 357 assists so far this season, which has them ranked 282nd in the country in terms of passing. They are turning it over 15.0 times per game and as a team they are committing 17.1 fouls per game.

On defense, the Panthers are forcing 16.4 turnovers per game and they draw 15.3 fouls. They are conceding 36.1% from beyond the arc and they are ranked 307th in college hoops in opponents PPG (74.6). The Panthers defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 44.1% (761 of 1,727) and they concede 37.8 boards per game as a group. They are 244th in college hoops in giving up assists to their opponents with 410 conceded this year.

The last time they took the court, the Rice Owls took a defeat with a final score of 70-54 when they played Charlotte. The Owls were able to collect 22 defensive boards and 4 offensive rebounds totaling 26 for the contest. They gave up possession 7 times, while recording 6 steals for this contest. Charlotte was called for 11 fouls in the game which got the Owls to the charity stripe for a total of 12 shots. They were able to make 7 of the free throw tries for a rate of 58.3%. In the matter of 3-point shots, Rice made 7 out of their 27 attempts (25.9%). At the conclusion of this game, the Owls ended up shooting 20 out of 54 from the floor which had them shooting 37.0%. The Owls allowed Charlotte to convert 28 of 54 tries from the floor which had them shooting 51.9% in the matchup. They went 46.7% from three-point range via 7 of 15 and walked away from this one shooting 7 out of 10 at the free throw line (70.0%). When discussing how they attacked the glass, Rice allowed Charlotte to pull down 34 in total (5 on the offensive side).

Quincy Olivari pitched in for the Owls in this game. He made 9 of 23 for this contest for a field goal percentage of 39.1%, and earned 12 rebounds. He racked up 34 points in his 37 mins on the court and had 2 dimes in this game.

Rice has a mark of 17-12 on the campaign. The Owls have committed 15.1 fouls per game while shooting 73.1% from the charity stripe. They are getting an assist 15.4 times per contest (39th in college basketball) and they turn it over 12.9 times per game. Rice has scored 2,241 points for the year (77.3 per game) and they pull down 35.6 rebounds per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Owls are shooting 46.6% from the field, which ranks 67th in college basketball.

The Owls on defense are ranked 314th in college basketball in PPG allowed with 74.8. They are forcing their opponents into 12.1 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 46.2% from the field (320th in D-1). The Rice defense allows 35.0% on shots from behind the 3-point line (228 of 652) and their opposition knocks down 68.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have conceded 13.0 assists and 34.2 boards on a nightly basis, which ranks them 208th and 186th in Division 1.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take FIU

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