Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns vs Rice Owls Prediction, 12/22/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns vs Rice Owls

Date: Friday, December 22, 2023

Location: Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (6-5) are en route to Tudor Fieldhouse on Friday where they will try to defeat the Rice Owls (6-6).

The Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns played McNeese State and took a loss by a score of 74-72 in their last game. Louisiana ended the contest with a 48.0% field goal percentage (24 of 50) and converted 7 of 18 shots from beyond the arc. From the free throw line, the Ragin' Cajuns knocked down 17 of 20 tries for a rate of 85.0%. When talking about pulling down boards, they compiled 22 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 12 dimes for this contest while forcing 11 turnovers and earning 5 steals. When talking about defending, Louisiana allowed the other team to shoot 51.1% from the floor on 24 of 47 shooting. McNeese State recorded 13 dimes and had 6 steals for this contest. In addition, McNeese State collected 26 rebounds (8 offensive, 18 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. McNeese State ended up going 67.9% from the free throw line by knocking down 19 of their 28 attempts. They converted 7 of their 15 attempts from 3-point land. When talking about personal fouls, the Ragin' Cajuns walked away with 23 and McNeese State accumulated 17 personal fouls.

Kentrell Garnett is one player who came through in this matchup. He ended up going 83.3% from the field and also dished out 1 assist. He played 31 mins but did not grab any boards. He totaled 19 points on 5 of 6 shooting.

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Louisiana will enter this matchup with a mark of 6-5 so far this year. They lose possession by turning the ball over 11.9 times per game and as a unit they are committing 18.3 fouls per contest. As a team, Louisiana is pulling down 32.3 boards per game and has totaled 150 dimes for the campaign, which has them ranked 210th in D-1 in terms of passing the rock. The Ragin' Cajuns are connecting on 38.2% on shots from distance (100 of 262) and 70.9% from the charity stripe. They average 77.9 pts per game (118th in college hoops) while shooting 47.1% from the floor.

On defense, the Ragin' Cajuns are forcing 16.1 turnovers per game while drawing 14.9 personal fouls. They give up 28.1% from 3-point land while they are 203rd in the nation in PPG from their opponents (71.6). The Ragin' Cajuns are giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 46.6% (281 of 603) and they relinquish 35.0 boards per game as a squad. They are currently ranked 134th in D-1 in allowing assists with 134 surrendered this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Rice Owls got the victory with a final of 82-56 against Prairie View A&M. The Owls earned 36 defensive boards and 10 offensive boards for a total of 46 in this contest. They turned the ball over 13 times, while recording 4 steals in this contest. Prairie View A&M committed 14 personal fouls for the contest which got the Owls to the free throw line for a total of 10 attempts. They were able to bury 9 of those for a clip of 90.0%. Concerning shooting from 3-point land, Rice made 7 of their 23 tries (30.4%). When this game wrapped up, the Owls went 33 out of 63 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 52.4%. The Owls permitted Prairie View A&M to make 21 out of 63 tries from the floor which left them with a shooting percentage of 33.3% for this game. They wrapped up this game 31.6% from distance by hitting 6 out of 19 and walked away from this one shooting 8 of 10 at the free throw line (80.0%). In reference to rebounds, Rice permitted Prairie View A&M to grab 20 overall (3 on the offensive side).

Travis Evee ended up being important for the Owls in the matchup. He scored 28 points in his 33 mins on the court and totaled 4 dimes for this game. He made 11 of 17 in the game for a field goal percentage of 64.7%, and had 5 rebounds.

Rice has a mark of 6-6 on the season. The Owls commit 14.1 fouls every game while shooting 69.4% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 14.6 times per contest (118th in the nation) and they turn the ball over 11.9 times per game. Rice has earned 893 pts so far this year (74.4 per game) and they average 38.1 rebounds per game. As an offensive unit, the Owls are hitting on 44.9% from the field, which is 175th in the country.

The Rice defense concedes 33.6% on shots from beyond the perimeter (91 of 271) and opponents are converting on 70.9% of their foul shots. They have given up 13.2 assists and 35.3 total boards per game, which is ranked 227th and 203rd in the country. The Owls on the defensive side of the court are 239th in college basketball in PPG surrendered with 72.9. They are forcing 11.4 TO's per game and have let teams shoot 44.0% from the field (248th in college hoops).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Louisiana

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