Rice Owls vs Houston Cougars Prediction, 12/6/2023 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs Houston Cougars

Date: Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Location: Fertitta Center in Houston, TX

TV: BIG12|ESPN+

The Houston Cougars (8-0) will take on the Rice Owls (3-5) at Fertitta Center on Wednesday.

The Rice Owls faced off with Houston Christian and notched a win by a score of 65-56 in their last contest. Rice ended with a 39.3% field goal percentage (24 out of 61) and converted 5 out of their 25 3-point shots. At the charity stripe, the Owls buried 12 of 24 attempts for a percentage of 50.0%. Regarding getting rebounds, they earned 39 with 9 of them being on the offensive end. They also distributed 14 assists in this matchup while forcing the other team into 14 turnovers and earning 8 steals. In relation to defense, Rice allowed the other team to go 35.3% from the floor on 24 of 68 shooting. Houston Christian earned 6 assists and had 6 steals for the game. Additionally, Houston Christian pulled down 44 rebounds (13 offensive, 31 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Houston Christian finished the contest at 33.3% at the charity stripe by burying 5 of their 15 shots. They also knocked down 3 out of their 17 attempts from beyond the arc. Concerning fouls, the Owls walked away with 15 and Houston Christian finished the game with 17 fouls.

Travis Evee is someone who was a major factor in this matchup. He finished with 18 points on 7 of 17 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 38 mins and collected 3 rebounds. He ended up shooting 41.2% from the field and also earned 2 assists.

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Rice heads into this contest with a win-loss mark of 3-5 so far this year. They turn the ball over 10.9 times per contest and as a unit they are committing 15.1 fouls per game. As a unit, Rice is snagging 36.8 rebounds per game and has earned 122 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 76th in D-1 in terms of passing the ball. The Owls are hitting 31.1% on shots beyond the perimeter (60 of 193) and 69.4% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 77.0 pts per game (136th in the nation) while connecting on 43.8% from the field.

When they are on the defensive end, the Owls are able to force 11.6 turnovers every game while drawing 16.8 fouls. They are giving up 36.8% on shots from distance while they are 331st in college hoops in points per game allowed (79.5). The Owls are giving up a field goal percentage of 46.9% (232 of 495) and they relinquish 37.3 rebounds per contest as a team. They currently rank 311th in college basketball in giving up assists with 119 relinquished on the year.

In their last game, the Houston Cougars got the victory with a final of 66-60 against Xavier. Concerning rebounding, Houston permitted Xavier to grab 35 in total (12 offensive). They finished shooting 25.0% from beyond the arc by hitting 4 out of 16 and finished the contest at 20 of 30 at the free throw line (66.7%). The Cougars permitted Xavier to make 18 of their 55 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 32.7% for this game. At the conclusion of this game, the Cougars went 21 for 61 from the floor which gave them a rate of 34.4%. In regard to shots from distance, Houston converted 7 of 22 tries (31.8%). They were able to make 17 of the free throw tries for a percentage of 68.0%. Xavier had 23 personal fouls for this contest which took the Cougars to the free throw line for a total of 25 tries. They coughed up the ball 10 times, while getting 8 steals for this game. The Cougars earned 24 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds totaling 36 in the game.

LJ Cryer was important for the Cougars in this contest. He made 8 of 16 in the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and tallied 4 rebounds. He racked up 23 points in his 38 mins of playing time, but wasn't able to get an assist.

Houston has a record of 8-0 for the season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Cougars are hitting on 43.3% from the field, which is 238th in D-1. Houston has totaled 600 points so far this year (75.0 per contest) and they grab 41.1 boards per contest. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 13.6 times per game (164th in college hoops) and they are turning it over 8.5 times per game. The Cougars commit 18.3 fouls every game and they shoot 64.2% from the free throw line.

The Houston defense allows 27.6% on three-point shots (42 of 152) and their opposition knocks down 62.4% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 11.3 dimes and 32.6 total boards per game, which has them ranked 100th and 81st in the nation. The Cougars defensively are ranked 2nd in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 50.4. They are forcing 16.8 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 34.9% from the floor (3rd in college hoops).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Rice

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