Charlotte 49ers vs Rice Owls Prediction, 1/16/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Charlotte 49ers vs Rice Owls

Date: Tuesday, January 16, 2024

Location: Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Charlotte (-2)

The Charlotte 49ers (9-7) are headed to Tudor Fieldhouse on Tuesday where they will attempt to defeat the Rice Owls (6-10). Charlotte opens this contest as -2-point favorites from oddsmakers. The betting total is set at 136.5.

The Charlotte 49ers faced UTSA and took home the win by a score of 66-58 in their last game. When it comes to fouls, the 49ers walked away with 16 while UTSA racked up 18 fouls. They converted 5 of 25 tries from 3-point land. UTSA finished the game at 68.8% at the charity stripe by making 11 of their 16 attempts. Additionally, UTSA snagged 42 boards (14 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't notch a block. UTSA dished out 7 dimes and had 4 steals in this game. Regarding defending, Charlotte let their opponent shoot 35.0% from the field on 21 out of 60 shooting. They also distributed 12 assists in this contest as well as creating 17 turnovers and getting 11 steals. In relation to grabbing rebounds, they earned 24 with 3 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the 49ers made 14 of 22 attempts for a rate of 63.6%. Charlotte walked away from the contest with a 47.1% FG percentage (24 out of 51) and buried 4 of 17 shots from downtown.

Igor Milicic is a guy who played a role in this game. He ended up finishing with 19 points on 7 out of 11 shooting. He played 33 mins played and collected 4 rebounds. He ended up going 63.6% from the field and earned 1 assist.

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Charlotte steps onto the hardwood with a record of 9-7 this year. They have an average of 68.6 pts per game (305th in the country) while hitting 45.4% from the field. The 49ers are connecting on 30.9% on shots from distance (102 of 330) and 75.5% from the charity stripe. As a team, Charlotte is pulling down 32.3 boards per game and has 218 dimes for the campaign, which ranks 225th in the nation in terms of passing. They are turning it over 9.6 times per game and as a squad they commit 15.6 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the 49ers have forced 11.3 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 15.9 fouls. They currently rank 15th in D-1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 165 conceded on the campaign. The 49ers defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 41.4% (366 of 883) and they concede 33.2 boards per game as a group. They give up 31.7% on three-point shots while they are 30th in college hoops in PPG allowed (64.4).

For their last game, the Rice Owls took a loss by a final score of 81-73 when they played South Florida. The Owls corralled 29 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds totaling 38 in this matchup. They also gave up possession of the ball 16 times, while recording 4 steals for this contest. South Florida earned 16 fouls in the game which got the Owls to the free throw line for 16 attempts. They were able to convert 12 of the free throw tries for a rate of 75.0%. With respect to shooting from beyond the arc, Rice buried 9 out of their 18 attempts (50.0%). When this game wrapped up, the Owls finished 26 out of 56 from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 46.4%. The Owls permitted South Florida to knock down 24 out of 60 tries from the floor which left them with a rate of 40.0% in this game. They went 33.3% from three-point range by shooting 8 out of 24 and ended up shooting 25 of 29 from the free throw line (86.2%). In regard to how they cleaned up the glass, Rice allowed South Florida to get 26 overall (7 offensive).

Mekhi Mason was important for the Owls for this contest. He totaled 18 points in his 37 minutes of playing time and had 3 dimes in the matchup. He made 6 out of 12 for the matchup giving him a field goal percentage of 50.0%, and accumulated 7 rebounds.

Rice has a win-loss record of 6-10 so far this season. The Owls are committing 14.4 personal fouls per game and they hit 71.7% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 14.4 times per game (120th in college basketball) and they turn it over 12.4 times per game. Rice has tallied 1,174 points on the year (73.4 per game) and they average 37.0 rebounds per game. As an offensive team, the Owls are shooting 43.7% from the floor, which is 240th in the nation.

The Rice defense gives up 36.0% on shots from beyond the perimeter (135 of 375) and opponents are making 73.3% of their free throw shots. They surrender 14.7 assists and 35.7 boards every game, which is ranked 312th and 220th in D-1. The Owls on defense are ranked 289th in college basketball in PPG given up with 75.8. They are forcing their opponents into 11.3 TO's per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.1% from the floor (294th in D-1).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Rice (+2)

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