Rice Owls vs UAB Blazers Prediction, 2/21/2024 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs UAB Blazers

Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2024

Location: Bartow Arena in Birmingham, AL

TV: ESPN+

Bartow Arena is the location where the UAB Blazers (17-8) will go up against the Rice Owls (9-16) on Wednesday.

The Rice Owls stepped onto the hardwood against Tulsa and took a loss by a score of 93-82 in their last contest. Rice wrapped up the contest having earned a 45.5% FG percentage (30 out of 66) and made 6 of their 20 shots from 3-point land. At the charity stripe, the Owls converted 16 of their 23 attempts for a percentage of 69.6%. Regarding rebounding, they compiled a total of 38 with 8 of them being on the offensive end. They also doled out 14 assists for the matchup as well as forcing 5 turnovers and earning 4 steals. In regard to defense, Rice allowed 46.2% from the field on 30 of 65 shooting. Tulsa totaled 20 assists and had 8 steals for the game. Additionally, Tulsa snagged 34 rebounds (6 offensive, 28 defensive), but didn't notch a block. Tulsa finished the game shooting 84.6% when shooting free throws by knocking down 22 of 26 attempts. They buried 11 of 24 shots from distance. When discussing personal fouls, the Owls ended up walking away with 18 and Tulsa recorded 17 personal fouls.

Travis Evee is a player who came through for this contest. He walked away with 21 points on 8 of 14 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 41 minutes and totaled 4 rebounds. He finished the contest at 57.1% from the field but finished the game without a dime.

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Rice heads into this matchup with a record of 9-16 for the campaign. They turn it over 12.3 times per game and as a squad they are committing 15.0 fouls on a nightly basis. As a unit, Rice is snagging 36.2 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 368 dimes this year, which is 124th in the country in terms of passing the rock. The Owls are connecting on 33.4% from downtown (205 of 613) and 69.1% from the charity stripe. They have an average of 73.2 points per game (205th in the country) while shooting 44.0% from the floor.

On the defensive end of the court, the Owls have forced 10.8 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 15.8 fouls. They are ranked 313th in D-1 in giving up assists to the opposition with 379 surrendered on the season. The Owls defense is giving up and opponent field goal percentage of 45.5% (697 of 1,532) and they concede 35.7 rebounds per contest as a group. They give up 36.3% on shots from beyond the perimeter and they are 310th in college basketball in opponents points per game (76.7).

In their last game, the UAB Blazers walked away with a victory by a final of 71-62 when they faced North Texas. When talking about cleaning the glass, UAB permitted North Texas to pull down 24 overall (5 offensive). They finished the game shooting 22.2% from behind the 3-point line by connecting on 4 of 18 and ended up shooting 8 out of 10 at the charity stripe (80.0%). The Blazers allowed North Texas to make 25 out of 60 tries from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 41.7% for the game. Overall, the Blazers went 21 out of 49 from the floor which gave them a rate of 42.9%. When discussing 3-pointers, UAB converted 3 out of their 12 attempts (25.0%). They were able to convert 26 of those for a rate of 83.9%. North Texas earned 19 fouls for the game which got the Blazers to the charity stripe for a total of 31 tries. They turned it over 14 times, while recording 3 steals for this game. The Blazers earned 25 defensive rebounds and 11 offensive rebounds for a total of 36 in the game.

Yaxel Lendeborg pitched in for the Blazers in this contest. He buried 8 of 13 for the contest giving him a rate of 61.5%, and totaled 8 rebounds. He had 26 points in his 32 minutes on the hardwood and totaled 1 assist in this game.

UAB has a record of 17-8 this season. As an offense, the Blazers are connecting on 44.3% from the floor, which ranks them 208th in the country. UAB has scored 1,920 pts for the campaign (76.8 per contest) and they average 38.5 rebounds per contest. They are dishing out assists 12.8 times per contest (217th in college hoops) and they turn it over 12.0 times per game. The Blazers are committing 15.7 fouls per game and they connect on 75.3% from the charity stripe.

The Blazers on defense are ranked 262nd in Division 1 in points given up per game with 74.5. They are forcing their opponents into 11.7 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 44.1% from the floor (215th in the nation). The UAB defense surrenders 33.4% on shots from 3-point land (187 of 560) and opponents are connecting on 72.2% of their free throw attempts. They concede 13.0 dimes and 35.0 boards per game, which is 200th and 193rd in college hoops.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Rice

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