Rice Owls vs Houston Cougars Betting Pick & Prediction 12/6/23

The Owls and Cougars are set to face off at 8:00 ET on ESPN+. The Cougars will host the game at Fertitta Center in Houston, TX. The over/under for this game is set at 140 points, and the Cougars are the home favorites against the Owls in a non-conference matchup.

RICE OWLS VS HOUSTON COUGARS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Rice Owls +28.5

This game will be played at Fertitta Center at 8:00 ET on Wednesday, December 6th.

WHY BET THE RICE OWLS:

• We have this one finishing with a projected score of 76-67 in favor of the Cougars.
• Even though we have Houston winning straight-up, we like Rice at +28.5.
• The over/under is currently sitting at 140 points, and we like the over with a projected 143 points.

Will the Owls Win in Houston?

So far this season, Rice has played in 9 games, with a record of 3-5. In their last five games on the road, including those from last year, Rice has gone 1-4. So far this season, Rice has a below .500 record against the spread at 3-5. In their most recent five games, they have gone 1-4 vs. the spread.

After eight games, Rice has an over/under record of 4-3-1, with their games averaging a combined 156.5 points per game so far. The Owls have seen their last five games conclude with a collective average of 157 points per game and an over/under record of 2-2-1.

Against Houston Christian, the Rice had a tough time putting up points compared to their season average of 77 points per game. They scored 65 points and posted a field goal percentage of 39.3% in the game. Travis Evee is the current leading scorer for the team, with an average of 17 as they approach today’s matchup. In addition, Mekhi Mason brings a PPG average of 13.6 into the game.

Coming into the game, Rice will be looking to improve their defense, as they are currently giving up 79.5 points per game (225th). In today’s game, the Rice defense will be looking to once again do a good job defending the three-point line, as they gave up just 5 three-pointers while giving up 56 points.

Are the Cougars Ready for a Home Win?

The Cougars are preparing for their 9th game of the season and currently hold a perfect 8-0 record. So far this year, all of Houston’s games have taken place on the road. Houston has a winning ATS record, sitting above .500 at 4-3. Over their last five games, the team has gone 3-1 against the spread.

So far, Houston’s games have averaged 127 points per game with the average over/under line being 134.9 points. When analyzing the Cougars’ last five games, they have produced a combined average of 125 points per game and an over/under record of 1-3.

The Houston offense is coming off a game where they scored 66 points against Xavier. They posted a field goal percentage of 34.4% and connected on 7 threes. The team’s top scorer is LJ Cryer, who comes into today’s matchup with an average of 17.8, while Emanuel Sharp also maintains a PPG average of 11.5 leading up to the game.

The Cougars’ defense is presently ranked 1st nationally, allowing an average of 50.4 points per contest. Against Xavier in their most recent game, the Houston defense gave up a total of 60 points while allowing Xavier to hit 32% of their shots.