Rice vs. UTSA C-USA Tournament Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Wednesday, March 8, 2023

The No. 6 seed Rice Owls (17-14, 8-12 C-USA) take on the No. 11 seed UTSA Roadrunners (10-21, 4-16 C-USA) as 6.5-point favorites in C-USA Tournament Wednesday at Ford Center at The Star, starting at 9:30 PM on ESPN+. Both teams will look to take one step closer to earning an automatic place in the NCAA Tournament bracket. The matchup has an over/under of 154.

Rice vs. UTSA Odds

• Rice odds to win: -283
• UTSA odds to win: +228
• Spread: Rice (-6.5)
• Total: 154

Rice vs. UTSA Promo Codes

Game Time and Information

• Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2023
• Time: 9:30 PM ET
• TV: ESPN+
• Where: Frisco, Texas
• Venue: Ford Center at The Star

Who Will Win Rice vs. UTSA?

Rice and UTSA Betting Trends, Records Against the Spread

Rice has a 1-2 record against the spread in games it was favored by 6.5 points or more this season.

UTSA has a 9-11 record against the spread this season when an underdog by 6.5 points or more.

The two teams average a combined 7.4 fewer points per game (146.6) than this game’s total of 154 points.

Opponents of these two teams have averaged a combined 152.9 points per game, 1.1 fewer than the point total for this game.

The average point total in Rice’s games this year is 0.4 fewer points than the total of 154 in this matchup.

Roadrunners games this season have averaged an over/under of 145.9 points, 8.1 fewer than the point total in this matchup.

The Owls’ ATS record is 14-14-0 this season.

The Roadrunners have gone 13-16-0 ATS this season.

Rice Stats & Insights

Rice’s +35 scoring differential (outscoring opponents by 1.2 points per game) is a result of scoring 77.4 points per game (52nd in college basketball) while allowing 76.2 per contest (332nd in college basketball).

Rice averages 32.7 rebounds per game (118th in college basketball) while conceding 31.2 per contest to its opponents. It outrebounds opponents by 1.5 boards per game.

The Owls connect on 9.1 three-pointers per game (30th in college basketball) at a 35.9% rate (87th in college basketball), compared to the 8.1 their opponents make while shooting 35.7% from beyond the arc.

Rice’s 98.1 points per 100 possessions on offense rank 73rd in college basketball, and the 96.7 points it allows per 100 possessions rank 314th in college basketball.

At home, the Owls are averaging 8.9 more points per game (81.1) than they are in away games (72.2).

UTSA Stats & Insights

UTSA puts up 69.2 points per game (243rd in college basketball) while allowing 76.7 per outing (338th in college basketball). It has a -232 scoring differential and has been outscored by 7.5 points per game.

UTSA comes up short in the rebound battle by an average of 2.4 boards. It records 31.6 rebounds per game (185th in college basketball) compared to its opponents’ 34.0.

UTSA knocks down 7.4 three-pointers per game (182nd in college basketball) compared to its opponents’ 8.0. It shoots 33.4% from deep, and its opponents shoot 35.1%.

UTSA ranks 315th in college basketball averaging 87.6 points per 100 possessions on offense, and defensively is 319th, allowing 97.1 points per 100 possessions.

In 2022-23 the Roadrunners are averaging 1.8 more points per game at home (70.0) than away (68.2).

Rice Key Players to Watch

The Owls leader in rebounds and assist is Max Fiedler, who grabs 7.7 rebounds and distributes 5.1 assists per game along with scoring 10.6 points per contest.

Quincy Olivari leads Rice in scoring, averaging 19.3 per game to go with 5.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists.

The Owls get the most three-point shooting production out of Olivari, who makes 2.9 threes per game.

Travis Evee and Fiedler lead Rice on the defensive end, with Evee leading the team in steals averaging 1.2 per game and Fiedler in blocks averaging 1.1 per contest.

UTSA Key Players to Watch

The Roadrunners’ Japhet Medor puts up enough points (13.4 per game) and assists (3.8 per game) to sit atop the squad’s leaderboards.

Jacob Germany is at the top of the UTSA rebounding leaderboard with 8.3 rebounds per game. He also racks up 12.4 points and tacks on 0.9 assists per game.

John Buggs III makes 2.5 three-pointers per game, the most on the Roadrunners.

Medor (1.5 steals per game) is the steal leader for UTSA while Germany (0.8 blocks per game) is the block leader.

Rice vs. UTSA Prediction

• Pick ATS:

  UTSA (+6.5)
  

• Pick OU:

  Under (154)
  

• Prediction:
  Rice 78, UTSA 73

How to Bet on Rice vs. UTSA

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