Rice vs. Texas Odds
| Rice Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+20.5 -110 | 156.5 -115o / -105u | +1200 |
| Texas Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-20.5 -110 | 156.5 -115o / -105u | -3000 |
Here's everything you need to know about Rice vs Texas on Wednesday, Nov. 15 — our expert prediction and betting pick for today.
Wednesday features a battle in the Lone Star State between the Texas Longhorns from the Big 12 and the Rice Owls from the AAC. What are the best avenues to attack the betting markets?
Last year, Rice played at the Moody Center in Austin the night that Chris Beard was fired from Texas, and the Owls nearly pulled the upset as 24.5-point favorites. The Owls once led by as many as 10 points in that game before the Longhorns eventually escaped 87-81 in overtime.
Will the Owls cover another huge spread on Wednesday, or will Rodney Terry's Longhorns be prepared for a statement win?
Find Rice vs Texas odds and a pick below.
Rice Owls
It's Rice's first season in the American after spending the previous stint in Conference USA. So far, it's been a mixed bag for the Owls season. Before the season, the Owls were an under-the-radar pick to finish in the top six of the conference, but that now looks pretty ambitious.
That said, Rice's formula is the same as usual. It will shoot many perimeter jumpers (about half of its shots) and struggle to defend. Scott Pera seemingly subtracted some offensive punch for improvements on defense with Anthony Selden and Makhi Mason returning.
However, allowing 89 points to Harvard wasn't encouraging considering the Crimson saw most of their scoring depart. If Rice isn't making threes, its odds of winning are low on a nightly basis.
Additionally, Pera's team lacks the explosive shooting from the past couple of seasons. Selden isn't a great shooter, so Travis Evee and Mason are the only ones the defense has to focus on.
Rice really needs Evee to get rolling because he's the roster's best perimeter scorer. The smooth lefty adds a different element than all the other Owls guards. Evee can light it up from 30 feet, attack off the bounce and make a massive difference. He's scored 30+ points multiple times in his career, and that version of Evee needs to have a big night in Austin.
Center Max Fiedler is the fulcrum for the Owls offense as he leads the Owls in points, rebounds, assists and steals in this young season. He's one of the best passing bigs in America, dropping dimes to cutters and placing the ball nicely into the shooter's pockets.
However, his below-average strength could prove problematic against the terrifying Longhorns defense.
Texas Longhorns
The biggest difference in this year's Texas team compared to last year's? Shooting. The Longhorns are shooting 45% from deep to begin the year, compared to just 33% last season. While 45% clearly isn't sustainable, it's possible to for this team to shoot 36-38% from deep with immense weapons.
Ithiel Horton has been the perfect addition to Texas's offense through two games because he demands attention from defense off the ball with his elite shooting prowess.
With Horton and Max Abmas in the fold, Texas's shooting becomes a strength. The Longhorns have connected on 45 percent of their perimeter jumpers to start the season.
Everyone knows Abmas can turn into a college hoops version of Steph Curry any night. He showed it dating back to his days at Oral Roberts. He was the centerpiece of a team that won two games in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 15 seed. Against the lax Rice defense, Abmas could catch fire from downtown.
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The return of Dillon Mitchell has also been beneficial for Texas after flirting with the NBA, especially as Dylan Disu remains injured. Mitchell is averaging 11 points and eight boards per game in his sophomore campaign. Many teams coveted Mitchell during the draft process before opting to return and hopefully solidify his first-round draft stock.
As for this game, Rice doesn't have a single player who matches Mitchell's raw athleticism. The 6-foot-8 forward will provide major defensive versatility in this one.
However, Texas has struggled with turnovers as it's turned the ball over a ridiculously high 20.1% of the time against Incarnate Word and Delaware State in two dominating wins. The turnover woes have yet to haunt Texas, but someone will throw some water on the team's flames if that continues.
Rice's defensive scheme isn't to pressure defensively, which results in only forcing turnovers on 14 percent of possessions.
Rice vs. Texas
Betting Pick & Prediction
Texas has the size, athleticism and guard scoring that Rice lacks, which will boost the Longhorns' chances of covering the large number.
There's such a stark difference in the team's athleticism and length. Despite the absence of Disu, the Horns have two experienced transfer big men in Ze'Rik Onyema from UTEP and Kadin Shedrick from Virginia who should give them an advantage inside against a smaller Rice squad. Texas seemingly wants to shoot more threes this season and will surely secure plenty of offensive rebounds against the smaller Rice squad.
While the Horns have had trouble with turnovers so far this season, this Owls defense doesn't put pressure on its opponents, which results in only forcing turnovers on 14% of possessions.
As a result, the Horns should cover this large number at home on Wednesday night.
Pick: Texas -18.5 or Better
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