Don’t miss out on the NCAA showdown between the Mean Green and Owls. The game is starting at 8:00 ET on ESPN+, and it’s hosted by the Owls at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX. Get ready to place your bets! North Texas is favored by -5.5 in this American Athletic conference showdown. The game’s over/under is currently at 130 points.

NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN VS RICE OWLS BETTING PICK

The Pick: Rice Owls +5.5

This game will be played at Tudor Fieldhouse at 8:00 ET on Saturday, March 9th.

WHY BET THE RICE OWLS:

  • We have this one finishing with a projected score of 75-69 in favor of the Owls.
  • Not only will Rice pick up the win, but look for them to cover at +5.5.
  • The over/under is currently sitting at 130 points, and we like the over with a projected 144 points.

Can the Mean Green Lock in a Road Win?

North Texas heads into today’s game against Rice as the favorite, as they have been in 17 of their 29 games this season. So far, they have gone 13-4 in those games. On the road this season, the Mean Green have gone 5-6, and over their last 10 road games, they have gone 5-5.

In their most recent game, North Texas fell to Florida Atlantic, 80-76. So far this year, they have gone 16-13 overall, including a 9-8 mark in American Athletic Conference play. Today, they enter as 5.5-point favorites, and the over/under is set at 130.

North Texas has an overall ATS record of 16-11 this season. On the road, they have an ATS mark of 7-4. As the favorite, the Mean Green have gone 11-6 vs. the spread this year. Over their last 3 road games, North Texas is 2-1 ATS.

North Texas has an over/under record of 14-12-1 this season and their games have averaged 131.1 points per game. Today’s over/under line of 130 is right around their average scoring total for the year. Over their last three games, the over/under record is 3-0 and the average scoring total is 155 points.

In their recent matchup, the North Texas offense ended with 76 points against Florida Atlantic. They finished with an overall field goal percentage of 45.6% and made 6 threes. The top scorer for the Mean Green was Jason Edwards with 32 points, while John Buggs III also added 14 to the scoreboard.

Coming into today’s game, the North Texas defense is giving up an average of 62.7 points per contest. On average, opposing teams are hitting 5.7 threes per game vs. Rice. This has come on three-point shooting percentage of 30.7%.

Can the Owls Lock in a Home Win?

As the underdog, Rice will be looking to snap their three-game losing streak tonight against North Texas. So far this season, the Owls have gone 11-19, including a 5-12 mark in American Athletic Conference play.

At home, Rice is just 6-11 on the year, and over their last 10 games at home, they have gone just 2-8. So far, they have been the underdog in 18 of their 30 games, going 4-14 in those contests.

As the underdog this season, Rice has gone 6-10-2 vs. the spread. At home, their ATS mark is just 5-10-2. Over their last 10 games as the underdog, the Owls have a record of 5-4-1 vs. the spread.

Today’s over/under line of 130 is lower than the average over/under line in Rice’s games this season (149.8). So far, the over/under record in Rice’s games is 14-15-1. Over their last three games, the average scoring total is 130 points and their OU record during this span is 1-2.

Most recently, the Rice offense finished with just 64 points vs. Charlotte. For the game, they hit 4/14 three-point attempts and a field goal percentage of 50%. The top scorer for the Owls was Travis Evee with 20 points, while Mekhi Mason also chipped in with 15 points.

Facing North Texas, Rice aims for a better defensive performance, given their current average of 75.4 points allowed per game (264th). The Rice defense is coming off a game in which they gave up a total of 69 points and allowed Charlotte to connect on 6 threes.