Houston Baptist Huskies vs Rice Owls Prediction, 12/15/2020 College Basketball Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Baptist Huskies vs Rice Owls

Date: Tuesday, December 15, 2020

Location: Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

Odds/Point Spread: Houston Baptist (+14)

The Rice Owls (4-1) play the Houston Baptist Huskies (1-4) at Tudor Fieldhouse on Tuesday. The line on this game has Rice as 14-point favorites. The O/U opens at 156.

Houston Baptist will enter this contest with a win-loss mark of 1-4 so far this season. They have an average of 70.8 pts per contest (205th in D-1) on 43.6% from the field. The Huskies are hitting 39.8% on shots from downtown (45 of 113) and 73.1% from the free throw line. As a unit, Houston Baptist is collecting 34.0 rebounds per contest and has racked up 79 dimes for the year, which ranks 92nd in the country in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession by turning the ball over 18.6 times per contest and as a unit they commit 17.2 fouls on a nightly basis. On the defensive end, the Huskies are forcing their opponents into 13.0 turnovers every game and they draw 18.0 personal fouls. The Huskies defense is giving up a shooting percentage of 46.7% (151 of 323) and they surrender 37.8 boards per game as a unit. They rank 277th in D-1 in giving up assists with 85 surrendered on the season. They are surrendering 36.5% on 3-point shots and they are ranked 301st in college basketball in PPG from their opponents (83.4).

The Houston Baptist Huskies stepped onto the hardwood against the Champion Christian College Tigers and went home with a win by a final score of 93-60 in their last contest. Houston Baptist wrapped up the game having earned a 58.3% field goal percentage (35 out of 60) and buried 13 out of their 21 shots from 3-point land. From the charity stripe, the Huskies knocked down 10 of their 13 tries for a percentage of 76.9%. In regard to pulling down boards, they collected 31 with 4 of them being offensive. They also distributed 22 assists in the matchup while having 9 steals and 5 rejections. Concerning defense, Houston Baptist allowed the other team to go 58.3% from the floor on 35 out of 60. Champion Christian doled out 10 dimes and 4 steals for the game. In addition, the Tigers pulled down 30 rebounds (9 offensive, 21 defensive) and added 5 rejections. Champion Christian ended up going 68.8% from the charity stripe by burying 11 of 16 attempts. They also converted 9 of their 25 tries from distance.

Za-Ontay Boothman is one guy who saw a lot of court time for the game. He accumulated 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting. He played for 30 minutes and also pulled down 2 boards. Boothman finished the game shooting 61.5% from the field and distributed 3 assists. An additional guy that was a major contributor in this contest for the Huskies was Philip McKenzie. He pulled down 4 rebounds and tallied 2 dimes. He ended up going 71.4% from the field for the matchup by shooting 5-of-7 (14 points). Overall, McKenzie saw the court for 21 min.

Rice has a record of 4-1 on the season. When it comes to offense, the Owls are shooting 45.5% from the floor, which ranks them 162nd in D-1. Rice has accounted for 412 points on the season (82.4 per contest) and they pull in 41.4 rebounds per game. They are dishing out assists 16.0 times per contest (71st in the nation) and they are giving up possession 14.6 times per game. The Owls are committing 15.2 fouls per game and they hit 66.3% from the charity stripe. The Owls on the defensive side of the court are 95th in college basketball in points per game surrendered with 65.4. The Rice defense concedes 27.7% on three-point shots (26 of 94) and their opponents are connecting on 61.0% of their free throw shots. They have given up 10.8 assists and 36.6 total rebounds per game, which has them ranked 75th and 203rd in college hoops. They have forced 17.4 TO's per game and allow teams to shoot 40.8% from the floor (120th in college basketball).

When they last stepped on the court, the Rice Owls took a loss by a final score of 72-61 when they faced the New Mexico Lobos. The Owls were able to corral 16 defensive boards and 9 offensive rebounds for a total of 25 for this contest. They turned away 2 tries while recording 5 steals for the contest. The Lobos earned 16 fouls for the matchup which took the Owls to the free throw line for a total of 16 attempts. They were able to knock down 10 of the free throws for a rate of 62.5%. When talking about shots from 3-point land, Rice made 13 of their 35 tries (37.1%). When the game finished, the Owls shot 19 for 56 from the field which had them shooting 33.9%. The Owls allowed the Lobos to bury 29 of their 66 attempts from the field which left them shooting 43.9% for this game. They wrapped up this game 23.5% from beyond the perimeter by shooting 4 of 17 and ended up going 10 of 13 at the charity stripe (76.9%). In relation to rebounds, Rice allowed New Mexico to pull down 47 overall (19 on the offensive glass).

Travis Evee ended up being a major contributor for the Owls in this game. He made 5 out of 13 in the matchup for a rate of 38.5%, which had him sitting at 15 points. Evee pulled down 2 boards in his 34 minutes and added 2 assists for the game. Someone else that ended being a contributor for Rice was Max Fiedler. He totaled only 2 points in his 29 minutes on the hardwood by way of 1 of 5 from the floor for this game. Fiedler ended up shooting 20.0% from the floor and also contributing 2 assists and 6 rebounds.

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Rice (-14)

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