North Texas Mean Green vs Rice Owls Prediction, 2/4/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: North Texas Mean Green vs Rice Owls

Date: Wednesday, February 4, 2026

Location: Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

Tudor Fieldhouse is the location where the Rice Owls (9-13) will take on the North Texas Mean Green (12-10) on Wednesday.

The North Texas Mean Green stepped onto the hardwood against UAB and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 72-68 in their last contest. In regard to fouls, the Mean Green finished with 14 and UAB totaled 14 fouls. They also buried 5 out of their 17 tries from distance. UAB shot 61.1% at the charity stripe by knocking down 11 of their 18 shots. In addition, UAB pulled down 33 boards (6 offensive, 27 defensive), but didn't notch a rejection. UAB earned 8 dimes and had 5 steals in the matchup. Regarding defending, North Texas allowed the other team to go 50.9% from the field on 28 of 55 shooting. They also recorded 12 assists for this contest in addition to forcing the other team into 12 turnovers and having 9 steals. When discussing pulling down rebounds, they compiled a total of 28 with 9 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Mean Green buried 17 of 23 tries for a rate of 73.9%. North Texas wrapped up the game having earned a 41.4% FG percentage (24 out of 58) and buried 3 of their 17 shots from beyond the perimeter.

Je'Shawn Stevenson is a player who was a major contributor for the game. He ended up scoring 21 points on 7 out of 15 shooting. He played 32 mins and also totaled 1 rebound. He shot 46.7% from the field and also earned 2 assists.

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North Texas will enter this matchup with a win-loss mark of 12-10 for the campaign. They average 69.6 points per game (320th in Division 1) while hitting 42.9% from the floor. The Mean Green are connecting on 31.3% on shots from downtown (133 of 425) and 68.9% from the free throw line. As a unit, North Texas is snagging 33.7 boards per contest and has accumulated 281 dimes on the season, which has them ranked 290th in the country in terms of passing the rock. They cough up possession 12.3 times per contest and as a squad are committing 19.7 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Mean Green are able to force 15.4 turnovers every game and they draw 17.5 fouls. They give up 29.6% on 3-point attempts and they are ranked 22nd in college hoops in opponents PPG (65.7). The Mean Green are allowing a FG percentage of 41.8% (472 of 1,129) and they surrender 34.4 boards per game as a team. They are currently ranked 11th in the nation in giving up assists to their opponents with 229 relinquished on the year.

In their last game, the Rice Owls took a defeat with a final score of 80-70 when they played Charlotte. Regarding rebounding, Rice allowed Charlotte to pull down 26 in all (8 offensive). They finished the game shooting 47.1% from three-point range by shooting 8 of 17 and ended up shooting 24 out of 32 at the charity stripe (75.0%). The Owls allowed Charlotte to bury 24 of 47 attempts from the field which had them sitting at 51.1% for this game. When this game wrapped up, the Owls went 23 out of 62 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 37.1%. When talking about shots from beyond the arc, Rice knocked down 9 of their 31 tries (29.0%). They were able to convert 15 of them for a rate of 71.4%. Charlotte earned 16 fouls in the game which took the Owls to the charity stripe for a total of 21 attempts. They also turned the ball over 9 times, while getting 7 steals in this contest. The Owls were able to snag 17 defensive rebounds and 21 offensive boards for a total of 38 for this contest.

Nick Anderson ended up having an impact for the Owls in this game. He buried 5 of 14 for this contest for a field goal rate of 35.7%, and had 2 rebounds. He accumulated 18 points in his 30 mins on the hardwood, but left the arena with no assists.

Rice has a win-loss mark of 9-13 on the year. On the offensive side of the ball, the Owls are shooting 42.4% from the floor, which ranks 317th in the country. Rice has accumulated 1,635 points so far this year (74.3 per contest) and they pull in 37.5 boards per contest. They are assisting teammates 12.2 times per game (311th in the nation) and they cough up possession 12.2 times per game. The Owls commit 18.6 fouls every game and they shoot 69.0% from the free throw line.

The Owls defensively are ranked 202nd in college hoops in points given up per game with 74.4. They have forced 12.1 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 44.1% from the field (190th in the nation). The Rice defense allows 34.7% on 3-point attempts (162 of 467) and their opponents are connecting on 74.2% of their shots from the free throw line. They allow 12.3 dimes and 36.0 boards every game, which has them ranked 96th and 274th in the nation.

Who will win tonight's NCAA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take North Texas

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