Rice Owls vs North Texas Mean Green Prediction, 3/4/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs North Texas Mean Green

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Location: The Super Pit in Denton, TX

TV: ESPN+

The North Texas Mean Green (17-13) will go up against the Rice Owls (12-17) at The Super Pit on Wednesday.

The Rice Owls took the court against Temple and took home the win by a score of 80-74 in their last game. With respect to fouls, the Owls walked away with 21 and Temple had 19 fouls. They knocked down 5 of 17 shots from beyond the arc. Temple finished the game shooting 73.1% at the free throw line by knocking down 19 of their 26 attempts. Furthermore, Temple grabbed 22 rebounds (7 offensive, 15 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Temple dished out 10 dimes and had 3 steals for the matchup. When discussing the defense, Rice allowed the other team to shoot 50.0% from the floor on 25 out of 50 shooting. They also dished out 14 assists for the matchup in addition to forcing the opposition into 10 turnovers and earning 7 steals. With regard to pulling down boards, they earned 27 with 6 of them being offensive. At the free throw line, the Owls converted 14 of 19 tries for a rate of 73.7%. Rice walked away from the game with a 51.8% field goal percentage (29 out of 56) and knocked down 8 of 26 three-point shots.

Nick Anderson is a guy who was a major contributor for this contest. He ended up shooting 46.2% from the floor and earned 3 dimes. He saw the court for 34 minutes and also pulled down 6 rebounds. He accounted for 21 points on 6 out of 13 shooting.

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Rice steps onto the court with a win-loss record of 12-17 for the campaign. They currently have an average of 74.2 pts per contest (232nd in the country) while going 42.3% from the floor. The Owls are shooting 35.4% on shots from distance (264 of 745) and 69.5% from the free throw line. As a unit, Rice is grabbing 37.4 boards per game and has accounted for 357 dimes this season, which has them ranked 323rd in the nation in terms of passing the ball. They lose possession via turnover 12.3 times per game and as a squad they are committing 18.8 fouls every game.

On the defensive end, the Owls are forcing their opponents into 11.5 turnovers every game while drawing 17.6 personal fouls. They are ranked 71st in the nation in giving up assists to the opposition with 356 surrendered on the campaign. The Owls defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 44.2% (744 of 1,684) and they surrender 36.3 boards per game as a unit. They are giving up 33.7% on 3-point shots while they are 224th in Division 1 in opponents points per game (75.1).

When they last stepped on the court, the North Texas Mean Green got the victory with a final of 62-58 against UAB. In regard to team rebounding, North Texas allowed UAB to get 30 in total (6 on the offensive glass). They finished shooting 25.0% from 3-point land by shooting 5 of 20 and ended up going 13 out of 20 from the charity stripe (65.0%). The Mean Green permitted UAB to convert 20 out of their 51 tries from the field which gave them a rate of 39.2% in this game. When the final whistle was blown, the Mean Green shot 25 out of 60 from the floor which had them shooting 41.7%. Pertaining to shots from beyond the perimeter, North Texas made 6 of their 17 attempts (35.3%). They were able to knock down 6 of the free throw attempts for a percentage of 60.0%. UAB was called for 11 fouls in this matchup which took the Mean Green to the charity stripe for a total of 10 attempts. They also turned the ball over 6 times, while getting 7 steals in the game. The Mean Green earned 24 defensive rebounds and 8 offensive rebounds totaling 32 for this contest.

David Terrell Jr. pitched in for the Mean Green for the contest. He made 6 out of 14 for this game giving him a rate of 42.9%, and accumulated 6 rebounds. He tallied 17 points in his 36 minutes on the court and had 3 assists in this game.

North Texas has a mark of 17-13 on the campaign. The Mean Green are committing 19.2 personal fouls every game while shooting 69.9% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 12.5 times per game (285th in D-1) and they are losing possession via turnover 11.6 times per contest. North Texas has earned 2,121 pts so far this season (70.7 per game) and they pull down 34.7 rebounds per game. When it comes to executing on offense, the Mean Green are shooting 43.0% from the field, which ranks them 302nd in D-1.

The Mean Green on defense are ranked 28th in the nation in PPG allowed with 66.9. They are forcing their opponents into 15.1 turnovers per game and have let teams shoot 42.6% from the floor (90th in Division 1). The North Texas defense gives up 30.7% on shots from distance (181 of 589) and opponents are connecting on 71.1% of their foul shots. They give up 10.8 assists and 34.4 boards every game, which ranks them 20th and 190th in those categories on the defensive end.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take North Texas

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