Rice Owls vs UAB Blazers Prediction, 2/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Rice Owls vs UAB Blazers

Date: Sunday, February 8, 2026

Location: Bartow Arena in Birmingham, AL

TV: ESPN+

The UAB Blazers (14-9) are welcoming the Rice Owls (10-13) at Bartow Arena on Sunday.

The Rice Owls faced off with North Texas and went home with a win by a final score of 86-83 in their last game. Regarding fouls, the Owls finished with 21 while North Texas finished the game with 21 fouls. They buried 3 of 18 attempts from 3-point land. North Texas went 66.7% at the charity stripe by making 18 of 27 tries. Furthermore, North Texas grabbed 36 rebounds (14 offensive, 22 defensive), but wasn't able to put a block in the stat sheet. North Texas recorded 10 assists and had 17 steals for the contest. In terms of defense, Rice allowed the other team to go 41.9% from the floor on 31 of 74 shooting. They also distributed 15 assists for this contest while creating 10 turnovers and earning 9 steals. Pertaining to pulling down boards, they collected a total of 52 with 23 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Owls converted 18 of 26 shots for a rate of 69.2%. Rice wrapped up the game having earned a 39.7% FG percentage (29 of 73) and converted 10 of 32 3-pointers.

Nick Anderson is one player who was a contributor for this contest. He ended up shooting 58.3% from the floor and also earned 1 assist. He was on the court for 43 minutes and snagged 9 boards. He ended up scoring 22 points on 7 out of 12 shooting.

Get all of our NCAA Picks Today

Rice steps onto the court with a record of 10-13 on the season. They average 74.8 points per outing (226th in D-1) while shooting 42.3% from the field. The Owls are shooting 36.2% on 3-point shots (209 of 577) and 69.0% from the charity stripe. As a unit, Rice is pulling down 38.3 rebounds per game and is sitting with 283 assists this year, which is 308th in Division 1 in terms of passing. They are giving up possession 12.6 times per contest and as a squad they are committing 18.7 personal fouls per game.

On the defensive end of the court, the Owls are able to force 12.0 turnovers on a nightly basis while drawing 18.0 personal fouls. They give up 34.0% on 3-point shots and they are 214th in Division 1 in PPG allowed (74.7). The Owls defensively are giving up a FG percentage of 44.0% (590 of 1,341) and they relinquish 36.3 boards per contest as a team. They are currently ranked 92nd in Division 1 in giving up assists to their opponents with 282 surrendered this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the UAB Blazers took a defeat with a final score of 90-80 when they played Memphis. The Blazers earned 22 defensive rebounds and 14 offensive boards for a total of 36 in this matchup. They coughed it up 13 times, while earning 11 steals for this game. Memphis had 23 personal fouls for this contest which got the Blazers to the free throw line for a total of 35 attempts. They were able to bury 21 of those for a percentage of 60.0%. When talking about shooting from downtown, UAB made 9 out of their 37 tries (24.3%). When the final whistle was blown, the Blazers shot 25 out of 66 from the floor which gave them a rate of 37.9%. The Blazers permitted Memphis to knock down 33 of 63 tries from the field which left them shooting 52.4% for the game. They shot 40.0% from distance by connecting on 8 out of 20 and finished the game at 16 out of 21 at the free throw line (76.2%). In regard to rebounding, UAB permitted Memphis to pull down 37 in all (9 on the offensive side).

Chance Westry pitched in for the Blazers for the contest. He knocked down 4 of 11 in this matchup giving him a rate of 36.4%, and accumulated 2 rebounds. He racked up 15 points in his 34 minutes on the court and earned 6 assists in the game.

UAB has a win-loss record of 14-9 for the season. The Blazers are committing 15.1 fouls per game and they connect on 70.3% from the charity stripe. They are assisting teammates 14.3 times per game (165th in D-1) and they are turning it over 9.3 times per contest. UAB has totaled 1,882 points for the year (81.8 per game) and they grab 41.2 rebounds per contest. As an offense, the Blazers are shooting 44.5% from the field, which has them ranked 239th in the nation.

The Blazers on the defensive side of the court are 232nd in the nation in PPG given up with 75.6. They are forcing 12.5 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 43.1% from the floor (137th in college). The UAB defense concedes 33.1% on three-point shots (191 of 577) and their opposition makes 74.0% of their free throw attempts. They have surrendered 14.0 dimes and 36.1 boards on a nightly basis, which has them ranked 226th and 280th in the nation.

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

Tony Sink's Pick: Take UAB

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Get college basketball picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bets by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.