UTSA Roadrunners vs Rice Owls Prediction, 3/8/2026 College Basketball Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: UTSA Roadrunners vs Rice Owls

Date: Sunday, March 8, 2026

Location: Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, TX

TV: ESPN+

Tudor Fieldhouse is the location where the Rice Owls (12-18) will play the UTSA Roadrunners (5-24) on Sunday.

The UTSA Roadrunners stepped onto the hardwood against Wichita State and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 84-67 in their last contest. UTSA finished with a 33.3% FG percentage (21 of 63) and knocked down 5 of 17 3-pointers. At the free throw line, the Roadrunners made 20 of their 28 tries for a percentage of 71.4%. In reference to pulling down boards, they compiled 37 with 13 of them being of the offensive sort. They also dished out 3 dimes for the contest in addition to forcing the other team into 9 turnovers and having 5 steals. In terms of defense, UTSA allowed their opponent to shoot 40.5% from the floor on 30 of 74 shooting. Wichita State earned 12 assists and had 4 steals for the contest. Furthermore, Wichita State pulled down 54 boards (20 offensive, 34 defensive), but wasn't able to record a rejection. Wichita State ended up shooting 88.2% at the free throw line by making 15 of 17 attempts. They also converted 9 of their 29 shots from 3-point range. When it comes to fouls, the Roadrunners ended up finishing with 14 while Wichita State totaled 20 fouls.

Baboucarr Njie is one guy who came through in this contest. He accounted for 21 points on 8 out of 15 shooting. He played for 28 mins and pulled down 7 rebounds. He shot 53.3% from the field and dished out 1 assist.

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UTSA will enter this game with a win-loss record of 5-24 so far this year. They are turning it over 12.2 times per contest and as a unit they commit 17.1 personal fouls every game. As a team, UTSA is pulling down 35.9 rebounds per game and has totaled 317 dimes so far this season, which is 358th in Division 1 in terms of passing the ball. The Roadrunners are shooting 29.9% on 3-point shots (218 of 729) and 69.4% from the free throw line. They average 69.4 pts per contest (322nd in Division 1) on 40.0% from the floor.

Defensively, the Roadrunners are forcing 11.1 turnovers per game while drawing 15.4 personal fouls. They are relinquishing 34.3% on 3-point shots while they are 338th in D-1 in opponents PPG (80.8). Roadrunners defense is allowing an opponent shooting percentage of 44.9% (816 of 1,817) and they surrender 41.2 boards per game as a group. They currently rank 296th in D-1 in allowing assists to the opposition with 458 surrendered on the campaign.

When they last played, the Rice Owls went home defeated by a final of 62-58 when they played North Texas. The Owls were able to collect 22 defensive rebounds and 16 offensive rebounds totaling 38 in the matchup. They coughed up the ball 15 times, while getting 2 steals for the matchup. North Texas committed 17 personal fouls for the matchup which got the Owls to the charity stripe for 15 tries. They were able to convert 6 of the free throw attempts for a clip of 40.0%. When talking about shots from beyond the perimeter, Rice converted 10 of 31 tries (32.3%). When the final whistle blew, the Owls ended up going 21 for 58 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 36.2%. The Owls permitted North Texas to convert 23 of 54 attempts from the floor which gave them a shooting percentage of 42.6% in the game. They finished 25.0% from three-point range by shooting 4 of 16 and ended up going 12 out of 21 at the free throw line (57.1%). With respect to team rebounding, Rice permitted North Texas to collect 29 in total (8 on the offensive side).

Jalen Smith ended up having an impact for the Owls for this contest. He buried 6 out of 15 in this contest for a rate of 40.0%, but wasn't able to grab a rebound. He scored 18 points in his 32 mins of playing time, but went home with no dimes.

Rice has a record of 12-18 for the season. The Owls are responsible for committing 18.7 personal fouls every game and they shoot 68.8% from the free throw line. They are earning an assist 12.2 times per contest (303rd in Division 1) and they are losing possession via turnover 12.4 times per contest. Rice has totaled 2,211 points on the season (73.7 per game) and they pull down 37.7 boards per game. As an offensive team, the Owls are connecting on 42.1% from the field, which ranks 326th in the nation.

The Owls on the defensive side of the court are 211th in D-1 in PPG given up with 74.7. They are forcing 11.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and have let teams shoot 44.1% from the floor (177th in college). The Rice defense gives up 33.5% on shots from behind the 3-point line (211 of 630) and their opponents are making 73.2% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have relinquished 12.1 dimes and 36.3 rebounds every game, which ranks them 77th and 296th in college hoops.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Rice

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