Conference USA foes will collide when the Rice Owls (12-18) play the Old Dominion Monarchs (18-12) at Tudor Fieldhouse. Action starts at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 5.
The Owls lost to Charlotte 88-75 on Thursday. Marcus Evans was the team’s leading scorer with 27 points. The Monarchs, meanwhile, are coming off a 76-70 win against North Texas on Thursday. Trey Freeman led the game in scoring by posting 24 points on 9-for-25 shooting.
Evans has been playing at a high level recently for the Owls, averaging 27.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 3.0 steals, and 2.2 three-pointers over the last five games. Brandan Stith has been on fire for the Monarchs. In the same five-game span, he is averaging 15.6 points, 11.4 rebounds, 0.8 steals, and 3.6 blocks.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Owls won the first game 75-66. Evans had a stellar game with 20 points, seven rebounds, four assists, and one steal.
The Owls come into this game 12-18 Straight Up (SU) and 8-17 Against The Spread (ATS). Rice has averaged 70.1 points per game over the last 10 games, lower than its season average of 76.4. The Owls are one of the best in Division I in terms of free throws made, making an impressive 18.0 per game. The Rice defense is doing better against opposing offenses during the last 10 games. It is allowing an average of 63.4 points per game, well under their season average of 80.8.
On the other side, the Monarchs are unsuccessful ATS with a 9-16-1 record even though they have an 18-12 SU record. Old Dominion has not performed well ATS during its last 10 games, earning a 3-7 record. The Monarchs have shown improvement on the offensive end over the most recent 10 game stretch. Over that span, Old Dominion is averaging 78.9 PPG, significantly more than their season average of 68.0. The Monarchs have controlled the offensive glass with an average of 13.1 offensive rebounds per game, 31st in the country. The Monarchs rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 28th-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.45. The Old Dominion defense has allowed an average of 81.5 points per game during the last 10 games, higher than their season average of 62.2. The Old Dominion defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only .398 shooting from the field to its opponents.
The Owls’ win over Old Dominion in their last game wasn’t enough for them to overtake the Monarchs in the head-to-head series. Their record is now 1-3 SU. However, Rice holds the advantage ATS with a record of 3-1.
Predictions: SU Winner – ODU, ATS Winner – ODU
Notes
“Rice is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games “.
“Rice is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games “.
“The total has gone OVER in 4 of Rice’s last 5 games “.
“Rice is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games at home”.
“The total has gone OVER in 6 of Rice’s last 8 games at home”.
Rice averages 76.4 points per game this season. Old Dominion is one of the best teams in points allowed, giving up just 62.2 points per game (ranked 10th).
The Old Dominion Monarchs have a defensive rating of 98.8 (ranked 54th), while the Rice Owls have an offensive rating of 107.4 (ranked 140th).
Old Dominion has an average field goal percentage of 44.0%. Rice is a subpar 5-17 when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage.
The Rice Owls rank lower for their field goal percentage (133rd) than they do for their effective field goal percentage (121st), but the Old Dominion Monarchs have a better FG% ranking (186th) than eFG% ranking (293rd).
Old Dominion ranks 28th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.45. Rice is ranked lower at 207th with an A/TO of 1.00.
Old Dominion, the 62nd-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 38.7 rebounds per game. Rice does worse, ranked 309th with 33.1.
On average, Old Dominion makes 5.7 steals per game. Rice is a losing 9-15 when it allows at least 5 steals.
