Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders vs Rice Owls Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 01/06/2022

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Thursday, January 6, 2022

Venue:  Tudor Fieldhouse, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  CUSA TV

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  MTSU +3.5, Rice -3.5; Over/Under:  151 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  MTSU +3.5, Rice -3.5; Over/Under:  151 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  MTSU +3.5, Rice -3.5; Over/Under:  150.5 points

 

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders:  9-4 (2nd place, CUSA Group A)

Rice Owls:  7-5 (5th place, CUSA Group B)

 

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Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders:  2-3 last 5

Rice Owls:  3-2 last 5

 

 

 

MTSU is coming into this game with a 9-4 record overall and they are 1-4 in their road games this season where they will be in this game. This will be their 1st conference matchup of the season. They have lost 2 of their last 3 games and are coming into this one off of a loss in their last game. Their last win was against the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers while their 2 losses in that span came against the Ole Miss Rebels and the Chattanooga Mocs in their last game. Camryn Weston led the team in points in that game off the bench with 16 while Josh Jefferson was next on the team with 8 points. Donovan Sims, Eli Lawrence, Camryn Weston, Christian Fussell all led the team in assists in that game with 2 while Weston led the team in rebounds with 5. They were 44.1% from the field, 23.8% from 3-point range, and 72.7% from the free throw line with their shooting in that game. Their offense is averaging 77.1 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 66.9 PPG against them. MTSU has an ATS record of 9-2 this season and their O/U record is 7-4.

 

 

Rice is coming into this game with a 7-5 record overall and they are 4-1 in their home games this season where they will be in this game. This will be the 2nd conference matchup on their schedule this year and they are currently 0-1 in their conference games this season. They have won 3 of their last 4 games but are coming into this game off of a loss in their last game which snapped a 3 game winning streak that they were on. Their 3 wins in that span were against the Jarvis Christian Bulldogs, the Houston Baptist Huskies, and the Incarnate Word Cardinals while their loss came against the North Texas Mean Green in their last game. Quincy Olivari led the team in points in that game with 8 while Carl Pierre was next on the team with 7 points. Carl Pierre, Travis Evee, and Terrance McBride all led the team in assists in that game with 2 each while Cameron Sheffield led the team in rebounds with 5. They were 31.8% from the field, 21.4% from 3-point range, and 48% from the free throw line with their shots in that game. Their offense is averaging 77.8 PPG and their defense is allowing their opponents to average 74.3 PPG against them. Rice has an ATS record of 5-6 this season and their O/U record is 7-4.

 

Rice is coming into this game as a 3.5 point favorite with the current betting odds according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Rice has been playing well in their recent games and they have been good at home as well this season with just 1 loss there. They already have 1 loss in their conference games so they will be looking to even that up with a win at home here. MTSU has not been playing well in recent games and they have been awful on the road this season with just 1 win in 5 road games. Rice should be able to edge them out here at home and get a big conference win here as they have been playing much better recently. The best bet to place in this game is on Rice to cover the spread here.

 

Middle Tennessee Rice Prediction:  Our NCAAB Pick for Thursday, January 6, 2022 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Rice 66 MTSU 58.

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Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders: 52-81 O/U in January games. 9-17 O/U after allowing 75 points or more 2 straight games. 9-17 O/U after a loss by 10 points or more. 80-120 O/U after a game where they failed to cover the spread.

Rice Owls: 9-24 O/U after a game where they made 33% of their shots or worse. 4-11 O/U after a game with 5 or less offensive rebounds. 5-17 O/U after 2 straight games being called for 5+ less fouls than opponent. 6-18 O/U off a blowout loss by 20 points or more to a conference rival. 8-24 O/U after scoring 50 points or less.

 

 

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders:  J. Jordan (G) out for season - Knee injury.

Rice Owls:  None.

 

 

"It was probably the most complete win we had all season. It took everybody's best effort. Any time you play a Cliff Ellis coached team, you're going to face a team that's tough. They're physical around the basket, they're one of the best teams in the country at offensive rebounds.” - Nick McDevitt on his team’s win against Coastal Carolina. 

 

 

“The victory against Evansville was a great win to start the tournament; however it did not end the way that we wanted. We lost to two good teams in Fordham and Oakland, but both games were where we led in the second half. These games are ones that we can hopefully learn from and get better from.” - Scott Pera on his team’s performance in the Gulf Coast tournament they played.

 

 

 

J. Bufford 

D. Dishman 

J. Jefferson 

E. Lawrence 

D. Sims

 

T. Evee 

M. Fiedler 

C. Mullins 

Q. Olivari 

C. Pierre

 

 

PPG: J. Jefferson (12.3)

APG: D. Sims (2.9)

Reb/G: E. Lawrence (4.5)

 

PPG: C. Pierre (14.5)

APG: M. Fiedler (3.2)

Reb/G: M. Fiedler (8.8)

 

Coaches:

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders: Nick McDevitt (4th season)

Rice Owls: Scott Pera (5th season)