Middle Tennessee vs. Rice - 2/8/20 College Basketball Pick, Odds, and Prediction
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Rice Owls (11-13) at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (6-18)
College Basketball: Saturday, February 8, 2020 at 6:00 pm (Murphy Athletic Center)
The Line: Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders -1 -- Over/Under: 152 Click Here for the Latest Odds
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The Rice Owls and the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders meet in college basketball action from Murphy Center on Saturday.
Rice enters this one at 11-13 so far. After a five-game losing streak earlier this year, the Owls have won consecutive games versus North Texas and UAB in their last pair of outings.
In the win over the Blazers, Rice’s Drew Peterson led the way with 17 points, six assists and five rebounds. Quincy Olivari added 16 points there, and both Josh Parrish and Ako Adams added 13 points apiece.
Over on the Middle Tennessee side, they’re 6-18 this year. The Raiders are 2-2 in their last four games, with wins over Southern Miss and UTSA alongside losses to UTEP and North Texas.
In the loss to the Green, Middle Tennessee’s Antonio Green fittingly led the team with 18 points and two assists. Reggie Scurry posted 14 points with eight boards there, and Jayce Johnson had 11 points with nine rebounds and three assists.
Middle Tennessee is 4-1 ATS in their last five overall and 2-6 ATS in their last eight home games versus a team with a losing road record. The under is 5-1 in the Raiders’ last six Saturday games as well.
Meanwhile, the Owls are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games and 1-4 ATS in their last five after a straight-up win. Rice is 2-5 ATS in their last seven overall and the over is 4-1-1 in their last six overall.
Rice put up a solid win over UAB on Thursday, and they’ve scored 170 combined points across their last two games (not to mention 88 in a loss versus UTSA a couple weeks back). It’s a nice lift for the Owls after a four-game scoring lull.
As for Middle Tennessee, they’ve been better over their last two games as well with 153 combined points. Still, I feel a little bit better about Rice covering in this matchup.
Andrew’s Pick Rice Owls +1
AUTHOR: Andrew Jett

Follow Andrew Jett on Twitter @PickDawgzAndrew