The Rice Owls will play the Texas Longhorns in a non-conference game on Wednesday night at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. Rice has split their first two games of the year, while Texas has won two blowouts to open the season.
Rice Preview
The Rice Owls are 1-1 this year after they lost to Harvard by a score of 89-76 in their last game. Rice trailed 43-33 at the half and even though they scored 43 points in the second half, they couldn’t make the comeback. The Owls shot 41.7% from the field and were out rebounded by a total of 38-33 in the game. Rice defeated St. Thomas (TX) by a score of 101-57 in their first game. The Owls are scoring 88.5 points per game with 39 rebounds per game and 18.5 assists per game, while allowing 73 points against per game this year. Max Fiedler is averaging 14.5 points per game, 10 rebounds per game, and 5.0 assists per game for the Owls this year. Rice is shooting 48.1% from the field, 65.9% on free throws, and 40% on three pointers this season.
Texas Preview
The Texas Longhorns are 2-0 this season after they defeated Delaware State by a score of 86-59 in their last game. Texas only led by nine points at halftime, but they out scored DSU by a total of 47-29 in the second half for the blowout win. The Longhorns shot 52.8% from the field and forced 21 turnovers in the game. Texas defeated Incarnate Word by a score of 88-56 in their season opener. Texas is scoring 87 points per game with 40.5 rebounds per game and 21 assists per game, while giving up 57.5 points against per game this season. Ithiel Horton has led the Longhorns this season with 17.5 points per game, 3.0 rebounds per game, and 3.0 assists per game. Texas is shooting 51.7% from the field, 72.7% on free throws, and 45.8% on three pointers this year.
Pick
Texas comes into this game off of two wins by margins of 27 and 32 points, while Rice is coming off of a 13 point loss to Harvard. Rice only shot 41.7% from the field in that game and they are going to have a tougher time in this game against a very good Texas defense. Texas is shooting over 51% from the field for the season, but only allowing 57.5 points against per game. I did not like what I saw from Rice against Harvard and I think Texas is going to run away with this game. Take the Longhorns in this matchup.