| MATCHUP | East Carolina Pirates | Rice Owls |
|---|---|---|
| Team Records | 8-16 | 11-14 |
| Where | Tudor Fieldhouse, Houston, TX | |
| When | Saturday, February 14, 2026 | |
| Time | 02:00 PM EST | |
| TV | ESPN+ | |
The East Carolina Pirates and the Rice Owls meet Saturday in college basketball action from Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston. Here’s an East Carolina vs Rice prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best East Carolina vs Rice pick. We will examine the recent form and player performances for both teams, as well as the recent betting trends and streaks pertaining to this matchup. As we conclude, we will tie it all together with a summary that produces a sensible pick for a favorable betting outcome in this game.
East Carolina Pirates Betting Preview
East Carolina was only able to win five of their first dozen games out of the gate this year. The Pirates would lose to to North Carolina, Tulane, Temple, UAB, South Florida, Charlotte, Wichita State, Rice and Temple in the next 11 outings, beating only North Texas and FAU in that time. Over the first 23 games of the season that would give East Carolina a 7-16 overall record in the books.
On Wednesday versus UTSA, the Pirates were up comfortably at the half with a 46-31 advantage. East Carolina posted a 42-41 run the rest of the way and took the double-digit win on their home floor 88-72. Jordan Riley led the team with his 19 points, six rebounds and four assists. Giovanni Emejuru added a double-double on 12 points and 12 rebounds in 31 minutes.
Rice Owls Betting Preview
Over on the Rice side, they opened up their season with a 2-6 stretch but then got wins in four straight games during December. After that came a 3-7 stretch in 10 games. Those losses were versus Pepperdine, Tulsa, Memphis, Charlotte, Temple, Tulsa and Charlotte again. After a win over North Texas came another loss to UAB, giving the Owls a 10-14 record over their first 24 games of the year.
Matched up against Florida Atlantic on Wednesday the Owls left the floor after the first half with a 40-27 advantage on the scoreboard. Rice was outpaced 46-41 the rest of the way but still managed to pull off the home victory in the end 81-73. Nick Anderson posted 23 points with three rebounds and two assists while Trae Broadnax had 20 points with five assists and six boards.
East Carolina Pirates @ Rice Owls Betting Trends: February 14, 2026
Why the Rice Owls will win
- The home team has won each of Rice’s last four games.
- East Carolina has lost nine of its last 12 games against Conference opponents.
Why the East Carolina Pirates will win
- Rice has lost each of its last seven day games against the American Conference.
- East Carolina has won three of its last four road day games against Conference opponents.
Eastern Carolina vs Rice Prediction
I’ll stick with Rice. The Owls got past a pretty good Florida Atlantic team in a home matchup this week thanks to 47.6 percent shooting from the field and just five turnovers. Rice did get outmuscled on the boards 37-30 and hit a tepid 60 percent (12-of-20) at the line, however. Still, the Owls have won two of their last three games and they’ve got 70 or more points in five of the last six outings.
These teams last saw each other back on January 28 in an 83-77 road victory for Rice. In that one the Owls shot a nice 49.1 percent from the field with a 34-27 rebounding edge. Rice also had a rough outing at the line on 60 percent (15-of-25) and got outmuscled in the paint 38-22, however. Still, if the Owls can clean up a few things in this home rematch I think they’ll be in good shape for a potential cover.