Rice vs South Florida Prediction 1/28/25 College Basketball Picks

The Rice Owls and the South Florida Bulls meet Tuesday in college basketball action from USF Sun Dome. Here’s a Rice vs South Florida prediction. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best Rice vs South Florida pick. We will examine:

The Rice Owls’ recent form and player performance

The South Florida Bulls’ recent form and player performance

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the Rice Owls

Recent betting trends and streaks involving the South Florida Bulls

Recent betting trends in games played between Rice and South Florida

A summary that ties it all together and produces a favorable betting outcome for the Rice vs South Florida game

Rice Owls Betting Preview

The Owls started out the year on a pretty great run. However, after the calendar flipped to the new year, Rice began having issues. During their 11-4 start through the opening 15 outings, Rice fell to only Florida State, Hofstra, Texas State, and UNT Dallas. The wins otherwise came versus FIU, LA-Monroe, Northwestern State, Louisiana, Houston Christian, Arkansas State, Iona, Alcorn State, Prairie View, Tulsa, and Charlotte. It’s been a five-game losing skid for the Owls since then. Those defeats have come courtesy of North Texas, Temple, UTSA, Florida Atlantic, and Tulane in succession, giving Rice an 11-9 overall record this year.

In the Tulane game on Saturday, the Owls were up by one point going into the second half. Rice was outscored 46-34 the rest of the way however, resulting in a loss 82-71 in the end. Leading the team in scoring among starters was Caden Powell with 14 points and 11 boards for a double-double. Denver Anglin came off the bench for a team-high 27 points and one assist in 27 minutes of work, and Emory Lanier chipped in 11 points.

South Florida Bulls Betting Preview

On the Bulls’ side, they’ve had a few good stretches this year, as well as a few rough runs. USF kicked things off with a 5-3 run that featured wins over Arkansas Pine Bluff, West Georgia, Portland, Wright State, and Stetson. Following losses to Loyola Chicago, Utah State, and Bethune-Cookman, the Bulls beat East Texas A&M, Webber International, East Carolina, and Wichita State. Since then it’s been a 1-4 record with a lone win over Tulsa sandwiched in between losses to Tulane, UAB, Charlotte, and East Carolina. The result so far has been a .500 record at 10-10 through the first 20 games of the 2024-25 campaign.

Matched up against East Carolina in a road game on Saturday, the Bulls were looking at a 31-28 deficit by the end of the first half. USF didn’t end up getting any closer on a 33-27 run from there and lost 64-55. Leading the team in scoring was Kobe Knox with 17 points, two assists, and one rebound. De’Ante Green posted 11 points, five boards, and four assists. 

Rice vs South Florida Prediction

I’m going to stay with South Florida I suppose, but there’s not a lot to like about this matchup. The Bulls shot a meager 35 percent from the field with a 48-27 rebounding deficit (17-7 offensive) against a middling East Carolina team in their latest loss. That gives USF just 116 points combined over the last two games, and 63 or fewer in three straight.

As for Rice, they had a 44-40 edge on the boards in their loss to Tulane but shot just 28.1 percent from the field along the way. The Owls are at least scoring well lately with 70 or more in four straight. The trouble is, they’ve given up 73 or more in five straight. I like South Florida to power one out on Tuesday if they can get their offense going. This matchup should at least be competitive, but I’m probably not touching it.