FAU at Rice odds, picks and predictions
The FAU Owls (15-4, 5-1 AAC) and Rice Owls (7-11, 1-4) meet Wednesday at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook's lines around the FAU vs. Rice odds, and make our expert college basketball picks, predictions and best bets.
FAU has registered 4 straight wins since a loss at 1st-place Charlotte on Jan. 6. The Owls survived Sunday at UTSA, winning 112-103 in OT. However, FAU failed to cover for the 7th consecutive game, and the Owls are 0-5 against the spread (ATS) in the past 5 tries as a double-digit favorite.
Rice picked up a nice 69-66 win at Temple as a 3.5-point underdog on Saturday, snapping a 5-game losing skid. These Owls have picked up consecutive covers as an underdog after an 0-4 ATS skid from Dec. 22-Jan. 12. The Over is 3-1 in the past 4 games for Rice.
FAU is No. 24 in the Paste BN Sports Coaches Poll.
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FAU at Rice odds
Provided by FanDuel Sportsbook; access Paste BN Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:02 a.m. ET.
- Moneyline (ML): FAU -900 (bet $900 to win $100) | Rice +570 (bet $100 to win $570)
- Against the spread (ATS): FAU -11.5 (-120) | Rice +11.5 (-102)
- Over/Under (O/U): 153.5 (O: -108 | U: -120)
FAU at Rice picks and predictions
Prediction
FAU 87, Rice 71
Moneyline
FAU (-900) will cost you 9 times your potential return, and that's just way too risky with the way the Owls have played on the road this season. This is a team which barely scraped by a so-so UTSA team in overtime last time out. The Owls also won by a single point at Tulane with 0.4 seconds left on Jan. 11, and they fell at Charlotte on Jan. 6. FAU also lost at Florida Gulf Coast as a 17.5-point favorite on Dec. 30.
While FAU has had its issues on the road, Rice (+570) isn't worth backing as a big-time underdog, either.
PASS.
Against the spread
FAU -11.5 (-120) is a risky play laying the points. As mentioned above, FAU has failed to cover the past 7 games overall, while going 0-5 ATS in the past 5 tries laying double digits.
However, Rice +11.5 (-102) is just 4-4 ATS in 8 games at home, while failing to cover each of the past 6 as an underdog of 4.5 or more points dating back to Nov. 21. Something's gotta give, so it's a good idea to back the better team.
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Over/Under
OVER 153.5 (-108) is the lean, but go with a half-unit play at most.
The Over is 3-1 in the past 4 games for Rice, while cashing in each of the past 3 games at Tudor Fieldhouse.
FAU has seen the total go high in 4 in a row. FAU ranks 19th in the country in both points per game (84.1) and field-goal percentage (49.1%), and it is a solid 3-point shooting team, too (37.0%). However, this team makes Over bettors pull their hair out when depending upon them at the free-throw line, as FAU shoots just 69.2%, ranking 262nd in the country.
For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
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