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Rice Owls @ Houston Chr. Huskies

Current Records: Rice 4-1, Houston Chr. 2-2

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What to Know

Rice is 7-1 against Houston Chr. since December of 2015, and they'll have a chance to extend that success on Friday. The Rice Owls will head out to face off against the Houston Chr. Huskies at 8:00 p.m. ET at Sharp Gymnasium. After both made easy work of their previous opponents, one of them is set up to suffer a discouraging change of fortune on Friday.

Rice is headed in fresh off scoring the most points they have all season. They blew past Louisiana 83-61 on Tuesday. The score was close at the half, but the Owls pulled away in the second half with 42 points.

Rice's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Trae Broadnax led the charge by almost dropping a double-double on 14 points and nine rebounds. Caden Powell was another key player, almost dropping a double-double on 17 points and nine rebounds.

Meanwhile, there's no place like home for Houston Chr., who bounced back after a tough loss on the road last Wednesday. They put the hurt on Rockford College with a sharp 84-64 victory on Saturday. The high-flying offensive performance was a huge turnaround for the Huskies considering their 43-point performance the match before.

The win was the third in a row for Rice, bringing their record for this year to 4-1. As for Houston Chr., the victory got them back to even at 2-2.

Rebounding is likely to be a big factor in this contest: Rice has crashing the boards this season, having averaged 41.4 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Houston Chr. struggles in that department as they've been averaging 36.8. With both teams battling to corral missed shots, we'll see if one team can grab an edge.

Looking ahead, Rice shouldn't be too worried about this matchup, as the experts have them favored by 9.5 points. This will be their first time playing as the favorites on the road this season.

Odds

Rice is a big 9.5-point favorite against Houston Chr., according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers had a good feel for the line for this one, as the game opened with the Owls as a 10-point favorite.


The over/under is 141.5 points.

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Series History

Rice has won 7 out of their last 8 games against Houston Chr..

  • Dec 02, 2023 - Rice 65 vs. Houston Chr. 56
  • Nov 21, 2022 - Rice 76 vs. Houston Chr. 67
  • Dec 11, 2021 - Rice 88 vs. Houston Chr. 73
  • Dec 15, 2020 - Rice 90 vs. Houston Chr. 79
  • Dec 05, 2020 - Rice 86 vs. Houston Chr. 64
  • Dec 14, 2019 - Rice 96 vs. Houston Chr. 84
  • Nov 30, 2016 - Rice 90 vs. Houston Chr. 77
  • Dec 02, 2015 - Houston Chr. 77 vs. Rice 73