Rice Owls (16-14) vs. UAB Blazers (23-8)
March 9, 2023 9:30 pm EDT
The Line: UAB Blazers -11 / Rice Owls +11 ; Over/Under: -
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The Rice Owls and the UAB Blazers meet Thursday in Conference USA Tournament college basketball action from Ford Center. Rice is 18-14 overall this year and fresh off a Wednesday tournament victory over UTSA. As for UAB, they’re currently 23-8 overall after a close win versus Charlotte on Saturday. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Rice Owls
Rice was sitting at 15-9 after 24 games this season. The Owls’ final seven outings were a rough 2-5 run, featuring losses to UTSA, UAB, Charlotte, Florida Atlantic and Florida International. The two wins were over Florida International and Western Kentucky otherwise.
On Wednesday in the tournament matchup against UTSA, the Owls were up 42-33 in the locker room. Rice had to scramble in the second half but eventually pulled off the 72-71 victory. Quincy Olivari led the team on 18 points and eight rebounds.
UAB Blazers
Over on the UAB side, they held a 17-7 record after 24 games this year. The Blazers finished off the schedule on a nice 6-1 run, beating Middle Tennessee, UTEP, UTSA, Rice, Western Kentucky and Charlotte after a loss to North Texas.
Back on Saturday versus Charlotte, the Blazers scored 32 points in the first half, 43 in the second and 18 across two overtime periods in a 93-91 victory. Leading team scorer Brice Williams put up 32 points with six rebounds.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stay with UAB in this one. The Blazers took a gutsy road win over a decent Charlotte team in their last outing, and they’re playing pretty well over this six-game win streak. UAB’s offense is humming along these days; they’ve hit 70 or more points in 10 straight outings. These teams have met twice already, with UAB taking both victories. First was a 70-52 road win back on January 28, then an 85-57 result for the Blazers at Bartow Arena on February 23. Rice is coming off a gutsy win over UTSA on Wednesday, but I don’t think they’ll keep it going in this one.
