Rice vs Old Dominion 1/20/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds

The Old Dominion Monarchs will travel to Tudor Fieldhouse to take on the Rice Owls this Thursday night in College Basketball action.

The Old Dominion Monarchs had their 2-game winning streak snapped and dropped to 7-9 on the season after being defeated by the UTEP Miners, 78-70 (OT), this past Saturday. Old Dominion allowed UTEP to fight back from a 63-56 deficit with just 1:17 left in regulation to force OT and could not fight back after the Miners took a 74-67 lead with just :50 seconds left in OT. Old Dominion shot just 31.5% from the field & 6.7% from beyond the arc while allowing UTEP to shoot 40.9% from the field & 27.6% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Monarchs was Austin Trice who had a double-double with 19 points, 20 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 block.

On the season, Old Dominion is averaging 66.9 ppg on 43.2% shooting from the field. The Monarchs have a rebound margin of 3.0 and a turnover margin of 3.0. Offensively, Old Dominion has been led by C.J. Keyser (14.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.8 apg), Kalu Ezikpe (11.8 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.5 bpg), Austin Trice (10.8 ppg, 6.4 rpg), & Jaylin Hunter (9.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.8 spg).

Defensively, Old Dominion is allowing their opponents to average 66.2 ppg on 42.0% shooting from the field. The Monarchs have a rebound margin of 3.0 and a turnover margin of -0.1.

The Rice Owls improved to 10-6 on the season after defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd, 87-77, this past Saturday. Rice was lights out on the offensive end against Marshall and was able to pull away late for the victory after taking a 76-68 lead with 2:20 left in regulation. Rice shot 53.6% from the field & 60.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Marshall to shoot 46.1% from the field & 19.4% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Owls was Carl Pierre who had 30 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, & 1 steal.

On the season, Rice is averaging 77.2 ppg on 46.6% shooting from the field. The Owls are averaging 10.1 three-pointers per game on 39.0% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Rice has been led by Carl Pierre (15.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.4 apg), Travis Evee (15.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.8 apg), Chris Mullins (9.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 2.6 apg), & Max Fiedler (8.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 3.1 apg, 1.1 bpg).

Defensively, Rice is allowing their opponents to average 74.4 ppg on 43.1% shooting from the field. The Owls have a rebound margin of 1.8 and a turnover margin of -4.2.

The Monarchs are 6-3 ATS in their last 9 games & 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games. The Owls are 4-1-1 ATS in their last 6 home games, however, are just 2-9-1 ATS in their last Thursday games.

Old Dominion has been led by their defense which ranks t-110^th in scoring defense & 138^th in defensive FG%, however, the offense has struggled a bit on the offensive end as the Monarchs rank just 286^th in scoring offense, 231^st in FG%, & 324^th in 3P-FG%. Rice has been led by their offense which ranks t-62^nd in scoring offense, 68^th in FG%, & 12^th in 3P-FG%, however, the Owls can struggle keeping opponents off the scoreboard and come into this game ranked just 292^nd in scoring defense & 201^st in defensive FG%.

Old Dominion has been great ATS on the road, however, Rice has been outstanding at home, posting a 5-1 record, which includes an impressive 85-80 victory over UAB in their last home game. Old Dominion is a solid team, however, as I just don’t see the Monarchs offense being able to keep up with a Rice offense that has been lights out at home, I think the Owls pull away in the 2^nd half and cover this small home spread. Good Luck!