The NCAA season continues on Monday, December 12, with this non-conference duel in Austin, TX, and here you can the best Owls vs. Longhorns betting pick and odds.

Rice is hoping for the sixth consecutive victory when they visit Texas at Moody Center. The Longhorns are massive -26.5 favorites on BookMaker Sportsbook, while the total is set at 144 points. These non-conference and in-state rivals will meet for the first time since 2014.

Owls recorded their first road win

The Rice Owls (6-2, 4-3-0 ATS) are on a five-game winning streak, and after securing four consecutive home wins, they registered the first road victory of the campaign. The Owls upset the in-state rivals Texas State Bobcats 83-71 thanks to a solid defensive display in the first half, in which they allowed 30 and scored 40 points in return. Rice was also better in three-pointers, making 12 opposite Texas Tech’s four, while the visitors had 11 more assists (17-6).

Junior guard Quincy Olivari led the Owls with a season-high 30 points, five rebounds, and four assists. Cameron Sheffield and Mekhi Mason combined for 26 points, ten boards, and three steals, while Max Fiedler added 12 points and game-highs nine rebounds, five dishes, and two blocks.

F Andrew Akuchie has missed the past three contests with an unknown injury, and it remains to be seen if he will play Monday against Texas.

Longhorns recovered from a tight loss to Illinois

The Texas Longhorns (7-1, 4-4-0 ATS) opened the season with six consecutive wins, but that positive run ended with an 85-78 overtime loss to the Illinois Fighting Illini at the Jimmy V Classic. However, the Longhorns bounced back with a massive 88-43 home victory over the Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions. Texas allowed just 12 points in the second half and, limited the visitors to 33.3% from the floor, while they also dominated in every other segment, including rebounds (39-26) and assists (30-6).

Senior forward Christian Bishop led Texas with 16 points, game-high nine rebounds, and four assists off the bench. Brock Cunningham and Dillon Mitchell scored 13 apiece. No player logged more than 23 minutes as the Longhorns rested their starters and used 12 players in rotation.

Trends:

Rice:

  • 4-1 ATS in the last five games overall
  • 6-1 ATS in the last seven games vs. a team with a winning straight-up record

Texas:

  • 5-11 ATS in the last 16 games overall
  • 1-5 ATS in the last six games following an ATS win

Rice Owls vs. Texas Longhorns Pick

Texas has one of the best defenses in basketball that is allowing 57.4 points per game, and at the same time, the Longhorns have a top 40 offense that averages 81.1 ppg. Rice, on the other hand, doesn’t have a strong defense as it allows 74.3 ppg, so it’s clear why the bookies gave such a big spread on the hosts. Still, the Longhorns are not very good at covering the spread so far in the season, and although I believe they will secure a double-digit victory on Monday, I am going with the Owls to cover.

Pick: Take the Owls at +26.5 (-110)

The Total

Texas already held the opponents to below 60 points in five of eight games this year, but that’s not going to be easy to do against Rice, who scores 76.4 points per game. I do believe in the Longhorns’ rock-solid defense, but I am also backing the Owls to score at least 65 here. I am going with the hosts to add around 80 – they scored 80+ in half of the games this season. Unlike Arkansas-Pine Bluff, who scored just 43 against Texas in the most recent game, Rice has Travis Evee and Quincy Olivari, who combine for 33.2 ppg. I am backing them to lead the Owls to 65+ points.

Pick: Go Over 144 points (-110)