It's just the second meeting of all-time between the Rice Owls and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies when the teams face off in Tuesday's first semifinal in the 2021 Gulf Coast Showcase. The teams met in the 2012 CollegeInsider.com postseason tournament, and Oakland won 77-70 on its home floor in Auburn Hills, Mich. The Golden Grizzlies (3-2) took a 10-point lead into halftime but had to fight to the end for a 63-61 victory against Vermont on Monday. Rice (4-1) trailed by 10 at halftime, but big man Max Fiedler took over inside as the Owls battled to a 109-104 victory against Evansville. Rice typically relies more on outside shooting, and Oakland has a pair of slashing forwards who can be disruptive.
Tipoff is set for 5 p.m. ET at Hertz Arena. Caesars Sportsbook lists the Golden Grizzlies as 2.5-point favorites in the latest Rice vs. Oakland odds. The over-under for total points is set at 143.5. Before making any Oakland vs. Rice picks, be sure to see the college basketball predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past five-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of almost $2,100 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has locked in on Rice vs. Oakland and released its picks and CBB predictions. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the college basketball odds and betting lines for Oakland vs. Rice:
- Rice vs. Oakland spread: Golden Grizzlies -2.5
- Rice vs. Oakland over-under: 143.5
- Rice vs. Oakland money line: Owls +120, Golden Grizzlies -140
- Rice: It is 5-6-1 ATS with no days off since the 2016 season.
- Oakland: It is 11-10 ATS when playing on no rest since 2016.
Why Rice can cover
Rice is 3-1 against the spread in neutral-site games since the start of last season, and its only loss this season was against then-No. 15 Houston. The Owls showed Monday that they can adapt to an opponent's weakness. The team's top scorer is typically guard Travis Evee, who is hitting 46 percent of his 3-pointers and averages 18 points per game. He hit three of seven Monday on his way to 19 points. But facing an Evansville team that lacks size inside, the 6-foot-11 Fiedler scored 30 Monday. Fiedler averages 14 points, with Carl Pierre adding 12.
Fiedler also leads the team with 11 rebounds to help the Owls average 38 per game, and he blocks 1.4 shots per contest. Chris Mullins leads the team in averaging five assists, and he scored 25 points against Evansville. The Owls average more than 17 assists per game, with Fiedler chipping in 3.5 and Evee adding three. Rice's starters hit 50 percent from 3-point range (nine of 18) in the three-OT win, and the Owls are at 36.3 percent for the season.
Why Oakland can cover
Oakland is 21-14 ATS in all games over the past two seasons, and Jamal Cain and Trey Townsend have become a solid duo. Cain averaged almost 10 points for Marquette last season and has been on fire. He scored 22 points and had 16 rebounds in Monday's victory, and he had 60 points over his previous two games. He is averaging 22.2 points and 12.4 rebounds, while Townsend also had a double-double Monday with 12 points and 10 boards. Townsend averages 10.6 points and 7.2 rebounds, while Jalen Moore is scoring 12.2 after putting up 21 Monday.
Moore has been ice-cold from 3-point range, hitting just five of 31 shots this season, but he was just shy of 35 percent from beyond the arc last year. He could draw confidence from hitting the go-ahead 3-pointer with 10 seconds left Monday. Blake Lampman is the leading outside shooter this season at 42.1 percent (8-for-19). Cain and Townsend pulled down 22 rebounds on defense Monday, and Micah Parrish's seven boards were all on that end. Parrish plays a critical defensive role, getting six rebounds and averaging 1.5 steals for a team that gets seven per game.
How to make Oakland vs. Rice picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total, projecting 144 combined points. It also says one side of the spread hits more than 60 percent of the time. You can only see the model's pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Rice vs. Oakland? And which side of the spread hits more than 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread to jump on, all from the advanced model that is up nearly $2,100 on its college basketball picks the last five years, and find out.
