Halftime Report

SMU is on the road but looking no worse for wear. After one quarter, neither squad has the contest in the bag, but SMU leads 40-37 over the Owls.

If SMU keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 16-7 in no time. On the other hand, Rice will have to make due with a 9-14 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

SMU Mustangs @ Rice Owls

Current Records: SMU 15-7, Rice 9-13

How To Watch

What to Know

SMU has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They and the Rice Owls will face off in an American Athletic battle at 8:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday at Tudor Fieldhouse. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Last Sunday, the Mustangs had just enough and edged the Blazers out 72-69. SMU was down 55-43 with 10:18 left in the second half but they still came back for the handy three-point win.

SMU's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Samuell Williamson led the charge by scoring 14 points along with six rebounds and two steals. Williamson is trending in the right direction, as he's improved his point production for three games straight. Chuck Harris was another key contributor, scoring 14 points along with five assists and two steals.

Meanwhile, the Owls didn't have too much breathing room in their match against the Roadrunners on Saturday, but they still walked away with a 80-76 win. While the oddsmakers failed to call the winner, they nailed the 156.5 point over/under.

Rice can attribute much of their success to Mekhi Mason, who scored 30 points. As a matter of fact, that's the most points Mason has scored all season. The team also got some help courtesy of Max Fiedler, who scored four points along with ten rebounds and seven assists.

The Mustangs pushed their record up to 15-7 with that victory, which was their seventh straight at home. Those good results were due in large part to their offensive dominance across that stretch, as they averaged 82.4 points per game. As for the Owls, the victory makes it two in a row for them and bumps their season record up to 9-13.

This contest is one where the number of possessions is likely to be a big factor: SMU have been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 40 rebounds per game. However, it's not like Rice struggles in that department as they've been averaging 36.4 rebounds per game. Given these competing strengths, it'll be interesting to see how their clash plays out.

Looking ahead, SMU is the favorite in this one, as the experts expect to see them win by 6.5 points. This contest will be their eighth straight as the favorites (so far over this stretch they are 2-4-1 against the spread).

Odds

SMU is a solid 6.5-point favorite against Rice, according to the latest college basketball odds.

The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as a 6.5-point spread, and stayed right there.


The over/under is set at 145.5 points.

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