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The Rice Owls take on the FAU Owls. Our college basketball odds series has our Rice FAU prediction and pick. Find out how to watch Rice FAU.
The college basketball season has been a wonderfully surprising journey for FAU. Florida Atlantic has come from nowhere to dramatically exceed preseason predictions. They are 22-2 and were previously ranked in the top 20 before losing their only conference game of the season at UAB. They are 12-1 in Conference USA, leading second-place North Texas by two games in the standings but by three games if accounting for the fact that FAU has beaten UNT twice and would therefore win a tiebreaker. The Florida Atlantic joyride has been so good this year that the Owls can make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team. They will get in if they win all their games through the Conference USA Tournament semifinals, and they might even be able to make the field of 68 if they lose one more game before the C-USA Tournament final. That's probably all they can afford, but it's extremely rare for a team with FAU's pedigree and background to have a reasonably good at-large chance at this stage of the season. FAU simply must win this game against Rice and handle all the other games it is fully expected to win over the next four weeks. If it can, this team will be dancing in March.
Here are the Rice-FAU college basketball odds, courtesy of FanDuel:
College Basketball Odds: Rice-FAU Odds
Rice Owls: +13.5 (-105)
FAU Owls: -13.5 (-115)
Over: 149.5 (-115)
Under: 149.5 (-105)
How To Watch Rice vs. FAU
TV: ESPN+
Stream: ESPN+
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET, 4:00 p.m. PT
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*Watch Rice-FAU LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why Rice Could Cover The Spread
If Florida Atlantic is going to step on a rake and lose focus, now is the time. It's a long season. Players have shouldered a large workload. The buzz surrounding FAU has been considerable, but alongside the buzz comes the pressure. February is when teams often hit a wall after overachieving through the first three months of the season. We do see some random clunkers from good teams at this point in every college basketball season. Virginia Tech getting handled at home by Boston College was a foremost example from Wednesday night. The spread is very large. Rice just needs to be moderately competent at hitting perimeter jump shots, and it can keep this game close enough to cover.
Why FAU Could Cover The Spread
The Owls have been so terrifically consistent this season that it's simply unwise to bet against them. The one recent loss at UAB came against a team which expected to contend for the Conference USA championship, and that was a road game as well. FAU is unbeaten at home this season. A lot of people keep waiting for this team to slip up or cave in when dealing with the pressure and scrutiny created by this historic run. It isn't happening. A lot of times, an improbable run of success is met with skepticism from bettors who are waiting to pick the game in which a long period of prosperity finally comes to an end. If that inclination hasn't been disproved or refuted by now, it's hard to see what would convince those skeptics to turn around and trust FAU. Those who have attested to this team's quality will tell you that this isn't a fluke. It's the real thing.
Final Rice-FAU Prediction & Pick
Believing in Florida Atlantic has been rewarded this year. Don't mess with success.
Final Rice-FAU Prediction & Pick: FAU -13.5
