Rice vs Western Michigan 11/19/22 College Basketball Picks, Predictions, Odds
Western Michigan Broncos (1-2) vs. Rice Owls (1-2)
November 19, 2022 6:00 pm EDT
The Line: Rice Owls -4.5 / Western Michigan Broncos +4.5 ; Over/Under: +144.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Western Michigan Broncos and the Rice Owls meet Saturday in college basketball action from Tudor Fieldhouse. Western Michigan is coming off a Friday matchup versus Houston Baptist. In that game the Broncos managed a six-point victory. As for Rice, they played Georgia Southern in their Friday game. The Owls ended up winning that one by 17 points. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Western Michigan began their year with a very close game against Minnesota. The Broncos lost that one 61-60. After their first victory in a 99-62 affair over Goshen in game two, Western Michigan took another loss to Valparaiso.
On Friday versus Houston Baptist, the Broncos scored 41 points in the first half and 49 more in the second on the way to a victory 90-84. Lamar Norman managed 36 points with four assists and both Safari Simms and Seth Hubbard added 13 points apiece.
Over on the Rice side, they took a blowout loss to Pepperdine in their opener this year 106-67. Rice similarly got their first win in game two 85-48 versus an overmatched St. Thomas team, then fell in game three to Middle Tennessee 81-46.
In the Friday matchup against Georgia Southern, Rice trailed 48-47 by halftime. The Owls came alive on a 41-23 run from there and pulled off the 88-71 win. Alem Huseinovic led the team on 24 points, and Mekhi Mason doubled on 11 points and 11 boards.
PICK: I’m probably going to stick with Rice. The Owls are coming off a great performance versus Georgia Southern on Friday, shooting 61.1 percent from the field and 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from outside. Rice also notched 41 rebounds and 20 team assists in a well-rounded outing.
As for Western Michigan, they were pretty great themselves in the Houston Baptist matchup. The Broncos shot 57.4 percent from the field and had a nice 34-24 rebounding advantage. Still, Western Michigan has had a couple of scoring duds already this year so it’s hard to take them on a cover in this one. Should be a good game, though.
