The Rice Owls will travel to Houston, Texas to face the 3^rd-ranked Houston Cougars at the Fertitta Center on Wednesday night with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 PM ET, and the game will air on ESPN+.

Rice enters this game with a record of 3-5, however, they are on a two-game winning streak following a 65-56 win at home against the Houston Christian Huskies on Saturday. The Owls have been one of the worst defensive teams in college basketball this season as they are allowing an average of 79.5 points per game while having been an above-average scoring team as they enter this game averaging 77 points per game. Travis Evee has been their best player on offense as he leads the team in scoring with an average of 17 points per game while also being 3^rd on the team in assists with an average of 2.1 assists per game. The Rice Owls will look to extend their winning streak to three games and pull off the upset when they travel to face the Houston Cougars.

The Houston Cougars enter this game ranked 3^rd in the AP Poll and 2^nd in the Coaches Poll with a record of 8-0 following a 66-60 win on the road against the Xavier Musketeers on Friday. The Cougars also won the Charleston Classic by defeating the Towson Tigers in the 1^st round by a score of 65-49, the Utah Utes in the Semifinals by a score of 76-66, and the Dayton Flyers in the Championship game by a score of 69-55. The success that Houston has had this season can be attributed to their defensive play as they enter this game allowing an average of 50.38 points per game which ranks 1^st in college basketball this season. The Houston Cougars will look to remain perfect and improve their record to 9-0 this season when they host the Rice Owls on Wednesday night.

BookMaker has the Houston Cougars listed as 26.5-point favorites at home against the Rice Owls on Wednesday night. Houston has won eight of the last ten including the previous seven meetings. The Owls are 6-4 ATS in the last ten and 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series. The Rice Owls are 3-5 ATS overall, 1-0 ATS on the road, and 1-3 ATS as an underdog this season while the Houston Cougars are 4-4 ATS overall, 2-2 ATS at home, and 4-4 ATS as a favorite on the year.

Houston is one of the best teams in college basketball this season and has been the best defensive team as they are holding their opponents to an average of 50.38 points per game. The Cougars have also been the better team in the series, as they have won eight of the last ten including the previous seven meetings in a row. Houston has also been the slightly better team at covering the spread this season as they are 4-4 ATS overall while Rice is 3-5 ATS overall which is why I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with the Houston Cougars when they host the Rice Owls on Wednesday night.