The Rice Owls battle the Evansville Purple Aces in the first round of the 2021 Gulf Coast Showcase on Monday morning. The Owls (3-1), who tied for fifth at 2-5 in the Conference USA West Division and were 3-8 overall last season, have won two in a row, including an 83-78 win at New Orleans on Friday. The Purple Aces (2-3), who tied for fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference at 7-11 and were 9-16 overall in 2020-21. Rice was 3-1 on neutral courts a year ago, while Evansville was 0-2.
Tipoff from Hertz Arena in Estero, Fla., is set for 11 a.m. ET. This will be the first-ever meeting. The Owls are six-point favorites in the latest Rice vs. Evansville odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is set at 136.5. Before making any Evansville 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. Evansville 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 Evansville vs. Rice:
- Rice vs. Evansville spread: Rice -6
- Rice vs. Evansville over-under: 136.5 points
- Rice vs. Evansville money line: Rice -250, Evansville +205
- RICE: The Owls are 4-1 against the spread in their last five games vs. a team with a losing straight-up record
- EVAN: The Purple Aces are 7-3-2 ATS in their last 12 Monday games
Why Rice can cover
Redshirt sophomore Travis Evee has been red hot from the floor. He leads the team in scoring at 17.8 points per game, hitting 52.2 percent of his field goals, including 46.9 percent from 3-point range. He is also an 88.9 percent foul shooter. Evee is the only player on the roster to have scored in double figures in all four games.
Also boosting the offense is UMass graduate transfer guard Carl Pierre, who is averaging 12 points per game. He is connecting on 43.2 percent of his field goals as well as 72.7 percent of his free throws. Pierre scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds and two steals in an 81-63 win over Southern. At UMass, he scored 1,353 points, averaging 12.2 points and 2.7 rebounds.
Why Evansville can cover
Senior guard Shamar Givance leads the Purple Aces' offense, averaging 13 points, 4.2 rebounds and four assists per game. He has also registered seven steals on the year. Givance is a threat from the field, hitting 44.7 percent of his field goals, including 40.9 percent from 3-point range. Givance had a game-high 16 points and seven rebounds against IUPUI and scored a game-high 17 points at Belmont.
Also powering Evansville is redshirt senior forward Evan Kuhlman. In five games this season, Kuhlman is averaging 10.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He is also an 81.8 percent free throw shooter. In a 69-58 win against DePauw last Tuesday, Kuhlman scored a career-high 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. He has scored in double figures in nine of the last 11 games.
How to make Evansville vs. Rice picks
SportsLine's model is leaning over on the total, projecting 138 combined points. It also says one side of the spread has all the value. You can only see the model's pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Rice vs. Evansville? And which side of the spread has all the value? 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.