College hoops betting interest focuses on the East Carolina vs Rice battle Saturday at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum as the Pirates look to defend home court and cover the NCAAB point spread.

East Carolina will face the 13-10 Owls, who own a 5-9 ATS mark on the season. In totals betting, the Pirates are 6-7 favoring the UNDER so far this season while the Owls are 5-8-1 favoring the OVER.



View Rice vs East Carolina Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
Bettors looking to side with East Carolina in this one will find them as 4-point favorites.

Power Rankings / Prediction:
The power rankings show a disparity between these teams, with the Pirates rated this week at No. 59 and the Owls sitting at No. 78. It may or may not play a role in Odds Shark score prediction modelling that produced a 75-73 result in favor of the Pirates.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits East Carolina's No. 116-ranked offense, averaging 70.8 PPG, against a Owls defense that ranks No. 147 at 65.9 PPG. The Pirates field goal percentage has averaged 43.6% so far, less than the Owls marksmen have achieved on the year, 44.5% per game.

Defensively, Rice features the nation's No. 50-rated defense on the road, allowing 64.1 points per game. East Carolina, meanwhile, comes in at No. 155 nationally in scoring at home.

Rice won its last outing, a 77-75 result against Texas El Paso on February 1. They failed to cover in that game as a 5-point favorite. The Owls grabbed a 77-75 win over the Miners on Wednesday, behind a 20-point effort from Arsalan Kazemi at Autry Court.

In their last action, East Carolina was a 62-43 Sportsbook at home against Southern Methodist. They covered the 4.5-point spread as favorites. The Pirates grabbed a 62-43 win over the Mustangs on Wednesday, behind a 13-point effort from Robert Sampson at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.


Rice Owls Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 2-8
Before playing Houston are 4-6
After playing Texas El Paso are 3-7
After a win are 6-4

East Carolina Pirates Trends:
When playing on Saturday are 4-6
Before playing Memphis are 7-3
After playing Southern Methodist are 2-4
After a win are 7-3

A few Owls at Pirates trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Rice's last 6 games on the road
Rice is 8-17 SU in its last 25 games on the road
The total has gone OVER in 5 of East Carolina's last 6 games when playing Rice
East Carolina is 5-2 SU in its last 7 games when playing Rice
East Carolina is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games
East Carolina is 2-6 SU in its last 8 games


Next up:
Rice at Houston, Wednesday, February 8
East Carolina home to Memphis, Wednesday, February 8