Rice Vs Middle Tennessee Basketball: Lets Begin The Game

The Rice Owls (9-0) take their nine-game win streak into a home contest against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (7-2), winners of five straight. Their matchup tips at 1:00 PM ET on Tuesday, December 20, 2022.

The Blue Raiders have a solid frontcourt with two players who average in double figures: senior guard DeAndre Dishman and junior guard Camryn Weston. They’re both effective at attacking the rim and getting to the free throw line.

Rice Owls

Rice Owls basketball is an important part of the Rice University experience and a staple within the C-USA conference. The program has a long and storied history of winning championships, and fans are excited to see how the team continues to improve its game.

With a great team on both ends of the floor, the Owls are looking to build their winning momentum as they gear up for the 2019-19 season. They have plenty of games to look forward to, and will be hoping for a promising start against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Friday evening.

The Owls are a slight 1.5-point favorite against the Blue Raiders, according to the latest college basketball odds. They have a winning record against Middle Tennessee, as they have won five of the last nine meetings between the two teams.

Middle Tennessee is a strong defensive team and will have to keep the Owls off the boards in order to keep this game close. Their backcourt duo of Arturo Dean and Denver Jones are both in the top five in the conference in steals per game at 2.6 and 2.0, respectively.

They also have a lot of depth on the bench, with several players who can play off the ball and contribute on both sides of the floor. They will also need to be able to get to the free-throw line and score on offense in order to win this game.

As far as their schedule goes, they have a variety of opportunities to face some elite programs. They will be playing against the likes of FIU and UAB, two of the top teams in the country, and will also be facing some challenging rivalries as they make their way through the league.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

The Rice Owls and Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders have played each other for 71 meetings in the history of their rivalry. It is the longest running rivalry in NCAA Division I basketball.

The Blue Raiders have made the NCAA Tournament in 13 of the last 23 years and have won 16 conference titles. Rick Stockstill is the head coach and he has led MTSU to seven bowl games.

Chase Cunningham has been the Blue Raiders’ starting quarterback this season, completing 81.3 percent of his passes and racking up 1,564 yards and nine touchdowns. His top target is Jaylin Lane with 469 yards and two touchdowns.

He has a pair of talented backs, Devon Starling and Draylen Ellis who have combined to rush for over a thousand yards this season. In MTSU’s 35-10 win over Southern Mississippi, Starling gained a career-high 207 yards on 25 carries and scored his first career touchdown while Ellis had 38 carries for 125 yards and a score.

MTSU’s defense is anchored by Teldrick Ross who leads the team with 47 tackles this year. Junior defenders Reed Blankenship and Quincy Riley have both been impressive this year, with Blankenship being named C-USA Defensive Player of the Week.

They both force turnovers at a high rate this year. MTSU is averaging 8.6 turnovers per game while the Owls are allowing 7.9 turnovers per game.

Rice has won six of its last eight games and is in good form. It is a great matchup for the home side and I think they will win easily.

Schedule

The Rice Owls are looking for their first win of the 2022-23 campaign when they take on the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders in a C-USA tilt. The opening tip off will be at 1:00 p.m. EST on the MTSU campus in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. MTSU enters this game following a thrilling 74-73 home victory over preseason favorite UAB and is led by seventh-year senior Deandre Dishman who leads the conference in scoring at 12.5 points per contest.

The Blue Raiders are also sporting a pair of double-digit scorers in freshman Jasmine Lewis and sophomore Kelsey Davis. The team is one of four C-USA schools to boast multiple starters who have logged more than 300 minutes of action this season. The most important piece of the puzzle is MTSU’s bench, which is a bit undersized considering the program’s size.

Prediction

The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders will be taking on the Rice Owls in a Conference-USA game on Wednesday, March 7, at Tudor Fieldhouse. Both teams will be looking to snap their respective winning streaks when they play this game.

The Blue Raiders come into this game with a 9-7 record and a 2-3 record in C-USA play. They lost their last game to North Texas 56-51 on Saturday and are now 0-4 in their last four games overall and 1-4 in their last five conference games.

This game should be a tight one between these two teams. The Blue Raiders have a +36 scoring differential (outscoring their opponents by 1.1 points per game), but they will likely struggle to score as much as they want in this matchup.

On the other hand, the Owls are 11-4 overall and 2-2 in conference play. They haven’t won a game in their last five road games and are 1-4 on the road this season.

They will be looking to win this game easily, but it may not be easy to do as they have not won a home game in their last eight matches. They are a perfect 2-0 against the spread when an underdog by 14 points or more this year.

Both teams have a lot to prove this season and are hoping to reach the NCAA Tournament this year. Both of these teams are playing well at the moment, but it is important to note that both teams will be going against a tough schedule ahead of them.