Georgia Southern at Rice

A pair of 1-2 teams battle in this one, but Rice comes off a terrible performance in losing 81-46 to Middle Tennessee on Tuesday. The Owls shot just 40 percent and hit only two 3-pointers while allowing the Blue Raiders a .518 field goal percentage. Rice is picked to finish near the bottom of Conference USA mostly for the same reason it finished in 11th place last year and that is a weak defense, but the Owls apparently have some serious offensive deficiencies also. Georgia Southern got its first win of the season against small-school Trinity Baptist 53-32. Andrei Savrasov led the Eagles with 16 points and was their only double-figure scorer. The Eagles added some transfers that they hope will improve their shooting, which was lacking last season. Rice is allowing 50.0 percent shooting so far though. The Owls are 4-9 ATS their past 13 games. Take Georgia Southern.