The 2021 Conference USA Tournament tips off on Tuesday at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas, and the action will begin with the Rice Owls taking on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles at 8 p.m. ET. Rice is the No. 6 seed in the West after going 13-12 overall and 6-10 during conference play, while Southern Miss is the No. 7 after going 8-16 overall and 4-13 in the league. The Owls have won eight of the last 10 head-to-head matchups but Southern Miss has covered the spread in six of those 10 meetings.
This time around, Rice is favored by four points with the over-under for total points set at 142 in the latest Rice vs. Southern Miss odds from William Hill Sportsbook. Before entering any Southern Miss vs. Rice picks, you'll want to see the 2021 Conference USA Tournament predictions from the proven college basketball model at SportsLine.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every Division I college basketball game 10,000 times. Over the past four-plus years, the proprietary computer model has generated an impressive profit of over $2,600 for $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. It has also returned over $400 on all top-rated college basketball picks this season. Anyone who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Rice vs. Southern Mississippi. You can head to SportsLine to see its picks. Here are several college basketball odds for Southern Mississippi:
- Rice vs. Southern Miss spread: Rice -4
- Rice vs. Southern Miss over-under: 142 points
- Rice vs. Southern Miss money line: Rice -180, Southern Miss +155
What you need to know about Rice
The Owls ended a four-game losing streak with a tune-up win against Our Lady of the Lake on Friday. Quincy Olivari poured in 25 points to help Rice squeak by with an 80-77 win. Olivari has been the team's leading scorer this year after averaging 16.3 points per game during the regular season and the Owls will need another big night from the sophomore guard to start this postseason off right.
VMI transfer Travis Evee has ranked second on the team in scoring, as he averages 14.3 points per game. However, Evee has averaged just 9.8 points per game while shooting just 28.3 percent from the floor over his last four games and he'll need to find his rhythm again offensively for Rice to make a run in the 2021 C-USA Tournament.
What you need to know about Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles are coming off a nearly 10-day layoff and have already lost twice to Rice this season. However, the Owls did shoot the ball much better than expected (27 for 64 from the 3-point line) in those two victories while Southern Miss shot just 9-of-35 from beyond the arc.
Look for the Golden Eagles to extend their defense in an effort to run Rice off the 3-point line while working to get better looks for their top shooter like Tae Hardy and LaDavius Draine. Hardy is shooting 36.2 percent from deep this season while Draine is hitting 35.9 percent of his 3-point attempts.
How to make Rice vs. Southern Miss picks
The model has simulated Rice vs. Southern Miss 10,000 times and the results are in. It is leaning over on the total and it's also generated a point-spread pick that is hitting in well over 50 percent of simulations. You can only see the pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Rice vs. Southern Miss? And which side of the spread hits in well over 50 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine right now to see which side of the Southern Miss vs. Rice spread you need to jump on, all from the computer model that has crushed its college basketball picks.
