The University of Texas is coming off two bad losses and are in need of regaining some momentum after the lengthy holiday break. The Longhorns suffered a loss to No. 1 Kentucky before getting routed by Texas State just a week later. The team did manage a win over Lipscomb, before losing against to Stanford last Tuesday. The team has been off since that game, but are aiming to end their non-conference schedule on a high note with a win over Rice.
Texas is preparing to open up Big 12 play in the coming weekend, but first will finish this stretch of the year against Rice who is sitting at 3-7 on the season. The Owls recently lost to Lamar despite shooting 39.3 percent from beyond the arc. They will have to shoot like that once again if they hope to challenge Texas who is 10-2 on the year and ranked No. 9 overall. The Owls are traditionally one of the worst shooting teams in Conference USA which does not work in their favor.
Texas is among the best on defense, allowing just 55.1 points while putting up a 32.5 shooting percentage. The Stanford Cardinals have been the only team to notch 70 points on Texas while shooting 43.3 percent. History works in Texas' favor in this matchup. They have beaten Rice five times during a 15-game home win streak. They have nine overall wins against their in-state rivals.
The Longhorns will rely heavily on Javan Felix who continues to dominate in scoring. He second a season high with 19 points while he is averaging 8.2 points per game in nine games this season. However, he has not played well against Rice, going 2-of-11 in his first two matchups and 1-of-5 beyond the arc.
Rice does have Seth Gearhard who is averaging 14.1 points per game while Marcus Jackson is the only other player on the roster averaging double-digits in points with 12.0 per game. Texas appears to have this game on lock with their defense and homecourt advantage.
