FSU basketball near double-digit betting favorites over Rice

FSU basketball (1-0) will look to build on their season-opening win over Northern Kentucky earlier this week when they take on the Rice Owls (1-0) Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Tucker Center. FSU enters the game as a -9.5 betting favorite, with the over/under points total at 153.5. Those odds imply an 81-72 win for the Noles.

The Rice Owls defeated Florida International 77-70 in their season opener earlier this week. The Owls compete in the American Athletic Conference and finished the 2023-24 season (11-21, 5-13 AAC). They didn't play great in their win over FIU. They shot 46.2 percent overall, 60 percent from the charity stripe, and 25 percent from the three-point line.

The biggest thing that caught my eye was they turned the ball over 16 times, and that's an area the Noles will look to exploit with their size and length. FSU forced 22 turnovers against Northern Kentucky. They also got to the charity stripe and went a respectable 14 of 18.

However, Rice rebounds the ball well, and FSU allowed too many offensive rebounds against Northern Kentucky. FSU got a huge performance from leading scorer Jamir Watkins, but it was the emergence of Taylor Bol Bowen that could be a game-changer. Both guys scored 17 points against Northern Kentucky, and FSU had several more players to put the ball in the basket.

If FSU gets the same effort on the defensive end as they showed against Northern Kentucky and rebounds the ball well, FSU should cover this spread.