In the Conference USA tournament, there are the teams who have put together 20-win seasons, like Louisiana Tech and UAB, and those that have dominant players who give them a chance at all times, like Western Kentucky.

And then there are teams like the Rice Owls, who will have to win their way through the C-USA tournament in order to get to the Big Dance.

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And it goes without saying that the same holds true for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, who haven’t had much success at all, with ten losses in their last eleven games.

And so they’ll meet, with the winner going home. It will take place at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, TX.

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Southern Miss Golden Eagles vs. Rice Owls Preview

Tip-off: 8 PM ET (Tuesday)

College Basketball Betting Odds: Rice -4, Total 141.5

Rice has been reeling a little. They lost three consecutive games by margins of 23, 44 and 21 points before stopping the bleeding with a nervous three-point victory over Our Lady of the Lake, an NAIA school, which they beat for the second time.

The Owls have made progress under Scott Pera, who went 7-24 in his first season (2017-18). And it’s not because he has brought along experienced players either; Rice will start four sophomores here, in all likelihood. That’s what they’ve been doing for most of the season, on the way to a 13-12 record.

One of the things that is very distinctive about this Rice team is the fact that they are largely reliant on three-point shooting. In fact, there are very few teams who shoot a higher percentage of their shots from beyond the arc (49.4%, which means it’s about a 50-50 possibility). And they are at least good enough from downtown (35%) to be dangerous.

Southern Miss is 8-16 under coach Jay Ladner. Two of those losses came at the hands of Rice, by margins of 88-62 and 76-68. In those games, Rice made 42% of its three-pointers. Quincy Oliveri, who hits 40% from three-point range, scored 29 and 20 points in those games.

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The Golden Eagles are more than likely going to allow Rice to take its shots. Throughout the season, 45% of their opponents’ attempts have come from behind the arc.

On the other hand, USM’s game is not rooted from long distance. They only take 30% of their shots from out there. So expect that Oliveri will be able to go to work, as will Travis Evee (39% triples) and 6-10 Aussie Riley Abercrombie (36%), and if they are able to meet with some success, Southern Miss isn’t likely to have enough firepower to answer back, although it should be noted that Tyler Stevenson had 29 points in the second meeting against Rice, and that Tae Hardy exploded for 32 points last time out against FAU.

We appreciate that Rice could be vulnerable at any time, and the win over an NAIA school notwithstanding, they are not coming in with a head of steam. But they appear to have advantages in terms of the “style” matchup, and in consideration of that, this number is reasonable.

The Play: RICE -4

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