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Temple vs Rice Picks and Predictions – Wednesday January 21, 2026
Temple heads to Houston on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, to face Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse with an 8:00 PM ET tip on ESPN+. The market has this one priced tight, basically a short road favorite in a building where Rice has been competitive most nights.
Temple is 11-7 with a steady 3-3 road mark, while Rice sits 8-10 but has shown more bite at home (6-5). With the spread sitting at -1.5 and the total in the mid-140s, this reads like a one-possession game where late execution and free throws decide both the side and the number.
Temple vs Rice Odds
These are the current betting lines, and bettors should keep an eye on the latest college basketball odds as the market settles closer to tip.
| Team | Moneyline | Spread | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Temple | -121 | -1.5 (-108) | 144.5 (-110) |
| Rice | +101 | +1.5 (-112) | 144.5 (-110) |
Temple Betting Form
Temple is coming off a 79-73 loss to Florida Atlantic, but the offensive output was there. Aiden Tobiason and Derrian Ford carried the scoring, and that matters in a short spread game where you need two or three guys who can create a bucket when the set breaks down.
From a betting perspective, Temple’s edge is how it manufactures points without needing a perfect shooting night. They get to the line consistently, and they convert enough from deep to punish late help. If Temple plays from in front, that free-throw profile becomes even more valuable because it can close a game without asking for high-variance threes.
The caution is that Temple can drift into slower possessions and let opponents hang around, which is exactly how a -1.5 favorite turns into a stressful final two minutes. For recent results and broader performance context, check Temple stats and results.
Rice Betting Form
Rice comes in off an 89-73 win over UTSA, and the takeaway is balance. Trae Broadnax, Jalen Smith, and Nick Anderson all produced, and that kind of multi-scorer setup is important when you’re catching points because it reduces the chance the offense dies if one option is boxed.
At home, Rice has been much more functional. Tudor Fieldhouse isn’t a place where they roll teams, but they’ve been good enough to stay in games, and they can score in spurts with their perimeter shooting. If Rice is making threes at a normal clip, they can flip the math quickly against a small favorite.
Rice’s biggest issue in this matchup is that they’re likely to be playing from behind at some point, which puts pressure on half-court shot quality. If they’re trading twos for Temple free throws, they need extra threes or extra possessions to keep the cover live. For the home splits and game logs, see Rice schedule and stats.
Temple vs Rice Matchup Breakdown
The pace here matters more than the total suggests. Both teams sit in a slower possession band, which usually makes spread margins tighter and increases the value of +1.5 at home. It also puts a premium on clean first shots because you just do not get enough possessions to survive repeated empty trips.
Temple’s most reliable scoring path is paint touches plus free throws. If they’re getting into the lane and forcing Rice to defend without fouling, Temple can separate late even if the game stays low possession. Rice has to be disciplined in transition defense too, because giving Temple easy points is the quickest way to turn this into a grind where Rice is always chasing.
Rice’s path is perimeter shot-making without turnovers. If Rice is winning the three-point math and keeping Temple off the line, they’re live to win outright. If not, the game tilts toward Temple’s ability to generate “stop the clock” points late. If you want a quick refresher on how tempo and late-game fouling swing totals and close spreads, the Expert Betting Guide is a useful framework.
Temple vs Rice Predictions and Best Bets
I lean Rice +1.5. In games priced this tight, I’m generally looking to take points with the home side when the underdog can score from the perimeter and the favorite doesn’t play fast enough to create separation. Rice also has a cleaner path to a backdoor cover if they’re down two possessions late, because one made three changes everything.
That said, I’m not ignoring Temple’s late-game edge. If this turns into a free-throw contest, Temple is better built for it, and that’s why the moneyline is shaded their way. I just think the market is asking Temple to win a specific kind of game to cover, and Rice has enough shooting and home stability to keep it inside the number.
On the total, I lean under 144.5. With both teams operating at a slower pace, you need strong efficiency to clear the mid-140s. If Temple controls the game and Rice has to work deep into the clock, the scoring can land in that 138 to 142 pocket more often than not.
Best Bet: Rice +1.5 (-112)
NCAAB Picks and Handicappers on ScoresAndStats
If you’re betting the full slate, start with the college basketball picks page to compare sides and totals across matchups, then cross-check game context in the NCAAB previews hub before you lock anything in.
For team-level filtering and conference-wide scanning, the NCAAB teams hub helps you move fast, and the ScoresAndStats blog is a good rotation piece when you want angle-driven reads beyond one matchup.
If you’re following performance, the best handicappers page and the leaderboard make it easy to see who’s beating the market, and you can access premium selections through buy picks. For shopping your books and comparing services, keep the sportsbook reviews and handicappers sites reviews pages in your toolkit.
