Tennessee Volunteers forward Nate Ament (10) brings the ball up court against North Florida Ospreys forward BJ Plummer (1) Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center in Knoxville, Tennessee.

The Rice Owls (2-2) travel to Knoxville to battle the Tennessee Volunteers (2-2) Monday. The contest at the Food City Center will tip off at 8:30 p.m. ET (SEC Network). Let's analyze BetMGM Sportsbook's NCAA basketball odds around the Rice vs. Tennessee odds and make our expert college basketball picks and predictions for the best bets.

Rice heads to Knoxville on the heels of a 71-64 (Under 147) victory Friday over the 10-point underdog East Texas A&M Lions. The Owls, who had lost their previous 2 games, trailed the Lions early in the second half. They rallied and built a late-game 15-point lead, but the Lions closed out the contest in Houston with an 11-3 run.

The Volunteers' last game was Wednesday, a schedule mismatch against the 41.5-point-underdog North Florida Ospreys. No. 18 Tennessee went 29-of-44 (65.9%) on its 2-point attempts and defeated UNF 99-66 (154.5). Freshman forward Nate Ament had 19 points and 9 rebounds. Since 2021-22, UT has won 38 consecutive non-conference home games.

Monday's tilt at UT will mark the first Owls-Volunteers game since 1963.

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Rice at Tennessee odds

Provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 6:30 a.m. ET.

  • Moneyline (ML): Rice +3000 (bet $100 to win $3,000) | Tennessee -10000 (bet $10,000 to win $100)
  • Against the spread (ATS): Rice +26.5 (-102) | Tennessee -26.5 (-118)
  • Over/Under (O/U): 143.5 (O: -110 | U: -110)

Rice at Tennessee picks and predictions

Prediction

Tennessee 82, Rice 64

Moneyline

No interest; PASS.

Against the spread

Rice is 8-3-1 ATS over its last 12 games as an underdog. Tennessee is 4-9 ATS in its last 13 games when tabbed as a favorite.

Tennessee's 3 foes so far are all ranked outside the BartTorvik top-250. The Owls make for a jump in class for a UT team that plays a slow-down style. The Vols have also had some turnover problems so far, and Rice is a veteran team with enough size and ability from the perimeter to make this more of an 18-to-22-point contest.

RICE +26.5 (-102) is the value side.

Over/Under

Tennessee's last 2 games have hit the Over. Last season, UT played 5 favored-by-20-plus home games before Dec. 5, and the Over went 4-1 in those games.

Look for some point spiral from UT put-backs and Rice 3-pointers. It makes for just a sliver of a lean on the OVER 143.5 (-110).

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This article originally appeared on Sportsbook Wire: Rice Owls at Tennessee Volunteers odds, picks and predictions

Reporting by Skip Snow, Sportsbook Wire / Sportsbook Wire

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