Sam Houston State (8-4, 4-4 D1) at Rice (8-4, 6-4 D1) – 3:00 PM EST (CUSA.tv)
Today’s UTR Game of the Day takes us to Houston where the Rice Owls will play host to the nearby Sam Houston State Bearkats. The Owls are 4-1 at home this year with their only loss coming against their crosstown rival and one-time SWC rival Houston Cougars. Rice also finished 3rd in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase with wins against Milwaukee and East Carolina with their only loss being against Liberty. Trey Murphy III averages just over 14 points a game for the Owls.
Sam Houston State has an extremely bloated record with the maximum number of 4 non-D1 games alloted on their schedule, but the Bearkats have won their last three games in a row against D1 competition. Their first win was at home against a Louisiana Tech team fresh off of a win at Mississippi State, and they also won their first two Southland games at home against Northwestern State and New Orleans. SHSU does have four losses on the year (at Mississippi State, at Central Michigan, at San Francisco and at UTRGV), but none of their losses have been by greater than 9 points. Kai Mitchell averages 14.2 points a game and 7.1 rebounds a game for the Bearkats.