Rice had a challenging season last year, finishing with an 11-21 overall record and a 6-10 record at home. Offensively, the Owls averaged 72.0 points per game, showing moderate success from the free-throw line with 12.1 points on average, and contributing an additional 23.4 points per game from beyond the arc. FIU struggled on the road last season, with a 1-12 away record contributing to an overall 11-22 finish. Defensively, the Panthers showed strength with 10 steals, 4 blocks per game, but they also averaged 13.0 turnovers per game which they need to shore up. These teams split the season series last year, but I like FIU here. Jeremy Ballard is a good coach, he coached under Shaka Smart & Mike Rhoads, and I think he gets his kids up for this game and we are catching some points with a talented FIU squad that wants to make some noise this year, and I will roll with the Panthers here.