How to watch North Texas Mean Green vs. Rice Owls: Live stream, TV channel, start time for Wednesday's NCAA Basketball game

How to watch North Texas vs. Rice basketball game

By Scout Staff

Jan 8, 2025 at 10:00 pm ET • 3 min read

Halftime Report

After a tough loss on the road their last time out, North Texas looks much better today on their home court. They have a bit of a cushion as they currently lead Rice 42-28.

If North Texas keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 11-4 in no time. On the other hand, Rice will have to make due with an 11-5 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

Rice Owls @ North Texas Mean Green

Current Records: Rice 11-4, North Texas 10-4

How To Watch

When: Wednesday, January 8, 2025 at 9 p.m. ET
Where: The Super Pit -- Denton, Texas
TV: ESPN University
Follow: CBS Sports App
Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
Ticket Cost: $7.00

What to Know

Rice is 2-8 against North Texas since January of 2020 but they'll have a chance to close the gap a little bit on Wednesday. Both will face off in an American Athletic battle at 9:00 p.m. ET at The Super Pit. The Owls are coming into the contest hot, having won their last three games.

Rice's season wasn't pretty last year but it's starting to look like struggles are in the rearview. They walked away with a 68-55 win over Charlotte on Saturday.

Rice's victory was a true team effort, with many players turning in solid performances. Perhaps the best among them was Jimmy Oladokun Jr., who posted eight points along with nine rebounds. Oladokun Jr. had some trouble finding his footing against Tulsa on Wednesday, so this was a step in the right direction. The team also got some help courtesy of Kellen Amos, who had 12 points along with five rebounds.

Meanwhile, after a string of four wins, North Texas' good fortune finally ran out on Sunday. They took a 68-64 hit to the loss column at the hands of Memphis.

The loss doesn't tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Moulaye Sissoko, who went 7 for 8 en route to 17 points plus eight rebounds. What's more, he also racked up five offensive rebounds, the most he's had since back in January of 2024. Another player making a difference was Brenen Lorient, who went 5 for 8 en route to 18 points.

Rice has been performing well recently as they've won four of their last five games, which provided a nice bump to their 11-4 record this season. As for North Texas, they dropped their record down to 10-4 with the loss, which was their third straight on the road.

Wednesday's matchup is shaping up to be a scrappy match: Rice has been smashing the glass this season, having averaged 40.1 rebounds per game. It's a different story for North Texas, though, as they've been averaging only 32.4. Given Rice's sizable advantage in that area, North Texas will need to find a way to close that gap.

Rice is hoping to beat the odds on Wednesday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. For those looking to play the spread, keep Rice's opponent in mind: they have a subpar 2-6 record against the spread vs North Texas over their last eight matchups.