Rice Owls vs. East Carolina Pirates: How to watch online, live stream info, start time, TV channel

How to watch Rice vs. East Carolina basketball game

By Scout Staff

Feb 24, 2024 at 2:50 pm ET • 2 min read

Halftime Report

Rice is giving their home crowd exactly what they were hoping for. After one quarter, neither squad has the contest in the bag, but Rice leads 29-27 over the Pirates.

If Rice keeps playing like this, they'll bump their record up to 11-16 in no time. On the other hand, East Carolina will have to make due with a 14-13 record unless they turn things around (and fast).

Who's Playing

East Carolina Pirates @ Rice Owls

Current Records: East Carolina 14-12, Rice 10-16

How To Watch

When: Saturday, February 24, 2024 at 2 p.m. ET
Where: Tudor Fieldhouse -- Houston, Texas
TV: ESPN University
Follow: CBS Sports App
Online streaming: fuboTV (Try for free. Regional restrictions may apply.)
Ticket Cost: $15.00

What to Know

East Carolina has enjoyed a two-game homestand but will soon have to dust off their road jerseys. They and the Rice Owls will face off in an American Athletic battle at 2:00 p.m. ET on Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse. Both teams come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Winning is just a little bit easier when you work as a team to post 11 more assists than your opponent, a fact East Carolina proved on Sunday. They walked away with an 81-67 victory over the Green Wave.

East Carolina can attribute much of their success to Brandon Johnson, who almost dropped a double-double on 20 points and nine rebounds. Johnson hasn't dropped below 20 points for three straight games. The team also got some help courtesy of Bobby Pettiford Jr., who scored 12 points along with seven assists.

Meanwhile, Rice came into Wednesday's game having lost three straight, but that streak is now in the rearview. They were the clear victor by a 94-71 margin over the Blazers. With Rice ahead 49-24 at the half, the game was all but over already.

Rice can attribute much of their success to Andrew Akuchie, who scored 18 points along with five rebounds, and Mekhi Mason, who scored 19 points along with six assists and six rebounds. Mason didn't help Rice's cause all that much against the Golden Hurricane on Saturday but the same can't be said for this match. Keanu Dawes was another key contributor, scoring 13 points along with seven rebounds.

The Pirates' win bumped their record up to 14-12. As for the Owls, their win bumped their record up to 10-16.

East Carolina is hoping to beat the odds on Saturday, as the experts think they're headed for a loss. They might be worth a quick bet since they've covered the spread the last three times they've played.

Not only did both teams in this Saturday's contest win their last matches, they also took care of their bettors and covered the spread. As for their next game, Rice is expected to win a tight contest, barring any buzzer beaters. Bettors picking them against the spread have some confidence (to put it mildly), as the team is sitting on a three-game streak of failing to cover when playing as the favorites at home.