The Rice Owls (5-9) host the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (8-5) on Thursday at 4 p.m. ET. Rice will look to earn a much-needed home victory after losing seven of its last nine games, while Southern Miss enters Thursday's Conference USA matchup having lost three of its last four. The latest Southern Miss vs. Rice odds have the Golden Eagles favored by 6.5 points, while the over-under, or total points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 142. Before you make any Southern Miss vs. Rice picks and college basketball predictions, you'll want to see what SportsLine's advanced computer model has to say. 

This model, which simulates every game 10,000 times, has raked in the winnings for those following its picks. Over the past two years, the SportsLine Projection Model has returned over $5,200 to $100 players on its top-rated college basketball picks. And it enters Week 9 of the 2018-19 college basketball season on a blistering 32-14 run on its top-rated college basketball picks against the spread. Anybody who has been following it is way, way up.

Now it's locked in on Southern Miss vs. Rice. We can tell you it's leaning over, but it's also locked in a confident against the spread pick that hits in nearly 60 percent of simulations. You can only see that one at SportsLine. 

The model knows Rice boasts a high flying offense that features three players averaging over 12 points per game. The Owls are loaded with upperclassmen like junior forward Robert Martin, who's averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, but it's freshman guard Chris Mullins who has been filling the stat sheet as of late. In fact, Mullins is averaging over 18 points per game in his last five outings.

But just because the Owls have found an explosive playmaker in Mullins doesn't mean they can stay within the 6.5-point spread against Southern Miss. 

Despite their recent losing skid, the Golden Eagles also have an explosive playmaker who can take over a game. Senior guard Cortez Edwards enters Thursday's matchup averaging 14.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists this season. He's a difficult matchup for opposing defenders and recorded his first double-double of the season against South Dakota in late December. 

So who wins Southern Miss vs. Rice? And which side of the spread hits in nearly 60 percent of simulations? Visit SportsLine now to find out which side of the Southern Miss vs. Rice spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed college hoops, and find out.