Both Rice Basketball teams had Thursday off and are ready to get back onto the court. The men and the women return to action on Saturday against North Texas.
Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: ESPN+ (If you don’t have ESPN+ you can access a free trial or subscribe here.)
North Texas 14-8 (8-1), Last 5 (5-0)
- 72-52 (W) at Southern Miss
- 51-50 (W) at LA Tech
- 79-59 (W) vs Rice
- 98-78 (W) vs UTSA
- 67-57 (W) vs UTEP
Rice 9-13 (1-8), Last 5 (0-5)
- 72-56 (L) at LA Tech
- 81-68 (L) at Southern Miss
- 79-59 (L) at North Texas
- 72-64 (L) vs UTEP
- 90-88 (L) vs UTSA
North Texas statistical leaders
- Scoring | Umoja Gibson – 14.5 per game
- Rebounds | Thomas Bell – 5.6 per game
- Assists | Javion Hamlet – 4.7 per game
- Steals | Umoja Gibson – 1.3 per game
- Blocks | Deng Geu – 0.9 per game
Rice keys to victory
The Owls got run out of the gym in their previous meeting with the Mean Green, falling by 20 points on the road. The driver for the disparate score was the defensive prowess exhibited by North Texas and the lack thereof from Rice. North Texas shot 54 percent from the field, a notch above their season average of 47.7 percent.
North Texas hasn’t given up gives up the fewest rebounds in the league, but Rice won the battle of the boards last time out. Rice needs to do that again as well as keep the North Texas shooters from putting the game out of reach early.
Time: 3:00 p.m. CT
Venue: The Super Pit
TV: CUSA TV
North Texas 9-11 (3-5), Last 5 (2-3)
- 84-78 OT (L) at FAU
- 65-57 (L) vs Southern Miss
- 74-69 OT (W) vs LA Tech
- 79-55 (W) at UTSA
- 67-63 (L) at UTEP
Rice 12-6 (8-0), Last 5 (5-0)
- 68-47 (W) at FIU
- 60-47 (W) vs Louisiana Tech
- 75-64 (W) vs Southern Miss
- 69-61 (W) at UTEP
- 74-62 (W) at UTSA
North Texas statistical leaders
- Scoring | Anisha George – 12.9 per game
- Rebounds | Anisha George – 8.9 per game
- Assists | N’Yah Boyd – 2.7 per game
- Steals | Destinee McDowell – 2.6 per game
- Blocks | Anisha George – 1.5 per game
Rice keys to victory
North Texas has a stingy defense. They’re one of three programs in Conference USA that have held their opponents to less than 60 points a game, on average. Unfortunately for the Mean Green, so are the Owls. In what should be a defensive slugfest, it’s going to come down to who can stay patient enough on offense and take the best shots. That’s an area that overwhelming favors the Owls.
