Rice basketball snapped out of a cold spell with a blazing shooting streak, riding their hot hands to a huge road win over UAB on Thursday.
The last time Rice basketball was on the court they posted a potentially season-altering win over Conference USA leading North Texas that, quite frankly, came out of nowhere. A switch flipped at some point during that win. The Owls duct taped that switch to the floor, maintaining their torrid shooting pace on the road against UAB.
Entering Thursday’s contest, the Blazers were far less consistent than the Mean Green. But it really didn’t matter how well UAB was playing. Rice couldn’t miss.
UAB scored first. Then Rice took over. Rice led by 19 at the break, their largest lead at halftime in any game this season. They stretched that lead to as many as 29 points, squeezing the fight out of a UAB team that had won their last two C-USA games.
Rice shot 52.7 percent from the field and made 13 three-pointers. That’s a step down from their 61.5 percent shooting performance against North Texas, but more than enough to get Rice beyond 80 points for the third straight game.
Final Stats
FINAL | @RiceBasketball blasts UAB in Birmingham, winning 86-72. #GoOwls pic.twitter.com/K7jDyg291M
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) February 7, 2020
Player of the Game – Drew Peterson
Not only did Peterson lead the Owls in scoring, but he was also the point man who commanded the team on both sides of the court. He was the only player on either team to play more than 31 minutes — he played 39. His six assists marked the second game in a row with at least six assists and he added five rebounds, second-most on the team.
Up Next
Rice basketball will play its final road game of the season prior to pod play on Saturday. They’ll travel to Murfreesboronext to play Middle Tennessee. That game is scheduled to tip off on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.
