Rice basketball hung around through halftime, but could not last a full 40 minutes, falling to UC Irvine in their Ball Dawgs Classic finale.
For the first time this week, Rice basketball opened a game by hitting their shots. After being ice cold from the field for the first two games of the Ball Dawgs Classic, Rice came out shooting 52 percent from the field in the first half with five assists and 31 points. They outshot their opponents by 10 percentage points and went into the halftime locker room tied. That, in itself, felt like a significant step.
The challenge in the second half would be to turn 20 sold minutes of basketball into a full game. Things started off well enough, with Rice opening up a three-point lead before playing UCI within three points for the next 10 minutes of action.
Travis Evee and Anthony Selden got to the line and made their free throws. They protected the basketball as a team, turning it over just twice in the second frame. What they couldn’t do was go shot for shot with a UC Irvine team that caught fire late.
At one point Rice missed seven in a row, allowing UCI to open a small lead. Then the Owls’ opponents knocked down eight of their final twelve shots. Rice finished 5-of-14 and that was that.
Final Box | UCI 83 – Rice 68
FINAL | UCI 83 – @RiceMBB 68 pic.twitter.com/NfSWzXn9m7
— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) November 25, 2023
Key takeaway | Be better on the boards
On an afternoon in which the Owls shot the ball well, protected the ball well and played servicable defense for long stretches, their inability to crash the boards cost them dearly. UCI led 20-14 in rebounds in the first half and finished the game with a 41-27 advantage over Rice. Nine of those were offensive rebounds.
It all comes down to giving opponents extra opportunities. Whether that’s turnovers, rebounds or something else, Rice isn’t playing cohesive enough as a team right now to overcome that margin. Small errors add up and they help turn a close game into another double-digit loss.
Up Next: vs UT Martin – Nov. 30 (Thr.)
