The source for Rice sports news

  • Football
    • Recruiting
    • Offer Tracker
    • Roster
    • Schedule
    • NFL Owls
  • Premium
    • Patreon
    • Season Preview
    • Join / FAQ
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Store
    • News
    • Basketball
    • Baseball
    • About
    • Contact
  • Login

Shooting fizzles as Rice Basketball falls to Temple

February 28, 2024 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice basketball never found its groove from the floor, falling behind early against Temple and never rallying back.

It took Rice basketball a while to get going in an all-Owl affair at Tudor Fieldhouse on Wednesday night. The visiting Temple Owls controlled the pace of the game in the early going, starting the score with a quick layup and holding Rice without a lead throughout the first half.

Even though Rice managed to hold Temple 28 points before the break, their own shooting woes rendered that workable defensive effort moot. Rice shot 23 percent from the floor before the break, going into halftime with a 28-19 deficit.

More: Roost Podcast — Spring Roundup

Things didn’t get better after the break. Temple opened the half on a 12-2 run, ballooning their lead to as many as 26 points as Rice continued to struggle from the floor. Travis Evee was 1-for-11. Mekhi Mason was 2-for-11. Outside of Max Fiedler, who finished with a team-high 12 points, no Owls saw any sort of success shooting the ball.

Temple had no such problems. They finished the night shooting 48 percent from the field, earning some payback from a loss to Rice in Philadelphia earlier this season.

Final Box | Temple 65 – Rice 43

FINAL | Temple 65 – @RiceMBB 43 pic.twitter.com/h0H3neSnEC

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) February 29, 2024

Key takeaway | The race is on

By virtue of the loss on Wednesday, Rice basketball finds itself neck-neck with a grouping of six teams vying to avoid the final four spots in the conference standings and thus secure a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Among those in contention are the Wichita State Shockers, who the Owls face this coming weekend.

After Wichita State, Rice takes on Charlotte and North Texas to close out regular season play. Both of those squads currently reside in the top half of the standings. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room remaining. If Rice wants to avoid that first day of the conference tournament, another win (or two) would go a long way.

Up Next: at Wichita State (Saturday, Mar. 2)

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts
  • Rice Baseball blows past PVAMU at home
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls

Filed Under: Archive, Basketball Tagged With: game recap, Rice basketball

  1. Item 1
  2. Item 2
  3. Item 3
  4. Item 4
  5. Item 5
  • Rice Football
  • Rice Basketball
  • Rice Baseball, David Pierce
  • Rice Football
  • “He’s a Bulldog”: Parker Smith’s Journey to Rice Baseball Ace
Become a patron at Patreon!
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter