Rice Basketball nearly erased a massive first half deficit, but couldn’t complete the comeback, dropping a home tilt to South Florida on Wednesday.
Midway through the first half it looked like Rice basketball was destined for a lopsided home defeat. The Owls trailed visiting South Florida by 19 points, a margin which appeared in a matter of minutes thanks to a furious 18-3 run from the visiting Bulls who drained four three-pointers in their outburst.
With their backs against the wall, Rice did their best to replicate the rally, knocking down for three-pointers of their own in response, along with one layup, capping off a 14-2 run of their own to get right back in the game. A 19-point deficit turned into seven and just like that, the Owls had new life.
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Dreams of a comeback died shortly after halftime. A 9-0 run put the game out of reach. Then a 10-0 burst minutes later gave South Florida a 20-point edge, their largest of the game to that point. Try as they might, Rice simply couldn’t slow down Izaiyah Nelson, who led all scorers with 24 points, spurring the South Florida victory.
Rice Basketball falls to 12-16 with the loss. The Owls are 7-8 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.
Final Box | South Florida 75, Rice 56
Key takeaway | So Close, So Far
It’s not often a team shoots a better percentage from three than they do from two, but that’s the stat line Rice basketball finished with on Wednesday night. The Owls made 40 percent of their triples and 32 percent of their two-point shots, a complete flipflop of what the odds would suggest on a typical night. Add in a paltry 71 percent from the charity stripe and it’s easy to paint the picture of the loss.
Shooting well from deep has been the Owls’ equalizer this season, allowing a flawed offensive team to compete with high variance. When those shots don’t fall, their shortcomings are more easily exposed. Rice missed their close looks and managed just eight points in the paint. It’s hard to beat anyone when the easier shots aren’t going in.
Up Next: at Temple (Sun. Mar. 1 at 1:00 pm)