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Rice Basketball Outgunned by Tulsa on the road

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Rice Basketball couldn’t keep up with an explosive Tulsa offense, falling behind early during a New Year’s Eve loss to the Golden Hurricane.

Dreams of a Happy New Year’s Eve on the road for Rice basketball turned to nightmares in short order as the Owls were on the wrong end of a 10-0 start to open their game against Tulsa on Wednesday afternoon. The Owls missed their first five shots, falling behind from the first possession.

Rice would cut the deficit down to one on and 11-0 run, spurred by excellent shooting and timely free throws from Nick Anderson, who would go on to paced the team with 17 points on the afternoon. Rice would never lead, though. Tulsa volleyed back, pulling out to a 13-point advantage at the halftime buzzer.

MORE: Rice Basketball Midseason State of the Program

The margin hovered around double-digits for much of the second half until a series of threes from Tulsa’s Jaylen Lawal put the game out of reach, for good. Up by 25 approaching the eight-minute media timeout, the Golden Hurricane would hang on for a comfortable win.

Rice Basketball falls to 6-8 with the loss. The Owls are 1-6 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Tulsa 97, Rice 48

Key takeaway | Stars Silenced

Tulsa entered this contest as the top shooting team in the American Conference. That the Owls would give up points to the Golden Hurricane shouldn’t be that surprising. Rather, their inability to mount an effective counterpunch is the more concerning component of this loss.

The emergence of Cam Carroll and the reliability of Nick Anderson have gone a long way to buttress a Rice offense that has been inconsistent this season. But those two alone can’t support a balanced attack than can challenge the likes of Tulsa.

Veterans Trae Broadnax and Jalen Smith combined for 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting with eight boards. It would be decidedly unfair to saddle them with the blame for this defeat, however, it’s hard to envision Rice basketball winning many games in American Conference play if those two are barely going to crack double digits together.

Up Next: vs Memphis (Sat, Jan. 3 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Stuns South Florida on the Road

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Rice women’s basketball opened up conference play with a statement win, taking down American Conference frontrunner South Florida on the road.

Rice Women’s Basketball set the tone quickly in the opening minutes against preseason American conference favorite South Florida on Tuesday night. The Owls opened the game on an 8-2 run, but the hosts would equalize a few possessions later. Then the game was on.

The two sides traded leads six times in the remainder of the first quarter. While each team would have a spurt of offensive success, the Owls’ one-upped an 8-0 South Florida run with a 12-0 run of their own to push the lead to double-digits, the first such advantage for either side to that point.

MORE: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Rice led by six at the half and maintained a modest advantage through the third quarter before having their chance to run away with a thunderous 11-0 run but try as they might, they couldn’t put South Florida away.

After trailing for almost all of the second half, the Bulls took their first lead after halftime with 2:09 to play on the heels of a 9-0 rally. Down by one on their final possession, Shelby Hayes knocked down a short jumper to go back in front. Rice made one more defensive stand to complete the massive road win.

With the win, Rice women’s basketball improves to 11-3 on the season and 5-3 away Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 70, South Florida 68

Key takeaway | Top Dog

South Florida received 11 of the 13 first place votes in the American Conference Preseason Coaches Poll. UTSA got one. Rice got the other. With one conference game in the books in 2025, the Owls have officially made their bid to be considered the conference’s top dog.

Rice and South Florida aren’t strangers to each other on the hardwood. The Bulls won all three matchups last season including the conference tournament championship game last March. For Rice to get revenge on the road in both team’s first game of the conference slate sets the tone for the remainder of the year to come.

This win will go down as one of Edmond most impressive at South Main to this point. And as far as this season goes, Rice had won nine of their last 10 and proven themselves dangerous on both sides of the court. And if you asked Edmonds, their best might still be to come.

Up Next: at Florida Atlantic (Sat. Jan. 3 at 1:00 pm)

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Rice Athletics: Top 10 Moments from 2025

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2025 was filled with highs and lows for Rice Athletics. The Roost picked out 10 moments that stood out the most along the way.

10. Rice Football defeats Louisiana in Scott Abell’s debut

On the road as double-digit underdogs against a team that played for a conference championship the season prior, Abell’s track record of overcoming tall odds got off to a tremendous start. The new-look offense did just enough as the defense slammed the door to secure a program-defining debut win in a season in which every victory mattered.

9. Rice Women’s Basketball upsets 1-Seed UTSA in Conference Tournament

These Owls were made for March, it seems. Following a disappointing regular season in which the program had to settle for the No. 9 Seed, Rice knocked off top-seeded UTSA in the quarterfinals on their way to a second consecutive championship game appearance.

8. Rice Soccer finishes runner-up in American Conference Tournament

Sticking with the theme of postseason runs, Rice soccer nearly capped off a strong 10-4-6 season with an NCAA Tournament berth, but fell just short in the championship game, dropping a 1-0 decision to Rice. Still, a penalty kick win over South Florida in the semifinals proved thrilling.

7. Rice Baseball hires David Pierce midseason

In an unprecedented move, Rice fired head coach Jose Cruz Jr. and hired David Pierce, all in the matter of a few weeks. Pierce got right to work, starting midseason and guiding the Owls to a .500 finish over his last 20 games of the season — Rice had a .190 winning percentage before he arrived.

6. Rice Football beats UConn in 20T

The theory entering the year was that the uniqueness of the gun option system would give Rice football an element of surprise at least once, leading to an upset of a team oddsmakers projected to be much better than the Owls on paper. It turns out that came against a surprising nine-win UConn team. Rice rallied from a modest halftime deficit to stun the Huskies with a walk-off touchdown by Quinton Jackson in double overtime.

5. Rice Men’s Tennis takes home two titles

The men’s tennis program hit an upswing this year, securing multiple titles along the way. The team won the American Conference Championship as a team, defeating host (and No. 2 Seed) Memphis. They also took the doubles crown with the tandem of Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro defeating No. 2 Seed Charlotte’s top pair in the title match.

4. Rice Swimming and Diving Conf. Champ.

A year ago, Rice added diving to its portfolio of NCAA sponsored sports. The thinking at the time was that the Owls could be title contenders if they played with the full allotment of resources permitted. Fast-forward to 2025 and Rice did indeed win it all, clinching a conference championship in Swimming and Diving for the first time since 2013-2014.

3. Rice Volleyball wins 17 in a row enroute to NCAA Tournament

It took a few weeks to get going as the Owls battled it out with a vigorous non-conference schedule, but once conference play arrived, Rice volleyball was hard to beat. The Owls won 17 consecutive matches, clinching an American Conference Tournament Championship and earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament where they would eventually lose to Florida.

2. Rice Football goes bowling

As recently as 24 hours before selection day, the odds of Rice football going bowling seemed slim. Then Kansas State opted out that Sunday morning and Rice football was Armed Forces Bowl bound. Abell made it clear he doesn’t want to get in on APR again, but he’s happy for the extra opportunity for his program and the Owls are heading to Fort Worth with the intention of bringing home a trophy.

1. Gateway Project announced

The announcement of The Gateway Project, a transformative commitment by Rice University to its football program and its athletic institutions made waves on a national scale. The project, scheduled to be completed prior to the 2028 season, will see Rice Stadium fully renovated and a new gateway to Rice Village installed.

Honorable Mentions…

How about you? Which of these moments from Rice Athletics did you enjoy the most? Cutting this down to 10 was challenging. Which Rice Athletics events should be added to the list?

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Rice Football Recruiting: ATH Sawyer Rice commits to Owls

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The 2026 Rice Football recruiting class got a late Christmas present, picking up a pledge from a versatile playmaker. Sawyer Rice has committed to the Owls.

The Early Signing Period in mid-December represented the first big push for the 2026 Rice Football Recruiting class, but spots were left open for select additions to that initial group. One such new face has been added to the fold. Duncan (OK) athlete Sawyer Rice has committed to the Owls.

Rice had interest from a host of American Conference programs before landing at his namesake school. He held offers from North Texas, Army and Navy before shutting things down with a pledge to the Owls just after Christmas.

The first high school commitment since the Early Signing Period, Rice is expected to put pen to paper during the traditional February signing period alongside current unsigned commits, long snapper Hamilton Sharpe and corner Jordan Mitchell.

Premium: Rice Football Recruiting Offer and Commitment Tracker

No definitive decision has been made as to how Rice will fit into the Owls’ offensive scheme, but the initial plans as of now are to start him at receiver or in the slot and go from there. The film shows a dynamic athlete who can do impressive things with the ball in his hands. The only question at this point is how the ball is going to arrive.

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Rice Football Quarterback Chase Jenkins to Enter Transfer Portal

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Rice Football will have a new QB1 for the Armed Forces Bowl and beyond. Starter Chase Jenkins has opted out of the game and intends to enter the Transfer Portal.

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** Photo credit: Maria Lysaker **

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