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2024 AAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Preview

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The 2024 AAC Women’s Basketball Tournament is slated to tip off in Fort Worth, TX this week. Here’s a preview of the action.

The Favorite: Tulsa

Temira Poindexter and Delanie Crawford rank second and third in the AAC in scoring. No team in the league boasts a tandem as productive as this one has been for the Golden Hurricane. Tulsa has the longest active winning streak in league play, five games, and head-to-head wins over No. 2 Seed North Texas and No. 3 Seed Temple (Tulsa split the season series with Temple 1-1).

The Contenders: North Texas, Temple

North Texas might be the most consistent team in the league. They shoot the ball well and play solid defense almost every game. In total, that’s driven the Mean Green to the top scoring margin in the AAC, outscoring opponents by 11.2 points, which is more than double every team in the league outside of Temple.

As for Temple, the Owls rank second in the AAC in defense, allowing 62.7 points per game. Opponents are shooting just 29 percent from three against the Owls and below 40 percent from the floor. There’s a reason the league standings ended in a three-way tie at the top with these three good teams.

The Dark Horse: South Florida

Once picked as the preseason No. 1 team, South Florida got off to a slow start in league play and fell toward the rest of the pack in the standings. The talent is still there, albeit with some inconsistency in performance from game to game. The Bulls lead the conference in assist/turnover ratio. If they can play clean basketball and keep up their solid defense they could make some noise.

The Wild Card: Memphis

The Tigers were left for dead in mid-February, bottom dwellers in the standings with a 4-11 record. Then something clicked. They ended the season on a 5-1 run, knocking off East Carolina, Rice, Tulane, UTSA and UAB before falling to North Texas. They get a rematch with ECU in Fort Worth. One upset against Tulsa in the next round and their Cinderella dreams might not sound that farfetched.

The Bracket

The opening day of games will take place on Saturday, March 9, with the majority of the teams in action on Sunday, March 10. Here are the first two days of action. The full schedule is available on the conference website. All early-round games can be streamed on ESPN+, with the championship on ESPNU.

First Round | Saturday, March 9

Game 1: No. 13 Wichita State vs. No. 12 Florida Atlantic – 4 p.m. CT
Game 2: No. 14 Tulane vs. No. 11 SMU – 6 p.m. CT

Second Round | Sunday, March 10

Game 3: No. 9 East Carolina vs. No. 8 Memphis – 12 p.m. CT
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. No. 5 South Florida – 2 p.m. CT
Game 5: No. 10 Rice vs. No. 7 UAB – 6 p.m. CT
Game 6: Game 2 winner vs. No. 6 Charlotte – 8 p.m. CT

https://twitter.com/American_Conf/status/1765556810608431384

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Rice Basketball comes up short at Charlotte

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Rice basketball stayed within striking distance but was never able to land a finishing blow, dropping a hard-fought game to Charlotte.

It wouldn’t have been readily apparent to any onlookers Wednesday night that the on-court battle they were witnessing was between teams on opposite ends of the American Conference standings. Rice basketball took Charlotte to the wire, coming within a timely basket or two of upsetting one of the AAC’s best.

Rice was able to keep things close thanks to an inspired performance by their defense. Charlotte shot just 36 percent from the field and 6-of-27 (22 percent) from three, essentially relying on forward Igor Milicic (26 points, 10 rebounds) to carry the rest of the team.

More: Roost Podcast — Spring Roundup

Charlotte led by seven at halftime and increased their edge to as many as 12 points. But each and every time the game got to the brink, Rice battled back. Midway through the second half, Travis Evee and Max Fiedler spurred an 11-2 run that brought the game within three points. Then the battle was on.

Both sides traded baskets as the clock wound down. Anthony Selden delivered a slashing layup to get the score within two with 26 seconds to play. Charlotte would hit their free throws and hold on, but not without some labored breathing down the stretch.

Final Box | Charlotte 69 – Rice 65

Key takeaway | Workable rotations

It’s taken most of the season to get to this point, but Rice basketball seems to have found itself the right balance of starters’ minutes, bench usage and rotations between the two units. Andrew Akuchie has been effective in his minutes, but so too has Anthony Selden off the bench and Keanu Dawes, albeit not as much against Charlotte.

This roster has talent, more so than it did at this point last season. Trusting that talent to come through in crucial situations should be the next step of a progressing program. It hasn’t resulted in victories as often as the Owls’ faithful would have hoped, but the pieces are there.

If Rice can add an effective three-point shot to a roster that is effective up close — Rice led Charlotte 40-26 in points in the paint — they could make some noise over the last few weeks of the season. The players are there.

Up Next: at North Texas (Wednesday, Mar. 9)

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Rice Baseball bounces back with midweek win over PVAMU

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Rice Baseball got back in the win column on Tuesday night, taking care of business against Prairie View A&M at Reckling Park, 6-1.

Prairie View struck first on Tuesday night, launching a second inning pitch from Rice baseball starter Robert Fernandez over the right field wall to take the lead. The Owls were able to respond immediately, softening any lingering concerns about the offensive woes showcased in their weekend series loss to Stanford with a trio of multi-run frames.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball swept by Stanford

Ben Royo collected the first RBI in the bottom of the second, moving the line with a single to left center. Max Johnson followed with a sacrifice fly to put Rice in front, 2-1. Staked to a modest lead, Fernandez and the bullpen, patrolled this time by Jackson Mayo and Mauricio Rodriguez, keep the Panthers’ bats quiet.

PVAMU had two hits and two walks, never posing any meaningful threats outside of that isolated home run ball early on. Rice would add two more runs of their own in the fifth, courtesy of a double from Nathan Becker. The final two would cross in the sixth on a sac fly from Pierce Gallo and a wild pitch.

For the night, Rice outhit PVAMU 11-2 and the Rice pitching staff worked nine innings of one-run ball, striking out eight while allowing six total base runners, including one hit batter and one who reached via an error.

What it means | The price of victory

With the outcome essentially decided, the injury bug snuck up and bit Rice baseball again in the ninth inning. Max Johnson went down in a heap, stretching for a ball thrown off the bag before collapsing to the turf in pain. He had to be helped off the field by trainers and didn’t look to be able to put much weight on his leg.

Johnson had yet to register his first hit of the season but had earned the trust of the coaching staff for his improved competitiveness at the plate as well as his defense. His 10-pitch at bat against Stanford on Sunday that kept the Owls in it late drew positive reviews from head coach Jose Cruz Jr afterward.

“I thought Max had really good at bats,” Cruz said, singling out that crucial at bat. “I’m happy for that progress.”

If Johnson does indeed miss time, Rice will have to reshuffle the lineup again after settling in on Johnson as the first baseman for the time being. That would likely put Treyton Rank back on the infield and keep Ben Royo at shortstop. At some point, it’s a numbers game, and Rice is running out of options with the season just a few weeks old.

ON DECK | vs Hawaii (Fri-Mon)

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Rice Women’s Basketball falls to UTSA, skids into AAC Tournament

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Rice Women’s Basketball dropped its fifth consecutive contest, falling on the road to UTSA in the final game of the regular season.

Malia Fisher went supernova, delivering a Herculean performance in the final Rice women’s basketball game of the regular season. She scored the first points for the Owls. She scored the last points. Altogether she tallied 30 points — more than the next two closest players on the court combined — and 12 boards. It wasn’t enough, though.

Despite Fisher’s efforts, Rice women’s basketball was unable to overcome a poor shooting night as a whole. The 30 percent shooting performance was most noticeable in the second quarter when UTSA opened up a close game and earned its first double-digit advantage. Then came the third period in which Rice made just two shots (both from Fisher) and saw their deficit grow to as many as 19 points.

More: Roost Podcast — Spring Roundup

The team never gave up, fighting and clawing from that seemingly insurmountable hole to get the game back within reach. Fisher’s trio of successive baskets in the final minutes got Rice within three. The comeback would stop there, however, as UTSA knocked down a layup and a few ensuing foul shots to secure the win and hand loss its fifth consecutive loss in conference play.

Final Box | UTSA 60 – Rice 52

Key takeaway | Coming in cold

You want to be playing your best ball in March. It has to be the most overused cliche in college basketball. The Owls had better hope it’s a cliche and nothing more. Of the 14 teams in the American Conference, only one has been worse over the last three weeks of the regular season than Rice. Tulane (3-15 in the AACP) has lost eight consecutive games.

The standings are so tight. One more win and the Owls probably could have snuck into the final double-bye, earning the No. 4 Seed instead of the No. 10 seed. Instead, the low mark in the standings serves as a gut punch for a team that was picked to finish third in the preseason polls and swept East Carolina and USF, the preseason frontrunners.

That sets up a very intriguing week ahead. At their best, this team took down Tulsa, the AAC’s regular season champ. Rice is going to need to recapture that magic if they want to reshape the narrative on a season that has not gone according to plan.

Up Next: AAC Tournament

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Rice Baseball swept by Stanford

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Rice baseball left Reckling Park without a win this weekend, falling in three straight games to Stanford.

FRIDAY | Stanford 6 – Rice 2

The home crowd exploded with cheers when Jack Riedel launched a seventh-inning pitch over the left field berm for a no-doubt, leadoff home run. While the blast was impressive, it also represented the Owls’ first hit of the night in a game they trailed 5-0 before that ball crossed over the fence.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball drops midweek bout with LSU

Stanford starting pitcher Matt Scott had allowed just two base runners to that point, both on walks. Smith outdueled Rice ace Parker Smith who had labored through six innings, earning the loss. A late-inning rally would prove too little, too late.

SATURDAY | Stanford 8 – Rice 2

Following a spectacular complete game the weekend prior, Rice pitcher JD McCracken was not as fortunate this time out. He labored through 5.2 innings, leaving in a precarious spot in the sixth before two more runs were added to his ledger on a double surrendered by Jack Ben-Shoshan.

Trailing 8-0 with one hit of their own, Rice couldn’t mount a meaningful comeback. Jack Riedel gave the Owls their only offensive spark of the day, lifting a two-out home run over the wall to prevent a shutout. That salvaged some pride but had no impact on the Owls’ chances at a comeback.

SUNDAY | Stanford 4 – Rice 3

Although Stanford did strike first once again, things were much closer on Sunday in the series finale. After the Cardinal put up a two-spot in the first, Rice rallied to tie the game in the second inning. Treyton Rank delivered a key RBI double to even the score at 2-2.

The game would remain deadlocked there until the fifth inning when Stanford chased Rice start Ryland Urbanczyk from the game and moved ahead on a two-run homer off his successor, Tom Vincent. Rice got one back in the bottom half of the inning but wouldn’t score again.

Rice had a chance to break through in the eighth but stranded the bases loaded. Davion Hickson was a bright spot in the late innings, striking out five in 3.1 scoreless.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball wrapped up a rough week on the diamond with a weekend sweep at the hands of Stanford. Here are three takeaways from the series:

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ON DECK | vs PVAMU (Tues), at Hawaii (Fri-Mon)

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