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Shooting fizzles as Rice Basketball falls to Temple

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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

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)

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Biggest questions for Rice Football spring ball: February 2024 Q&A

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With Rice football set to open spring practice at the beginning of March, this month’s Q&A gets a jump start on key questions for the spring.

Basketball season is winding down. Baseball season is starting up. For Rice football, though, something is going on year-round. The latter was the focus of this month’s Q&A, specifically what sort of questions and expectations we should have for the Owls before they take the gridiron again for spring ball next week.

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Q: At the risk of getting too far ahead of myself, what are you most interested in for Rice football spring practices?

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 172 – Rice Football Offseason Roundup

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A lot has happened since the Rice football season ended. The Owls have signed new players, added a new assistant and more. We recap the news.

Once again, Rice football has made program history, signing the highest-rated class in school history. That feat included a couple of big wins in the run up to National Signing Day including stud North Shore defensive back Lavonte Johnson, Westfield running back Taji Atkins and more.

We recap signing day, discuss the latest on the transfer front and discuss the state of the Rice roster, coaching staff and more as we creep closer and closer to spring football.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 172.

Episode Notes

DCTF

The Roost Podcast is now part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You’ll still get the same content with the same hosts, but now under the DCTF banner.

Homefield

We’re thrilled to partner with Homefield Apparel, the premier proprietor of college football clothing. First-time buyers can use the code ROOST for 15% off their order. The Owls hoodie is a personal favorite. So is the brand new Luv-Ya-Owls shirt. Shop the Rice collection or pick up something else (or both)!

Homefield

Patreon

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Rice Football Offseason Roundup

  • 2024 Rice Football recruiting class superlatives
  • Lavonte Johnson, Taji Atkins and key new additions
  • Recruiting rankings: do we buy them? Why or why not?
  • Roster review: what gaps do the Owls have?
  • Luke McCaffrey shows out at the Senior Bowl, gets Combine invite
  • Basketball seasons winding down
  • Baseball starting
  • Shop at Homefield

Where can you find us?

The Roost Podcast is part of the Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network. You can find this podcast and all of our partner podcasts on Apple, Spotify and wherever you get your podcasts.

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Rice Women’s Basketball drops home tilt to Temple

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Rice Women’s Basketball fell behind early to Temple and couldn’t mount a comeback, dropping their third straight as the conference tournament looms.

Temple didn’t waste any time asserting their intentions on Sunday afternoon. As Rice women’s basketball slowly took their time ramping up, the visiting Owls jumped out to a 13-4 lead, putting the home team on notice. Rice volleyed back, evening the score at 16-apiece before Temple turned on the gas once again. By the time the first quarter ended, Rice was trailing by 10 points.

The Rice deficit hovered around that double-digit mark for most of the next three quarters. They had a tough time slowing down Temple guard Tarriyonna Gary, who led the visiting Owls with 20 points and knocked down all five of her attempts from three.

The long ball would prove to be too much for Rice to overcome. Every time Rice thought they’d cut into the deficit, Temple delivered a back-breaking three. Rice made 4-of-16 from deep. Temple converted 10-of-17.

A furious fourth quarter rally proved to be too little, too late for the home team. Trailing by 17 after a Temple three, Rice went on a 10-2 run, but they still trailed by nine. Malia Fisher led Rice in scoring, finishing with 24 points and eight rebounds, a valiant effort, but eventually, the clock would run out.

Final Box | Temple 75 – Rice 66

Key takeaway | Crunch time

Entering Sunday, the top six teams in the AAC were separated by one combined game in the win column. With four double-byes available for the conference tournament, the margin was razor-thin. That made Sunday’s defeat particularly costly.

Now sitting at 9-7, they hold the tiebreaker over ECU, South Florid and Tulsa, but lack the tiebreaker against Temple, UAB and Charlotte with a game against North Texas looming. The double-bye is still within reach, but how these next few games go will play a significant role in determining who gets the extra rest. Rice cannot afford another loss.

Up Next: vs North Texas (Saturday, Mar. 2)

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Starting pitching propels Rice Baseball to series win over Louisiana

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Rice Baseball picked up a much-needed series win, taking two of three from Louisiana on the road behind dominant starting pitching.

FRIDAY | Rice 2 – Louisiana 1

Following a bumpy start in the regular season opener, Parker Smith dazzled in start number two of the year. He delivered a fantastic seven-inning, one-run, four-hit performance that kept Louisiana at bay while the Rice offense managed to sneak across two singular runs, one in the first and another in the third.

More: Parker Smith’s journey to Rice baseball ace

“We had opportunities to really blow this game open,” head coach Jose Cruz Jr. said. “At the end of the day we have Parker Smith out there and Parker through a gem.”

Manny Garza was credited with both RBIs. Davion Hickson came through with a two-inning save, retiring six of the eight batters he faced to secure the Owls’ first win of the season.

SATURDAY | Rice 6 – Louisiana 1

The JD McCracken show started and ended the same way, with a strikeout. McCracken punched out 11 en route to the Owls’ first complete game since 2019 (thrown by Matt Canterino against FIU). The only run he allowed was scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning.

On the other side, McCracken was aided by a two-run first inning to stake him to the lead, then a tricker of additional runs in the fourth and seventh. Nathan Becker broke the game open in the top of the ninth with a two-run double before McCracken walked back to the mound one more time to slam the door.

SUNDAY | Louisiana 3 – Rice 0

Unlike their previous games, Rice didn’t get the first inning lead they’ve grown accustomed to having. Instead, Louisiana scored first, putting up two runs in the third inning against Rice starter Ryland Urbanczyk. That would prove to be the lone blemish against him, but no run production whatsoever from the Owls would make it the decisive runs in the ballgame.

Rice managed just two hits, making Louisiana pitchers face two more than a minimum in an underwhelming offensive showing that netted them zero runs. The pitching staff held its own, but was still saddled with the loss.

THREE FOR THE ROAD

Rice baseball took its first series of the season and has won three of its last four games after being swept on opening weekend. Here are three takeaways from the weekend:

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1. Starting pitching rebounds in a big way

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ON DECK | vs LSU (Wed), vs Stanford (Fri-Sun)

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