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The Day coronavirus stopped college sports in America

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The 2020 college sports calendar was abruptly halted to protect against the coronavirus. Fans across the nation are still processing the sudden shock.

On Tuesday evening USA Today columnist Dan Wolken penned what was, at the time, an incomprehensible edict: cancel the NCAA Tournament. The reaction on social media was far-ranging. Some called him a fearmonger. Others praised his advocacy. But at some level all of us wondered… could he be right?

Less than 48 hours later, Wolken was right. There will be no NCAA Tournament. There won’t even be a Conference USA Basketball Tournament — not a complete one. Players and fans were sent home from Frisco after one day of the scheduled four-day tournament had been completed.

Rice women’s basketball had dressed for the game. They were ready to play through the maelstrom of uncertainty. Then they were sent back to the locker room. The game was over. The season was over. For some, like senior guard and two-time Conference USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike, their careers were over.

All within 48 hours.

And it didn’t stop there. Conferences began to indefinitely postpone all spring athletics. Conference USA followed suit, halting the Rice baseball season in its tracks. The remainder of the spring sports were put on hiatus and soon after classes were moved online for the remainder of the semester. The NBA, NHL and MLB all delayed their seasons, too.

Then the NCAA announced that all spring championships were canceled. From March Madness — which was purportedly to be played without fans as a last-ditch, stopgap measure — to the College World Series in the summer. All of it. Gone. Done. Poof.

It should go without saying that the health and safety of student athletes, their families, coaches and all athletic staff personnel, is of the utmost importance. The “why” behind these cancelations is far from unconscionable. But the anguish, the disappointment, is going to last for a long time.

This fallout from these nation-shaking decisions is far from over. Eligibility questions will linger as the country readies itself for a global pandemic with no tournaments to distract them, to salve the harder days. What happens to seniors, some of which had just begun their spring seasons? Will there be waivers and how does that impact rosters for next year? Will the NCAA reach an equitable middle ground?

We don’t know.

Frankly, those three words sum up the last three days more succinctly than anything else. But the sun will rise tomorrow. Life will continue, with or without sports. It will undoubtedly take weeks to wrap our minds around what is happening in our world right now.

Rice Athletics will move forward and so will The Roost. We’re working through some contingency plans when it comes to content. We have some ideas and we’d love to get your input on what sort of things you’d be interested in reading in the coming weeks. Please leave us a comment on the forum or message us on social media and let us know. Today is a hard day, but we’ll make it through.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 LB Aidan Siano commits to Owls

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Linebacker Aidan Siano from Prosper, Texas has committed to the Owls. He’s the fourth member of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class.

It’s been an eventful spring around the world. And while some things matter much more than football, the Owls have done their due diligence on the recruiting front. Rice has done all they can to ensure the future remains bright at South Main. Those efforts have focused on the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class, which is now adding a new member.

Aidan Siano, a linebacker from Prosper, Texas, has committed to the Owls. That’s the fourth commitment of this recruiting cycle following the earlier additions of offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe from Orange, CA, defensive lineman Blake Boenisch from Needville, TX and fellow linebacker Kenny Seymour from Fort Bend Marshall in Houston.

Siano follows Seymour as the second linebacker in the class. Both were early offers in January who have stayed in close contact with the Rice coaching staff throughout the process. Siano was back for spring practice and has been trending in the Owls’ direction for a while. Now he’s taken the step and gone all in.

After positive initial first impressions, everything else he saw at South Main continued to reinforce that this was the place for him.”Playing the best football and getting the best education was a no brainer,” Siano said of his decision, adding that he was happy to commit early in the cycle so that he can “focus on improving for this coming season and helping bring other players to the best college in the country.”

Before he takes the field, Siano is prepared. He’s a film junkie. “Being able to identify a formation and anticipate what play is coming is a huge way I set myself up [for success],” he said.

On the field, Siano is relentless. He’s aggressive at the point of attack, but nimble enough to shed blockers at the line of scrimmage and find the football. His “Football IQ” sets him apart from many of his peers. He’s the kind of player you trust to diagnose and react to plays as they develop. Then he goes and makes the tackle, from sideline to sideline.

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Rice Football Recruiting: 2021 LB Kenny Seymour commits to Owls

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Linebacker Kenny Seymour from Fort Bend Marshall has committed to the Owls. He’s the third member of the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class.

The commitment train has not slowed down for the 2021 Rice Football recruiting class. Rice had no commitments in the class entering March. Over the course of a week, they’ve picked up three. Offensive lineman Faaeanuu Pepe from Orange, CA was first. Defensive lineman Blake Boenisch from Needville, TX was next. The Owls’ third pledge in four days on Wednesday came with the commitment of Houston’s own Kenny Seymour from Fort Bend Marshall.

Seymour is the first linebacker in the class and one of the Owls’ most sought-after candidates at the position. Like the prior two commitments, Rice was the first FBS program to offer Seymour, extending him an invitation to come play at South Main in mid-January. He later received offers from Dartmouth, Penn and Air Force.

The effectiveness with which Rice football recruiting is able to land their targets is second to none. Seymour marks the third of the Owls’ first two dozen offers to commit to Rice. The bulk of those offers (and commitments) came in the last eight weeks.

Seymour’s draw to the program was strong from the start. He cited the trajectory of the program as one of the reasons he knew Rice was the place for him. “The mindset of the players [is] cohesive with the coaching staff,” he said. “The trajectory is going up… and fast.”

On the field, there’s a lot to like about Seymour’s game. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound linebacker moves like he was fired out of a canon. He’s a tremendous tackler in the open field and an aggressive pursuer. He has a knack for finding the ball carrier, and he has the size and strength to take him down. He’ll slide into one of the insider linebacker spots when he arrives on campus.

The Rice linebacker room is one of the deepest on the team. Adding the right pieces at the position, like Seymour, will make them a mainstay on the defense for years to come. Seymour welcomes the opportunity and the competition. “I have every bit of faith that the [coaching staff] will set me up for success,” he said. His knowledge of the game and ability to process plays quickly and confidently will both serve him well at the next level.

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Rice Basketball: Owls’ season ends with C-USA Tournament loss to FIU

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The 2019-2020 Rice basketball season came to an end on Wednesday. The Owls fell to FIU in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament in Frisco.

Rice basketball had a much better spring than they did winter. The Owls had won six of their last nine games entering the Conference USA Tournament. One those wins was over the same FIU team that took the court opposite them in Frisco. All things considered, things were looking up.

In the prior matchup with FIU, Rice won behind a dazzling shooting performance. The Owls started hot but cooled off quickly. Rice made a trio of three-pointers in the first four minutes, jumping out to a 14-7 lead. FIU battled back. Things would eventually be tied 24-all and 28-all in the first half then 46-all and 48-all in the second half. Then things started to slide.

Around the 10-minute mark of the second half, FIU went on a 10-0 run, forcing Rice to play from behind. The Owls cut the deficit to seven before a pivotal sequence.

With just under seven minutes to play, FIU appeared to commit a half court violation. There was no foul called on the play and Scott Pera was furious. He was handed a technical foul with Rice trailing 63-56. FIU made both foul shots and scored on the ensuing possession to take an 11-point lead, their largest of the game.

Rice started the game 4-of-6 from three, finished 4-of-14 for a final clip of 40 percent from deep. They shot 53.4 percent from the field as a team. Shooting well was a must. Rice did that, but was unable handle the FIU offensive attack. FIU defeated Rice 85-76. That was the most they’ve scored in a victory since Jan. 16, a 93-68 win over UAB.

Rice basketball ends the season 15-17, a modest improvement from a 13-19 campaign the season prior and significantly improved from a 7-24 finish in Scott Pera’s first season beginning in 2017.

Final Stats

Player of the Game

Drew Peterson picked the perfect time to have one of the best games of his career. Unfortunately for No. 23, the massive effort could not hold off FIU’s torrid offensive attack. Peterson scored a career-best 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting with five rebounds and three assists. He was the conduit for the Rice offense, rarely leaving the court. His development should be marked as a bright spot in an up-and-down season. On Wednesday, he gave Rice everything he had.

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Rice Baseball 2020: Texas A&M outlasts Owls at Reckling Park

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Rice baseball led No. 22 Texas A&M early, but couldn’t seal the deal, falling to the Aggies in their final game before conference play begins.

The early innings breezed by as Rice baseball traded three scoreless frames with Texas A&M (14-3) in a crucial midweek game. The Owls were hosting the No. 22 Aggies looking for their Tuesday victory of the young season.

Rice took a one-run lead in the fourth. Texas A&M responded quickly, pounding out back-to-back doubles in the fifth inning to take their first lead of the night. Rice leveled the score in the bottom half of the inning, holding the score at 2-2 before Texas A&M jumped ahead 3-2 in the seventh. The Aggies would add a decisive three additional runs in the eighth before winning 6-2.

Here are three takeaways from the game.

Pop, pop

Entering Tuesday’s game Rice baseball was dead last in C-USA in home runs. The Owls have several players in their lineup with power — they ranked fifth in doubles with 28 — but those big hits weren’t leaving the yard.

Justin Collins and Rodrigo Duluc each blasted their first home run of the season against Texas A&M. Collins put Rice ahead in the bottom of the fourth with a solo shot. Duluc followed an inning later, tying the game on a solo bomb of his own after the Aggies had moved ahead in the top of the fifth.

The bullpen at their best …. and their worst

Rice has been at their best this season when their starting pitching led the way. Rather than ride one arm as long as he could, Matt Bragga opted for a bullpen game, trusting a slew of relievers to be at their best against a dangerous Texas A&M lineup. Things started out well enough but trusting eight pitchers to all be at their best proved untenable.

Brandon Deskins and Kel Bordwine threw four hitless innings to start the game. Matthew Santos and Cristian Cienfuegos had scoreless frames. Garret Zaskoda was okay. Caleb Burgess barely scraped together three outs. Josh Larzabal allowed three hits before Andrew Kane came on and surrendered what felt like the backbreaking 2 RBI single in the eighth inning.

Dealt a tough hand, Kane’s short outing ended with a 6-2 Rice deficit. The bullpen which seemed thin entering the game lived up to that expectation. Rice has a few really good arms, but there’s a lot of work to be done in terms of consistency and pitchability.

Thank goodness for conference play

The 2020 series has been a series of heartbreaks for Rice baseball. Sitting at 2-10 prior to the Texas Tech series, Rice was incapable of holding on to a pair of 5+ run leads. They could have won that series. They could have won a few more games here and there. But from a macro-level view, Rice did not pass their brutal nonconference test. They open conference play 2-14.

The Owls have a half dozen proven arms and about that many trustworthy bats. The rest of the pitching staff and lineup could get there, but the rigors of games against Texas, UC Irvine, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and others were akin to a trial by fire. Everything is a bit singed.

Conference USA play marks a fresh slate. As disappointing as the first month has been, Rice baseball has plenty to play for, starting this weekend against Marshall.

Up Next | Marshall (Fri-Sun)

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