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Rice Baseball: Previewing the FAU series

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Rice baseball opens conference play on the road against FAU after an up and down non-conference slate. Here’s what to expect from the other Owls.

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Just like the Rice Owls, the FAU Owls have had a bit of an erratic start. FAU won their first three, lost the next six and has since won eight of their last nine. Prior to opening up conference play on Friday, FAU topped Quinnipiac in a pair of midweek games.

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Let’s take a look at how the 2019 squad stacks up.

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday – 5:30 pm: Matt Canterino (1-2, 1.50) vs Blake Sanderson (3-0, 3.33)
Saturday – 3:00 pm: Evan Kravetz (1-1, 4.35) vs  Ryan Sandberg (0-1, 2.20)
Sunday – 11:00 am: Jackson Parthasarathy (2-2, 2.05) vs  Mike Ruff (2-0, 6.75)

FAU Pitching

The FAU pitching staff is one of the most hittable units in Conference USA and they haven’t exactly faced the high caliber opponents Rice has in their nonconference games. Opposing batters are hitting .278 against FAU through 18 games against a staff which holds an uninspiring 4.22 ERA.

Their starting pitching has been serviceable. Ace Blake Sanderson has a 1.04 WHIP with 25 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched. Home runs have been his vex, though. He’s already given up four long balls on the season, the most on the team.

After him, Ryan Sandberg and  Mike Ruff have both been solid. Sanberg hasn’t allowed more than two earned runs in any of his limited appearances this season. Ruff has allowed five runs over his last two starts, going seven innings in both games with 14 strikeouts and one walk allowed.

Then there’s the bullpen. Quite like Rice they have a few pieces they trust in high leverage situations and plenty of “hold your breath and cross your fingers”-type relievers. Jon Jon Kostantis (0.84 ERA over 10.2 innings) and Zach Sneider (15K in 14.2 innings with four saves) have emerged as the biggest pieces in their pen. Michael Schuler (2.08 ERA) and Vince Coletti (2.33 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) should also see some time over the weekend.

FAU Hitting

The offensive side of the ball is where FAU hopes to make their living this season. Francisco Urbaez is crushing the ball right now, smacking home runs in each of the team’s midweek games this week to raise his slugging percentage to a hefty .768 (for reference, Trei Cruz is slugging .584).

Urbaez isn’t the only deep threat in the FAU lineup. Eric Rivera and Gunnar Lambert have each blasted four dingers apiece, part of 22 collective home runs which are by far the most by and CUSA squad. Rivera’s 29 hits ranks second in the conference to Rice’s Bradley Gneiting who has 33.

Six players in the FAU lineup have double-digit RBI and only one of those six has struck out more than 13 times. This is a team that hits for average, packs some pop, and makes clutch hits. The Rice pitching staff is going to be tested.

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Conference USA Tournament Day 2 Recap

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The Conference USA Basketball Tournament is underway at the Star in Frisco, Tx. Here’s how the second day of action played out.

And then there were eight. The quarterfinals have come to a close in Frisco and, for the most part, it’s been nearly all chalk up to this point. We’ll see if anyone can upset the status quo on Friday.

Conference USA Men’s Basketball Tournament

Wednesday Scores

1. Old Dominion def 8. Louisiana Tech, 57-56
5. UAB def 4. UTSA, 85-76
2. Western Kentucky def 10. North Texas, 67-51
3. Southern Miss def 6. Marshall, 82-73

Wrapping up Day 3

It literally took a full 40 minutes for 1-Seed Old Dominion to survive an advance, knocking off 8-Seed Louisiana Tech on a last-second three to pull ahead. The Monarchs haven’t advanced to the finals of the conference tournament as a top four seed yet, despite being the 3-seed in 2015 and 2017 and the 2-seed in 2018. 1-Seed haven’t fared well in this tournament recently, making Thursday’s scare all the more real.

Thursday Schedule

1. Old Dominion vs 5. UAB – 12:30 pm on CBS Sports Network
2. Western Kentuck vs 3. Southern Miss – 3 pm on CBS Sports Network

Conference USA Women’s Basketball Tournament

Wednesday Scores

1. Rice def 9. North Texas, 61-43
4. Western Kentucky def 5. Old Dominion, 74-60
2. UAB  def 7. Charlotte, 70-55
3. MTSU def 11. UTEP, 66-44

Wrapping up Day 3

On the heels of a double-overtime game on Wednesday, the women’s bracket produced minimal excitement in the quarterfinals. All four top seed advanced, winning by double-digits.

Rice allowed North Texas to stick around for a half before pulling away late to win by a comfortable margin while MTSU took a 43-21 lead into halftime and never looked back. The action should be much closer when the conference’s best teams meet on the hardwood on Friday.

Thursday Schedule

4. Western Kentucky vs 1. Rice – 5:30 pm on Stadium
3. MTSU vs 2. UAB – 8:00 pm on Stadium

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WBB: Owls run away from North Texas in CUSA Tournament opener

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Rice Women’s basketball continued their undefeated conference march, pulling away from North Texas in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament.

A week removed from their final game of the regular season, Rice came out a bit rusty in their CUSA Tournament Second Round game. North Texas hung around for the first half, but the outcome was never really in doubt as the 1-Seed Rice held serve in their first game of the CUSA Tournament.

Any thoughts of an upset by the 9-Seed North Texas were rooted in eight first half turnovers from Rice. Those eight giveaways led to eight points for North Texas and were a large reason the 30-22 halftime advantage wasn’t weighted more heavily in the Owls’ favor.

As the offense slowly clicked into gear the physical presence of Nancy Mulkey on both sides of the court kept the Owls’ opponents from getting into any semblance of a rhythm. She led the Owls with 20 points and six blocks, knocking down all six of her free throws. When she was on the court, North Texas didn’t have an answer.

CUSA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike commanded the offense efficiently. She had 15 points, highlighted by a few bold cuts to the basket for quick points. Her 10 rebounds netted her another double-double, her eighth in the Owls’ last 10 games.

Rice stretched an eight-point halftime lead to as many as 21, edging North Texas in all four quarters on their way to a 61-43 victory. This was the sixth consecutive game in which Rice held their opponents below 50 points.

It wasn’t the most inspiring game Rice has played to this point, but even with the slow start this team never looked fazed or worried. Defeating any one opponent three times in a single season is a chore. Rice answered the challenge with a quiet confidence. With the win, the Owls are one step closer to a CUSA Tournament Title and a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Up Next (Bracket)

Next Rice will play Western Kentucky who beat Old 74-60 in Wednesday’s early game on Court B. Rice beat Western Kentucky comfortably on the road, winning 68-46.

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Conference USA Tournament Day 1 Recap

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The Conference USA Basketball Tournament is underway at the Star in Frisco, Tx. Here’s how the first day of action played out.

Conference USA Men’s Basketball Tournament

Wednesday Scores

8. Louisiana Tech def 9. FAU, 57-56
5. UAB def 12. MTSU, 70-61
10. North Texas def 7. FIU, 71-57
6. Marshall def 11. Rice, 82-65

Wrapping up Day 1

For the most part, chalk held on the first day of the men’s tournament with one notable exception. North Texas put together one of their most complete showings of the season, outpacing a solid FIU team from start to finish — the same FIU team which beat North Texas by 15 points in the final game of the regular season. Umoja Gibson and Zachary Simmons led the way for North Texas, scoring 21 and 19 points, respectively.

Elsewhere, Marshall’s Jon Elmore continued his torrid scoring pace. He tallied 32 points against Rice and probably could have had more if he’d not seen some time on the bench because of foul trouble and a sizable second half lead.

The most impressive play? How about this three-quarter court dime?

Thursday Schedule

8. Louisiana Tech vs 1. Old Dominion – 6 pm on Stadium
5. UAB vs 4. UTSA – 6:30 pm on Facebook
10. North Texas vs 2. Western Kentucky – 8:30 pm on Stadium
6. Marshall vs 3. Southern Miss – 9 pm on Facebook

Conference USA Women’s Basketball Tournament

Wednesday Scores

9. North Texas def 8. Southern Miss, 49-46
5. Old Dominion def 12. FAU, 60-32
7. Charlotte def 10. Louisiana Tech, 55-46
11. UTEP def 6. Marshall, 64-56 (2OT)

Wrapping up Day 1

UTEP was the story hear, stunning 6-seed Marshall in a double overtime thriller. The Miners had nine wins in the regular season, five in conference play. Despite the tough year, UTEP made their shots when it counted most. Three Miners finished with double-digit points and the underdog won the rebound battle 56-39.

The gap between the top teams and the lower seeds in the women’s bracket is expected to be fairly significant. We’ll see if another upset is sprung on Thursday when powers like undefeated Rice begin their tournament action.

Thursday Schedule

9. North Texas vs 1. Rice- 11 am on Stadium
5. Old Dominion vs 4. Western Kentucky – 11:30 am on ESPN+
7. Charlotte vs 2. UAB – 1:30 pm on Stadium
11. UTEP vs 3. MTSU – 2:00 pm on ESPN+

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MBB: Marshall ends Owls’ season with CUSA Tournament rout

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Rice basketball saw their season come to an end at the Conference USA Tournament on Wednesday, falling to Marshall in the first round.

Things couldn’t have gotten off to a much worse start for Rice basketball at the Conference USA Tournament. Despite beating Marshall in their previous meeting during the regular season, the Owls fell behind by as many as 20 points in the first half.

The deficit would grow as the game progress. Marshall’s 20 point advantage stretched to as many as 32 points in the second half. Every time Rice was able to string a few baskets together, Marshall answered.

No matter what sort of defense Rice put out, Conference USA all-time leading scorer Jon Elmore barely missed. He finished with 32 points, six assists and six rebounds, connecting on 6-of-9 shots from three. His great shooting night was contagious.

Marshall was shooting a blistering 60 percent from the floor through the early minutes of the second half before cooling off to finish shooting 53.6 percent from the floor. That’s the third-best mark by a Rice opponent this season.

On the other side of the court, the Rice offense sputtered. Rice was held to 65 points with most of their production coming under a sizable second half deficit. Robert Martin led the team with 16 points. In his final game for the blue and gray, Jack Williams notched another double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

The Owls knew it was going to take one of their better showings to survive and advance. Things just didn’t click on Wednesday, resulting in a season-ending defeat at the star. Marshall would triumph by a final score of 82-65.

Final thoughts

In many ways, this was a transition season for the Owls. The flood of transfers following the 2017-2018 campaign gave way to a young core of players with potential, but plenty to learn. On their best days, this team tested some of the best teams in the conference. The future is bright for Rice basketball. 2019 just wasn’t their year.

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