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North Texas game preview

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Rice basketball went 5-8 in non-conference play, but hope to put all of that behind them with a big win in their first CUSA game against North Texas.

The final game of 2018 marks the start of a new stretch of the season for Rice basketball. The Owls have 14 games remaining on their regular season schedule, all coming against Conference USA opponents. The next contest comes at home against North Texas on Saturday, Dec. 29. TV broadcast will be on ESPN+ with radio available on the Stretch Internet Portal.

North Texas 12-1 (0-0), Last 5 (4-1)

  • W, 77-66 vs UAPB
  • W, 74-65 @ New Mexico
  • W, 63-61 @ UT Arlington
  • W, 80-69 @ Indiana State
  • L, 73-57 @ Oklahoma

Rice 5-8 (0-0), Last 5 – (2-3)

  • L, 83-66 vs Omaha
  • W, 75-67 @ Rio Grande Valley
  • L, 99-89 (OT) vs UC Santa Barbara
  • W, 78-73 vs St Edwards
  • L, 75-68 vs Lamar

North Texas players to watch

The Mean Green enter the game with the best record among all CUSA teams thanks to a well-balanced lineup. Six different North Texas players average at least 10 points per game. Junior guard Ryan Woolridge has been the catalyst for the offense this year, scoring single-digit points three times in 13 games. He registered a triple-double earlier this month against Indiana State.

On the defensive end, sophomore forward Zachary Simmons is one of eight players in the conference averaging at least one block per game. He’s been a rebounding machine, of late, grabbed eight or more boards in for of his last five games.

Rice keys to victory

For Rice, any upset attempt is going to start with shooting. The Owls shot 35.1 percent from the field against Omaha their last time out, the second-worst shooting performance of the season. They had a season-high 36 three-point attempts but connected on just nine (25.0 percent).

Chris Mullins, who has carried this team over the last few weeks, scored a team-high 17 points against Omaha but needed someone else to step up on a tough shooting night. It’s going to take a full team performance to beat North Texas.

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Mailbag: Projecting the most impactful football signees

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Rice football inked their first wave of 2019 recruits, filling needs at every position except quarterback. How do those players fit on campus?

Q: Which early signee has the best chance to contribute as a true freshman?

On defense, I’m going with Jake Bailey. This guy could be special. He’s a two-way athlete who started at one of the best high school programs in the country. Frankly, its surprising nobody in the Pac-12 took the trouble to do some digging in their own backyard and offer him a scholarship. The corner position is going to be wide open in 2019 giving Bailey a decent shot to earn a starting role at some point in the season. If he gets it, it’ll be hard seeing anyone taking it away.

Speed being such a big component of this class, I think folks are sleeping on the potential impact of wide receiver Zane Knipe. He’s a quieter guy who hasn’t made a lot of noise on Twitter. His play speaks for itself. He has the potential to be an Austin Trammell-type slot receiver with added turbo. Rice could have used that last year and they’re not going to miss opportunities to get him touches in 2019.

Q: When did the staff find out that Bycznski had flipped to Buffalo? Who are we going after at QB now?

Bycznski played his cards close to the vest the entire process. He called the staff on the first morning of the early signing period to tell them he wasn’t coming to Rice. Although 247 Sports listed him as having a Buffalo offer months earlier, it sounds like it wasn’t a committable offer up until the evening before players could sign. Buffalo lost a quarterback and Bycznski was next in line. The Bulls were always ahead of Rice in the pecking order, a fact Bycznski omitted to share with the Rice staff until the last possible moment.

As for next targets. There are a few names bouncing around and a couple of directions Rice could go. I’ll have more on that soon. There are a few official visit weekends in January where I’d imagine you see at least one if not a few quarterbacks make appearances.

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Owls take stock of season entering conference play

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Rice basketball is in the midst of a rebuilding effort led by a host of young players hoping to bring success back to South Main. It’s going to take some work.

The 2018-2019 season has been filled with plenty of learning opportunities for Rice basketball. The Owls won their first three games at Tudor Fieldhouse but struggled to find their rhythm throughout the next month, sliding to a 5-8 record entering the Christmas holidays.

Five wins put the Owls in the bottom half of the conference with their first Conference USA game looming on Dec. 29 against North Texas. The Mean Green sit at 12-1. They’ll be a tough test for Rice, but the road to get there hasn’t been much easier.

Penn, Houston and Wichita State all made the NCAA Tournament last season and BYU and UCSB have both put together winning seasons so far. Rice played all five of them. “If you go down the list, that schedule has been pretty challenging,” head coach Scott Pera said following their loss to Omaha, “There’s a lot of good teams on there that we’ve had to play. Hopefully that will help us in conference [play]. That’s part of the plan.”

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The plan, as Pera refers to it, is in its developmental stages. Outside of Jack Williams, Ako Adams and Robert Martin the Owls key pieces on the floor are almost entirely freshman. Rice is led by starting guard Chris Mullins in scoring (13.1 points per game).

Fellow freshman Drew Peterson and Quentin Millora-Brown have earned starting spots with freshmen Josh Parrish and Trey Murphy III playing meaningful minutes off the bench. The youth permeating the roster is a challenge for Pera and his staff, one he hopes will pay dividends down the road. “It’s a bit like a rollercoaster,” Pera admitted, “I feel our guys are connected. I feel we have shown a lot of growth.”

The team is in the early stages of that developmental process. It’s going to take some time. Pera knows that, and he knows now is the time to press in rather than throw in the towel. “You gotta believe in your guys. You know that they’re capable… What can you do? Get back in the gym and keep working,” Pera proclaimed adamantly.

The rebuild won’t happen overnight. Rice is working and they’ll continue to be tested from this point onward. There are going to be more licks with high points mixed in. It’s going to be every bit as much the rollercoaster Pera described. The Owls will have to do their best to make sure they don’t get stuck in a loop.

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Merry Christmas from The Roost

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To the readers,

I’ve had the privilege of meeting many of you over the course of the past year and cannot express to you how grateful I am to each of you. Thank you for welcoming me into the Rice community and granting me your eyes and ears over these past few months.

The Roost has grown tremendously since our first post was published this summer. The site will hit 250 posts before the year is through ranging from practice reports, game recaps, recruiting updates and everything in between. We’ve topped 50,000 views and reached nearly 3,000 people — and this is just the beginning.

It’s been a lot of football; this is Texas, after all. I’ll be venturing into other sports, too, but building a strong foundation one sport at a time has been the gameplan out of the gate. Thanks for your patience and understanding on that front as well.

I appreciate every bit of encouragement and feedback I’ve received to this point. I hear you, and I’m working as hard as I can to turn The Roost into a platform that brings you the best coverage of Rice you can find anywhere in the world. It’s a bold goal, but early results continue to make it look more and more achievable.

As for my vantage point, you will always get my honest, unbiased opinion. I’m not here to sugarcoat tough situations, but I’m not going to throw in the towel when I see something worth believing in. I believe in Rice, in Rice football, basketball, baseball and beyond. That’s why I’m here.

I believe there’s a story to be told at South Main, and I’m here to tell it. Thanks for an incredible 2018 and here’s to an even better New Year. Merry Christmas and Go Owls.

Matthew

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Owls in the NFL – Week 16

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Rice football has nine alumni currently active on NFL rosters. Here’s how the NFL Owls fared in their respective Week 16 games.

Chris Boswell, K (Steelers) – Boswell was perfect on a pair of field goals and two extra points against the Saints with a long of 49 yards. Next week the Steelers host the Cincinnati Bengals.

Bryce Callahan, CB (Bears) – Callahan was placed on injured reserve after breaking a bone in his foot against the Los Angeles Rams. He will be out the remainder of the season. Next week the Bears travel to the Vikings.

Christian Covington, DE (Texans) – Covington registered two tackles in the Texans last-second loss to the Eagles. Next week the Texans travel host the Jaguars.

Phillip Gaines, CB (Browns) – Gaines was inactive for Sunday’s game against the Bengals. This was his third straight game missed as he works to recover from a knee injury. He’s questionable for next week’s game. The Browns travel to the Ravens.

Vance McDonald, TE (Steelers) – McDonald caught one pass for 49 yards in the Pittsburgh’s loss to the New Orleans Saints. It was the longest play of the day for the Steelers who host the Cincinnati Bengals next week.

Andrew Sendejo, S (Vikings) – Placed on injured reserve after missing extended time following a groin injury. Next week the Vikings host the Chicago Bears.

Jordan Taylor, WR (Broncos) – On the PUP list following off-season surgery. He will not play this season. Next week the Broncos travel to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Luke Wilson, TE (Lions) – Wilson exited the Lion’s Week 16 game against the Minnesota Vikings to be evaluated for a possible concussion. His status is uncertain for next week’s game on the road against the Green Bay Packers.

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