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The Roost Podcast | Ep 140 – Rice Football Spring Practice and Coaching News

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Rice Football has started spring practice with three new assistant coaches, college football has new rules and the Owls’ 2023 schedule is out!

A lot has happened in the world of Rice football since the Owls last took the field. From coaching staff changes to new coaches (and a new conference and a new schedule!) there’s a lot to work through for an “offseason” show. We attempt to cover it all on our first show under the banner of Dave Campbell’s Republic of Football Podcast Network.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 140.

Episode Notes

Housekeeping

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 you’ve grown to love (or at least tolerate), but now with new partners.

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Rice Football Spring Ball and news round table

  • DCTF Network news
  • 2023 Rice Football schedule anaylsis. It’s a step up, but not that big of a step.
  • Unpacking the upcoming college football rule changes and how they might impact the game
  • Reviewing the coaching changes and discussing the significance of the turnover and new hires
  • Spring practice final thoughts. Two things we’re looking forward to this spring.

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.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Rice Football 2023 Spring Practice Notebook 1: Coaching Shuffle

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Rice Football has three new assistants with more on the way. Here’s the latest on the new faces and how they’ll fit at South Main.

After an eventful offseason, Rice football began its spring practices on Monday. Unlike some prior springs, there were a host of new faces on the field, including transfer quarterback JT Daniels and three new position coaches, who have since been formally appointed by the school.

I caught up with head coach Mike Bloomgren and each of the three new coaches to get their early impressions on the South Main and understand what they expect to bring to the Owls.

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Rice Basketball bounced from C-USA Tournament by UAB

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Rice basketball hung around for a while, but couldn’t keep pace with UAB, bowing out in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament.

It was going to take an extremely well-played game for Rice basketball to give UAB a run for its money. The Owls did not get that out of the gate, turning the ball over frequently and falling behind 12-5 in the first five minutes. Rice collected itself and made some threes, retaking the lead 16-12 on an 11-0 run.

In that span, Rice looked comfortable on both sides of the court. They protected the basketball and took advantage of UAB’s mistakes. They hung tough through the ensuing UAB run, falling behind by 10 before firing back to make it a two-point game with one minute remaining before the halftime buzzer. Travis Evee and Max Fiedler provided almost all of the scoring on an unusually quiet night from Quincy Olivari.

It was at that one-minute mark when the poise of UAB made the difference. Rice fouled a three-point shooter, allowed a separate three-point shot and a dunk, all in the span of 57 seconds. Just like that, Rice was back down by 10 in a game they had largely played evenly with one of the conference’s best teams.

Rice would get within five early in the second half, but another rash of turnovers and the unstoppable play of UAB’s Jelly Walker proved too much. He made four consecutive three-point shots, sparking a 15-4 UAB run. Up 17 points at the under-12 timeout, Rice was unable to dig out of the hole, falling in the second round and seeing their regular season come to an end.

Final Box | UAB 87 – Rice 60

Key takeaway | Talented, but flawed

In many ways, the two-game sample of the Conference USA Tournament summed up the Rice basketball season. The Owls found a way to hang on to a win against a UTSA team below them in the standings, but it took a last-second prayer to make it happen. Then they rose to the occasion and gave a really good UAB team a scare, only for their inconsistent ball handling and spotty defense to be exposed late.

Evee hit just about everything on Thursday night. Fiedler was the key piece in the middle. Olivari had an off night, but we’ve seen him drop 20+ on a regular basis. Mekhi Mason and Cameron Sheffield have both produced throughout the year. One can’t question the raw talent on this team. But for whatever reason, it wasn’t enough.

Head coach Scott Pera is going to have to take a hard look in the mirror this offseason and find a way to reassemble the pieces in a way that produces more consistent results. The talent is there.

Up Next | ???

Rice basketball finished the regular season 16-16 last year and earned an invite to the CBI. At 18-15 this season, they’re probably in line to return to that tournament again, should they decide that’s something they’d want to do. Pera has talked in the past about how important postseason basketball is to the program, so it seems likely the Owls 2022-2023 campaign will have at least one more stanza.

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UTSA upset ends Rice Women’s Basketball’s CUSA Tournament run

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Rice women’s basketball was upset in their opening game of the Conference USA Tournament, falling to 6-Seed UTSA in Frisco.

After earning a first round bye, Rice Women’s Basketball took the court on Wednesday afternoon against UTSA looking to punch their ticket to the semifinals. Things were tenuous early on, with both teams struggling from the field in the first quarter. Rice would hit two free throws to end the first frame before they really found their groove.

The second quarter was almost entirely all Owls. Rice scored the first 12 points of the frame, opening up a 15-point lead against the No. 6 seeded Roadrunners. The Owls held their opponents to 14.3 percent shooting from the floor in the quarter, winning the battle on the boards 16-8 and controlling the tempo throughout.

Up by 12 at the half, it looked like Rice had a golden opportunity to put the game away when UTSA leading scorer Jordyn Jenkins hit the bench with four fouls midway through the third quarter. It never materialized. Rice couldn’t get into a rhythm on offense and UTSA stuck around. Despite the lull, Rice still led at the five-minute mark of the fourth quarter.

Entering Thursday, Rice was 20-0 when leading with five minutes left in the game. They’re 20-1 now after Jenkins returned to the game and spurred a 28-point quarter, UTSA’s largest output in a single quarter this season. While the Roadrunners heated up, the Owls wilted, ending a largely positive regular season in disappointing fashion.

Final Box | UTSA 62 – Rice 54

Key takeaway | Not destiny

What head coach Lindsay Edmonds was able to accomplish down the stretch given her lineup constraints was impressive. Rice played significant portions of February without at least one of Malia Fisher, Ashlee Austin, Destiny Jackson or Trinity Gooden available. Jackson couldn’t go on Thursday and her absence was felt, particularly in the fourth quarter when it seemed no one else was able to create their own opportunities.

Rice managed to lose just two games with that fluctuating roster throughout the month of February. Unfortunately, they lost their last one in March, and that’s the one that mattered most. Depth matters, but difference-makers do, too. UTSA’s Jordyn Jenkins drove that point home with a game-high 22-points on Thursday.

Up Next | ???

It probably would have taken a stronger run through the Conference USA Tournament for Rice women’s basketball to have qualified for the WNIT. It’s possible the WBI is still in play, though. That’s scheduled to host eight teams from March 16 to March 19.

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Rice Baseball falls Texas A&M for second time this week

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Rice Baseball had another chance to take down Texas A&M, but the offense never materialized, resulting in the Owls’ first midweek defeat.

Despite never truly connecting with a hard-hit ball, Texas A&M loaded the bases in the second inning. Then, on a collection of singles, the Aggies broke through. Texas A&M put up a four-spot in the inning and didn’t really threaten again. Rice starter JD McCracken and reliever Justin Long kept them at bay for a while, but the damage had been done.

Last Time Out: Rice Baseball vanquishes Vaqueros in midweek win

Rice would scratch its only run across in the seventh. Texas A&M added two more with a two-out, two-RBI double in the following half inning and that was that. For the second time this week, Rice fell to Texas A&M.

What it means | Mind the Gap

Nearly a month of Rice baseball is in the books, representing roughly a quarter of the 2023 season. That’s enough data points to start building a realistic picture of what this team will be this year. They’ve handled the Sam Houstons and UTRGVs of the world with relative ease. They’ve had their moments against some of the sports’ better teams, defeating Texas Tech and coming close against Stanford. But how good are they really?

Names to Know: Under the radar Rice Baseball players for the 2023 season

This isn’t a Top 10 team. It’s probably not a Top 25 team. But they should firmly cement themselves, at a minimum, as better than lower tiers if they can get a series win over Houston Christian this weekend. That still leaves a fairly wide spectrum and Rice is somewhere in between. With Parker Smith on the mound, they’re dangerous. When he’s not, Texas A&M hands Rice their second defeat in as many matchups.

ON DECK | vs HCU (Fri-Sun)

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