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Rice Football 2021: NFL Owls Divisional Round update

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Rice Football is well represented on 2021 NFL rosters. Here’s the latest from the NFL Owls in action in the Divisional Round.

There are former Rice football players scattered across the NFL. Stay tuned each week for their game results and notables from each player.

Divisional Round Schedule

Game NFL Owl(s) Result
Cincinattiat at Tennessee Coaches James Casey, Justin Hill Bengals win 19-16
San Francisco at Green Bay  — 49ers win 13-10
LA Rams at Tampa Bay Nick Leverett (OL) Rams win 30-27
Buffalo at Kansas City  — Cheifs win 42-36 (OT)

Divisional Round Schedule

Game NFL Owl(s) Date / Time
Cincinattiat at Kansas City Coaches James Casey, Justin Hill Sun. Jan. 30 at 2:05 pm
San Francisco at LA Rams  — Sun. Jan. 30 at 5:40 pm

NFL Owls Update

Nick Leverett– OL, Bucs

For the third time this season, Leverett was called into emergency action following injuries to players in front of him on the depth chart. He played nine snaps for the Bucs primarily during their first scoring drive of the second half which set up what was nearly a thrilling 24-point comeback had it not been for a Rams field goal as the clock ran down.

The broadcast was quite complimentary of Leverett’s play:

Coaches James Casey and Justin Hill

Casey and Hill have plenty to smile about after watching Joe Burrow and the Bengals reach the AFC Championship Game. This is Casey’s second season with the Bengals and Hill’s first

Offseason Owls

With the 2021 season coming to an end several Owls have recently become free agents. Calvin Anderson is a restricted free agent. Bryce Callahan, Christin Covington and Andrew Sendejo have become unrestricted free agents.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are other Owls on the cusp of returning to active rosters. Find more detail on current contractual agreements and former Rice football players waiting for their next opportunity here.

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Conference USA Basketball 2022: January 24 Roundup

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Conference USA Basketball nearing the halfway point of league play. What have we learned so far and where does each team stack up against the rest?

Team NET  KenPom Record
Charlotte 162 209 10-7 (3-2)
FAU 136 147 11-8 (4-2)
FIU 236 245 12-7 (2-4)
LA Tech 85 85 15-4 (6-1)
Marshall 246 222 7-12 (0-6)
MTSU 118 141 12-6 (3-2)
North Texas 55 67 13-4 (6-1)
Old Dominion 221 203 7-11 (2-3)
Rice 164 180 11-7 (4-3)
Southern Miss 325 317 6-12 (1-4)
UAB 37 41 16-4 (6-1)
UTEP 185 182 11-8 (4-3)
UTSA 339 326 7-13 (0-7)
WKU 139 121 10-9 (2-4)
Kenpom rankings and standings as of 1/23/2022

Key Storylines

Wild, Wild West

The race for the top of the West Division got much more interesting this weekend when UAB went into Ruston and walked away with a relatively comfortable road win over Louisiana Tech. That leaves UAB, Louisiana Tech and North Texas tied atop the West with 6-1 conference records. Rice and UTEP, both 4-3, remain within striking distance.

Owls on the move

Florida Atlantic has won three in a row, completing a perfect three-game homestand against Charlotte, WKU and Marshall. The Owls began conference play 1-2 and fell near the bottom of the standings. Now they sit alone in first place atop the division. Their namesake counterparts, Rice, posted an emphatic win of their own over the weekend, finishing their game against Old Dominion on a 16-0 run.

Toppers in a tailspin?

Western Kentucky was expected to be among the best teams in Conference USA entering the season. They didn’t receive any first-place votes, but they were a clear No. 3 choice in the conference’s preseason poll. There wasn’t reason to panic after a narrow loss to Louisiana Tech on the road to start conference play, but their recent three-game has to at least raise some concern. They host UAB and Middle Tennessee next week. Getting a split would, at the very least, ease some anxiety.

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Rice Basketball falters late, loses at home to Charlotte

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Rice basketball couldn’t hit the shots they needed to down the stretch, dropping a winnable home tilt against Charlotte and moving to 4-3 in C-USA play.

There are days when the ball bounces your way and there are days it rims out. On Saturday against Charlotte, that clang off the iron went against Rice Basketball, who fell at home in a back-and-forth game the Owls would probably like to have back.

Charlotte struck first, jumping out to a 4-0 lead, their largest advantage in a game they’d win by three, matching by an 8-4 advantage minutes later. Rice quickly countered, clambering out to a 15-11 lead at the midpoint of the first half, scoring six straight points. Neither team would go on a run longer than that at any point in the contest.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball blanks ODU down the stretch, slams door at home

Rice was uninspiring from three, connecting on just 7-of-22 from beyond the arc. The Owls shot a modest 42 percent from the field and held their own on the boards. Charlotte’s advantage came in their scoring. The 49ers shot 53.3 percent in the game and 59.1 percent in the second half. That accuracy proved to be the difference, down to the final shot.

Carl Pierre, who had been lights-out from deep in his previous two outings, made three of his eight triples in the game, missing two threes in the final six seconds, either of which would have likely pushed the game into overtime. In a relatively evenly matched game, it served as a synopsis of the 40-minute slugfest: Charlotte made the plays when it counted. Rice did not.

Player Spotlight | Mylyjael Poteat

On a night when Rice wasn’t quite on the mark from long range, Mylyjael Poteat played a huge role in the paint. The up-and-coming center led all scorers with 15 points, knocking going 6-of-9 from the field and 3-0f-4 from the free throw line. Head coach Scott Pera has been extremely complementary of his growth all season, noting his growth from last season to this one.

“He’s played a lot more basketball. He’s getting used to the speed,” Pera said of Poteat. “We knew he was a really good player when we recruited him. Now he’s starting to really take advantage of his minutes.

Stat Corner | When it counts

It wasn’t a great afternoon shooting the basketball for Rice, but they shot well enough to have the chance to win the game late. It’s what happened in the final two minutes that made the difference and should serve as a teaching tool for a team that aspires to make some noise in the conference tournament.

With 1:52 on the clock, Poteat hit a layup to tie the game at 62. From that point onward, Rice did not hit another shot outside the paint. Their only points following Poteat’s layup was a dunk from Poteat with 18 seconds remaining. Travis Evee missed a layup. Chris Mullins was called for a charge and turned it over. Pierre missed from deep, twice. The great teams find a way to get at least one of those shots to go in. They had some good lucks. Things just didn’t work out in the last 90 seconds.

Final Box | Char 67 – Rice 64

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball went 1-1 on the homestand and will now return to the road next week. On Thursday they’ll pay a visit to Louisiana Tech before playing at Southern Miss on Saturday.

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Rice Basketball blanks ODU down the stretch in thrilling home win

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Rice basketball turned a close game into a runaway affair, blanking Old Dominion down the stretch and ending the game on a flawless 16-0 run.

Rice basketball went through a tough stretch in early January when the shots just weren’t falling. The Owls’ typical precision from three had turned sporadic as the team had to find ways to win in the paint and with their defense. Those days seem like a distant memory now that Rice has turned in consecutive days with laser-sharp accuracy from beyond three-point arc.

It’s only fitting that Rice opened their Thursday tilt with Old Dominion with consecutive threes. They would go on to hit seven of their first 14 shots from long-range. Rice had hit 50 percent or better on their triples in three games this to that point, still, Old Dominion found a way to hang around.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball outshoots Marshall on the road\

Where the Monarchs came up short from distance they made up for inside. Their cuts to the basket and 20 points in the paint in the first half alone contributed to a close game that pinballed back and forth early on.

Old Dominion would take charge as the game progressed into the second half. The Monarchs were on fire from the field — until they weren’t. An eight-point ODU lead with 6:40 to play disappeared following a 1-for-10 stretch from the field. Rice mounted a 10-0 run with Carl Pierre delivering the go-ahead three with 2:51 on the clock. That run would extend to 16-0 as Rice ran away with it at home. Mylyjael Poteat was dominant down the stretch. Pierre couldn’t miss. Rice rolled.

“I guess we got to go look at the record books and see the last time we that kind of run to end the game,” head coach Scott Pera said following the win.

What they’re saying | Scott Pera

“This is the team I thought we had on November 14. And then some things went wrong. Chris tore a tendon… Quincy hurt his wrist and wasn’t right for 12 games maybe… and then we had 15 out of 16 guys get COVID including me. So we had a lot of bumps and through the bumps we stayed together. We got some wins. We had some good games, beat some good teams, lost to some good teams.

When league started – after we got through the North Texas situation and the COVID stuff – our guys were healthy, except for Chris, and they were through COVID. It’s the team I’d thought we’d have.” – Scott Pera

Player Spotlight | Carl Pierre

Pierre continues to campaign for the best transfer addition in Pera’s tenure at Rice. He tied the school record with eight three-pointers last week against Marshall. He followed that up with seven triples against Old Dominion, propelling the Rice offense and keeping pace with the surging Monarchs. He’s become a key cog in the Owls’ game plan each and every night. If other teams don’t make it a priority to keep him away from the basketball, this is probably going to keep happening.

Stat Corner | It’s how you finish

Defense was the focal point of the conversation in the Owls’ season-opening win over Pepperdine. Expectations for that side of the ball had risen compared to recent seasons, but few could have imagined the dazzling display Rice put forth to slam the door against Old Dominion on Thursday night.

“You can’t do better. I may coach another 500 games and it may never happen again,” Pera said of the team’s emphatic finish.

Rice held Old Dominion scoreless in the final 6:40 of regulation. The Monarchs missed their final 11 shots. Whether it was sheer exhaustion, careful spacing or a combination of both, Rice absolutely stymied what had been a dynamic offensive attack up until that moment.

Final Box | Rice 77 – ODU 69

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball closes out their two-game homestand on Saturday against Charlotte. After that they hit the road once again, paying a visit to Louisiana Tech and then Southern Miss to close out the month of January.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls fizzle in the fourth, fall to ODU

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Rice women’s basketball entered the fourth quarter in a tied game with Old Dominion, but the Owls couldn’t finish things off, falling to 0-4 in conference play.

It wasn’t quite deja-vu, but there was a familiar feel from the opening moments to the final whistle of the road tilt between Rice women’s basketball and Old Dominion on Thursday afternoon. Just as they had done in prior outings, Rice raced out to an early lead, reaching an eight-point advantage in the first three minutes and change of the first quarter.

And just has been the case in those previous games. the Owls watched their opponents claw back into the game. Old Dominion would cut their deficit to two points in the first quarter and get within one point in the final minute before halftime. In the third quarter, the Monarchs would take the lead for the very first time as both teams struggled from the field.

Last Time Out: Rice Women’s Basketball ‘s early lead slips away vs Marshall

The tempo started to pick up at the back end of the third quarter. There were no lead changes in the first 25 minutes of regulation. There were three in the final five minutes of the third quarter with India Bellamy delivering the equalizing layup in the final seconds.

Turnovers proved to be the difference in the final quarter. Rice turned the ball over seven times to ODU’s three with both teams shooting 60 percent or better from the floor. Old Dominion edged Rice on the boards and got off a few more shots and that proved to be the difference. Rice falls to 0-4 in conference play with the loss.

Player Spotlight | India Bellamy

Bellamy scored a career-high 12 points against Old Dominion, adding four rebounds, three assists and three steals to her ledger along the way. She played 26-minutes, also a career-high, but one that could prove to be more sticky moving forward. Rice has relied much more on its thin bench in recent weeks and will have to continue doing so if they have any chance of being fresh in the fourth quarter. That means trusting players like Bellamy when they’re shooting the ball well and spreading the ball around to lighten the load.

Stat Corner | Figuring out the Fourth

At the beginning of the season, winning the third quarter was a major point of emphasis for the Owls. Head coach Lindsay Edmonds opened multiple postgame media sessions with a desire to improve as a team right out of the halftime break. For the most part, Rice has answered that call, particularly since their return from their long COVID-19 induced hiatus. Now it’s time for this team to take the next step.

“We’ve preached being better in the third [quarter] and I think that’s happened,” Edmonds said earlier in the week. “Now we’ve got to figure out how to be better sometimes in the second or the fourth.” Rice was outscored 29-19 in the fourth quarter on Thursday, losing the game by that same 10-point margin.

Final Box | ODU 69 – Rice 59

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball has one more game on their current road trip before they make the trek back to Houston. They play at Charlotte on Saturday. Once they make it back to Texas, they’ll host Louisiana Tech on Thursday and Southern Miss on Saturday.

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