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Rice Women’s Basketball 2020: Owls top FIU to complete road sweep

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Rice Women’s Basketball seems to have returned to form, coasting through another Conference USA win, besting FIU on the road.

When Rice women’s basketball blew out Marshall to start conference play, I asked the simple question: has Rice flipped the switch? Since then, Rice is 3-0 with victories by 8, 9 and now 21 points. Even in the closer games, the Owls had the game in the bag by the midpoint of the fourth quarter.

That was the case again on Saturday. FIU and Rice traded baskets in the first half with both teams shooting well from the floor. Then the third quarter came and Rice did what they do best, buckled down on defense and kept FIU off the board. The Panthers scored six points in the first quarter, limited to 11.8 percent shooting on 19 possessions. The Owls scored 23 points in the third to take a commanding lead, riding it to their 23rd consecutive C-USA win.

The win would have been a non-event had it not been for an injury in the third quarter to guard Erica Ogwumike. While handling the ball at the top of the key, she went down after some contact as she tried to penetrate into the paint. She was helped off the court and sat on the bench for a minute before being moved to the locker room.

Ogwumike was the preseason Conference USA player of the year and the team’s leading scorer. Her status moving forward will be closely monitored. Losing her for any length of time would be a huge blow to this team.

Final Stats

Player of the game – Jasmine Smith

A quiet star for Rice women’s basketball, Jasmine Smith continues to be incredibly consistent. In addition to scoring a team-high 12 points, she was crucial to the Owls’ success on both sides of the court. Her lock-down defense and team-leading six assists kept the team on schedule. Regardless of who else is on the court with her, Smith gives the same relentless effort.

Up Next

Rice went 2-0 on their road trip to Florida. Next, they return home for a two-game stretch at Tudor Fieldhouse. They’ll take on Louisiana Tech on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 7:00 p.m. Saturday they host Southern Miss with tip-off scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

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2020 Rice Football schedule released: Opponents and dates finalized

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The 2020 Rice Football schedule has been set. Now we have the dates and the opponents the Owls will face in the season ahead.

Broadcast information will slowly be released as we get closer to the season. Right now it’s probably safe to assume the Owls will have games on a variety of ESPN properties, the NFL Network and CBS Sports Network, just like last season. For now, here’s what we know about the 2020 Rice Football schedule.

Week 1   | Sat. Sep. 5 | at Houston
Week 2   | Sat. Sep. 12 | vs Army
Week 3   | Sat. Sep. 19 | vs LSU (at NRG Stadium)
Week 4   | Sat. Sep. 26 | vs Lamar
Week 5   | Sat. Oct. 3 | at Marshall
Week 6   | Sat. Oct. 10 | vs UAB
Week 7   | Sat. Oct. 17 | BYE
Week 8   | Sat. Oct. 24 | vs MTSU
Week 9   | Sat. Oct. 31 | at Southern Miss
Week 10 | Sat. Nov. 7 | vs UTSA
Week 11 | Sat. Nov. 14 | at Louisiana Tech
Week 12 | Sat. Nov. 21 | at North Texas
Week 13 | Sat. Nov. 28 | vs UTEP

Early Thoughts

Last year Rice opened the season with a pair of Friday night games. The Owls will stick to Saturdays for the duration of the 2020 campaign. This year that includes Halloween night — be sure to bring your Owl costumes to Hattiesburg.

Most notably, Rice won’t have nearly as rigorous of a nonconference schedule as they did in 2019. Their 2019 opponents included Army, Wake Forest, Texas and Big 12 runner up Baylor. 2020 Features Houston, Army, LSU and Lamar. Swapping out two Power 5 teams for a cross-town rival and an FCS squad is huge, particularly in the context of postseason expectations. All four teams could be breaking in brand new starting quarterbacks. The best part? All four games are in Houston.

On the Conference-USA front, things set up extremely well. Rice gets to of their presumably tougher opponents right out of the gate, Marshall and UAB. After the Week 7 bye, Rice only plays two teams who finished better than .500 last season, Southern Miss and Lousiana Tech. The Rice defense, which returns the vast majority of its contributors, held both of those explosive offenses at bay.

More: 2019 Rice Football Season superlatives

Three of the other four games after the bye are at home, the other is against a North Texas team replacing Mason Fine and a large chunk of their coaching staff.

It’s early, but this doesn’t look like a murder’s row. For the most part, the 2020 Rice football schedule looks very manageable.

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Detroit Lions sign punter Jack Fox to futures contract

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Following the end of the regular season, former Rice football punter Jack Fox has signed a futures contract with the NFL’s Detroit Lions

Former Rice football punter Jack Fox has been swept up into the churn of NFL life. After going undrafted, Fox signed a free agent deal with the Kansas City Chiefs and was cut prior to the regular season. He was on and off the Chiefs’ practice squad during the season, eventually being signed to the practice squad by the Detroit Lions.

It looks like Fox will be in Detroit for at least a little while longer. At the end of the regular season, Fox agreed to a futures contract with the Lions.

What is a futures contract?

NFL teams don’t practice between the end of the season and training camp, thus eliminating the need for practice squad players. Even though they weren’t on the official roster, teams still want to make sure they can keep many of those players in the fold for the upcoming season when the rosters expand from 55 players to 90. And thus futures contracts were born.

Essentially a futures contract is a low-cost commitment between the player and the team to keep a player from signing elsewhere during the offseason. Futures contracts take effect at the start of the new league year (Mar. 18, 2020 at 4:00 p.m. ET).

What’s next for Fox?

It’s unlikely Detroit would have brought Fox in if they didn’t intend to give him a shot to compete for a spot on the active roster next season. The Lions’ current punter Sam Martin is eligible for free agency, leaving a potential opening at the position. Detroit also signed free agent Matt Wile who appeared briefly for the Falcons this season and was the full-time punter for the Vikings in 2018, averaging 45.2 yards per punt.

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Rice Football 2020: Owls in the NFL Wildcard Round Update

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Four Rice football alums are moving on in the NFL Playoffs. Here’s a rundown of all the NFL Owls still in the Super Bowl hunt after the Wildcard Round.

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

Wildcard Round Results

OT | Texans 22 (Gaines) – Bills 19
Titans 20 – Patriots 13
Vikings 26 (Sendejo) – Saints 20
Seahawks 17 (Ellerbee, Willson) – Eagles 9

Owls out of the playoffs

Broncos – Anderson, Callahan
Cowboys – Covington
Steelers – Boswell, McDonald

Andrew Sendejo, Saf, Vikings

Sendejo played a role in limiting Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints, holding them below 21 points for the first time since Week 10. The stout performance was enough to upset New Orleans at home. He had three tackles and a pass defended, marking the third time since joining the Vikings he’s registered multiple tackles.

Emmanuel Ellerbee, LB, Seahawks

Ellerbee was placed injured reserve prior to the start of the season. He did not appear in any games with the Seahawks this year and won’t be on the field for Seattle’s playoff run.

Luke Willson, TE, Seahawks

Willson was active against the Eagles but did not catch a pass. His experience as a blocker continues to be his ticket onto the field. The Seahawks heavily targeted their wide receivers on Sunday with Jacob Hollister registering the only two catches from the tight end position.

Phillip Gaines, CB, Texans

Gaines was placed on injured reserve following an ankle injury suffered during the Texans’ Week 8 game against the Colts. He won’t be available for Houston’s playoff run.

More Owls in the NFL

From practice squads to current free agents, there are others 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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Rice Basketball 2020: Comeback falls short against WKU

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Rice Basketball came up short on a furious comeback attempt against Western Kentucky, falling to 0-2 in Conference USA play.

The first five minutes of play at E.A. Diddle Arena couldn’t have gone much worse. Rice basketball missed five shots, turned the ball over four times and fell behind 9-0. Western Kentucky would extend the lead to 13 on a Camron Justice three shortly after. The home crowd was roaring and the Owls seemed lost.

Then the rally began. The double-digit deficit shrunk to six points at halftime and didn’t last much longer. Rice scored nine of the first 12 points after the break to tie the game at 32. The shots that weren’t falling in the first half started to drop and a suddenly reinvigorated defense gave WKU fits. They had to settle for a lot of outside shots in the second half, where their rhythm was noticeably off.

The second half was a game of runs. WKU would take a five or six point lead. Rice would tie it, but they never got past the equalizing point. Rice took six shots that could have given them the lead in the second half but missed all six. In the end, a cold snap did them in. The Owls finished 1-of-9 from the field, dropping the game by a final score of 68-61.

Rice made impeccable defensive adjustments in the second half. Weathering the storm and fighting back has been a frequent occurrence for this team. If they’re ever able to strike first, they’ve shown the ability to push the envelope. It’s just too often after they’ve fallen behind that they get the opportunity to make that push.

Final Stats

Player of the game – Trey Murphy

Five Owls attempted multiple three-pointers on Saturday. Murphy was the only one to knock down more than one. He was 4-for-8 while the rest of the team shot a dismal 4-for-21. He rounded out the strong shooting night with seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. His game continues to develop, but he’s already much more than a complimentary outside shooter.

Up Next

The Owls will play their first C-USA home game of the season on Thursday when they return to Tudor Fieldhouse to take on FAU. That game is scheduled to tip at 7:00 p.m. They’ll then host FIU on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.

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