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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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Conference USA Basketball Tournament: Men’s and Women’s Previews

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Both Rice basketball teams qualified for the Conference USA Basketball Tournament in Frisco, Tx. Here’s a preview of the action.

Men’s Tournament – The Bracket

The Favorite: Old Dominion

After taking down Western Kentucky and UTSA, the Monarchs faded in the final two games of pod play. Their losses to Southern Miss and UAB are certainly a concern, but there was a reason this team was the only CUSA squad to win more than 20 games.

Even after dropping their final two regular season games, Old Dominion still owns a 13-5 conference record. They also beat Southern Miss and UAB earlier in the season. Led by guards B.J. Smith and Ahmad Carver, they’re going to shoot well and score a lot of points.

The Sleeper: Marshall

Marshall was one of the few teams to beat Old Dominion in the regular and could be the hottest squad in the conference in March. The Herd have won five straight, sweeping comfortably through pod play.

Champions over Western Kentucky last season, the core of the Herd lineup remains intact. Jon Elmore and C.J. Burks are once again one and two in scoring. Freshman Taevion Kinsey has come on strong lately with strong shooting performances and double-digit points in all of the Herd’s pod play victories.

The case for Rice

Unlike in other years, there is no dominant force in Conference USA. The 12-seed, Middle Tennessee, and the 1-seed, Old Dominion, are separated by five games in the standings. Four different teams, including Rice, enter Frisco 8-10 in conference play. By and large, the standings are fairly tight outside of Charlotte and UTEP, who failed to make the tournament.

Rice has proven on multiple occasions this year their best is good enough to beat even the upper end teams in CUSA. The Owls own wins over both Marshall and Southern Miss, the highest seeds on their side of the bracket and they fell to 2-seed Western Kentucky in double overtime.

The Owls haven’t been able to string together 40-minutes of top-level basketball with much consistency this year, but they have had their moments. If this team gets it in gear, they’re capable of beating anyone in this tournament.

Women’s Tournament – The Bracket

The Favorite: Rice

They say there’s a reason the games are played on the court and not a computer, but it’s hard to envision any amount of variation knocking the Owls off their perch atop Conference USA. They didn’t slow down in the final weeks of the regular season, and perhaps got even better, posting dominant wins over everyone they’ve met in March to this point.

If the season ended today, there’s a strong argument Rice is deserving of an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament. Two wins in Frisco should seal the deal, but these ladies have their eyes set on cutting down the nets for a reason.

The Sleeper: Old Dominion

Old Dominion was neck and neck with Rice early on in conference play before Rice beat them in their lone head to head pairing of the season. Still, it was the Monarchs who gave the Owls their closest scare.

The challenger turned the game into a defensive slugfest, matching the physicality of Rice and holding the home team to 28.3 percent shooting from the field. Rice would go on to win by six points, but failed to score 50 points for the only time this season. To win this tournament you’ll have to go through Rice. Old Dominion has the best shot, albeit a distant one.

The case for Rice

Ranked for the first time in school history, this Rice team is special. In good games and in bad games, they find a way to win. Their defense is extraordinary and tenacious and the offense continually gets the ball in the hands of their most reliable players.

Rice might not have been tested to the same degree as some of their opponents they’ll face in Frisco. Rarely did Rice find themselves in a single-digit game in the fourth quarter, but when they did they came out on top. The chalk pick by most every expert, Rice is the prohibitive favorite to cut down the nets.

Schedule – Men / Women

First Round

Rice Men: Wednesday, March 13 at 9 p.m. vs Marshall – ESPN+
Rice Women: Bye

Second Round

Rice Men: TBD
Rice Women: Thursday, March 14 at 11 a.m. – opponent TBD – Watch Stadium

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MBB: Owls fall to Charlotte on Senior Night

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With their Conference USA Tournament berth secure, Rice basketball fell at home to Charlotte in the final game of the regular season.

Head coach Scott Pera had employed six different starting lineups this season, generally keeping to a combination of Ako Adams, Quentin Millora-Brown, Chris Mullins, Jack Williams and either Josh Parrish or Drew Peterson for most of the season. On Senior Night, with a berth in the Conference USA tournament already secure, Pera put seniors Dylan Jones and Oliver Xu into the starting five.

Seldom used reserves, it was a nice gesture by Pera, who watched happily on the side of the court as Jones scored the first back of the night — also his first points of the season. Jones and Xu were soon replaced by the normal contingent as the two teams kept the score close throughout the first 38 minutes of game action.

With 4:15 remaining in regulation, Charlotte took the lead from Rice for good. Three consecutive Charlotte three-pointers quickly extended the lead to double-digits, the largest advantage for either team in the game. The Owls would cut it to seven, but never get any closer, falling by a final score of 78-70.

Robert Martin led the team with 15 points. Jack Williams had another solid showing, posting 11 points and six rebounds in the final home game of his career. The team as a whole shot 41.4 percent from the floor, failing to keep pace with a tremendous night from Charlotte’s Jon Davis who led all scorers with 28 points, adding nine rebounds.

Although the loss ends the regular season on a sour note, Rice has at least one more game to play. Rice’s first game of the conference tournament will be on Wednesday, March 13. The full bracket should be announced soon, but 11-seed Rice is tentatively set to face 6-seed Marshall. The Owls won the regular season matchup with the Herd, 74-69.

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WBB: 2019 Regular season by the numbers

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It’s been a season to remember for Rice women’s basketball. Here are seven numbers that help tell the story of how impressive the Owls have been.

0

Losses against Conference USA opponents. Rice’s perfect run marks only the third time a women’s team has reached 16-0 in Conference USA, a feat most recently achieved by Houston in the 2010-2011 season. The only current CUSA squad to achieve perfection was UTEP who did it back in 2007-2008.

16

Double-doubles recorded by Owls’ leading scorer Erica Ogwumike. She’s averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds a game this season — a double-double. She’s been held under double-digit points just twice in conference play.

18

Consecutive victories for the Rice team, tied for the second longest streak in the nation. Already the longest such streak in school history, it could be extended with the conference tournament and other postseason games remaining.

19.2

Margin of victory for Rice in conference play. A perfect record would have been impressive by itself, but the level of dominance Rice has exhibited in their victories has been nothing short of incredible. One of the Owls’ 16 conference games has been decided by single digits and Rice has led by more than 40 points in conference games this season.

52.7

Points per game allowed by the Owls this season. Not only does that lead Conference USA, it ranks in the top 10 of the nation. Put in starker context, No. 1 Baylor averages 54.2 points per game allowed. Conference USA hasn’t seen a team this effective on the defensive side of the floor in this decade.

73

Blocks by center Nancy Mulkey who was the most terrifying defender in the paint in the conference. She had more blocks by herself than four different CUSA teams, edging out the next highest blocker, Marie Benson, by 34 blocks. Benson had 39.

93

Highest point total of the season for Rice. It came in a game against McNeese State in the early portion of non conference play. As elite of a defense group as this is, they can still light it up with strong shooting performances, too.

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