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Basketball: Owls top Charlotte for third straight win

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Rice basketball has taken their game up a notch, remaining perfect in pod play with a 79-70 road win over Charlotte on Wednesday.

With a trip to the Conference USA conference tournament already secured, Rice had two bouts with the Charlotte 49ers to make their last adjustments. The first came Wednesday and resulted in the second win in two chances for Rice over Charlotte so far this season.

For the Owls, it was Drew Peterson who led the way on offense. A role play for a large chunk of the season, Peterson has come on strong in the last few weeks, posting 31 points in the Owls’ last two games including a 15 point effort against Charlotte. Right behind in on the stat sheet was Chris Mullins (14 points) and Robert Martin and Ako Adams, each with 12.

Six different players connected on at least four field goals on Wednesday and five different Owls tallied three rebounds or more. As has been the recipe for many wins this season, it was truly a team effort.

Rice held Charlotte to 37.7 percent from the field while connecting on 49.2 percent of their own buckets, including 50 percent from three-point range. Charlotte managed to block seven shots. Although they were able to cut the deficit down to as little as one point in the second half, the home team never led, trailing from the moment Quentin Millora-Brown put in a layup to start the scoring in the first half.

The two squads will end their respective regular seasons with a third game in Houston on Saturday. Tip off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Rice holds a one game advantage, including the head-to-head tiebreaker, over Middle Tennessee for the top spot in their pod. Regardless of the outcome on Saturday, Rice will be the No. 11 seed in Frisco.

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MBB: Owls down MTSU to clinch Conference USA Tournament berth

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Rice basketball won their second game in pod play on Saturday, downing Middle Tennessee to clinch a spot in the Conference USA conference tournament.

By the time Rice basketball tipped off on Sunday afternoon against Middle Tennessee, they knew what was at stake. A win over the Blue Raiders would secure a berth in the Conference USA conference tournament. That motivation showed early. Rice came out of the gate guns blazing, staking themselves to a 28-8 lead before Middle Tennessee knew what hit them.

A 13-point half time advantage was tested late in the second half. Middle Tennessee would cut the Rice lead to three with 1:13 to play but Drew Peters0n connected on five of Rice’s 18 second half free throws to seal the game and the Owls’ trip to the Conference USA conference tournament.

Peterson finished two points shy of a career best with 16 points. Ako Adams, Robert Martin and Quinton Millora-Brown all finished in double-digit scoring. Millora-Brown added 10 rebounds to secure his fourth double-double of the year.

Conference USA conference tournament scenarios

12 of the 14 Conference USA teams qualify for the conference tournament. Because of how pod play was structured, the top two groupings will advance automatically, leaving room for two of the four teams in Rice’s group to clinch a spot in Frisco.

The double-overtime win over UTEP followed by Saturday’s victory over Middle Tennessee lifts the Owls’ conference record to 7-9. That’s one game better than Middle Tennesee and three games better than 13th place Charlotte.

Rice has two games in bonus play remaining, both against Charlotte. Regardless of the outcome of those games, Rice will finish no worse than 12 in the final standings. At this point, their final two games will be for positioning. If they stay ahead of MTSU Rice will clinch the 11th. For Rice, the final two regular season games will give them two more opportunities to get in a groove before the tournament. Then it’s win or go home.

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WBB: Owls beat LaTech to cap off perfect home campaign

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Rice women’s basketball has secured an undefeated season at Tudor Fieldhouse, besting Louisiana Tech for their 13th consecutive home victory.

15-0 in conference play. 17 consecutive games won. It’s been a good year for Rice women’s basketball. In front of 2,606 onlookers, the largest home crowd in program history, Rice won their most recent game against Louisiana Tech, 78-42. The 36 point margin marked the largest victory of the season for No. 24 Rice, surpassing a 34-point win over UTEP.

The victory capped off a perfect 13-0 record at home this season which began with five wins in non-conference play before being followed by eight straight home wins against CUSA foes. It also marks more than a calendar year since Rice has fallen at home, last losing to this Louisiana Tech team on March 1, 2018.

Louisiana Tech had precious minutes to ponder the possibility of an upset, trailing Rice 5-4 early in the first quarter. The Owls would go on an 11-0 run to close the first frame, seizing a double-digit lead and never looking back. They held Louisiana Tech to 27.1 percent shooting from the field. None of their players reached double-digits in any statistical category.

Along with five assists, Erica Ogwumike recorded her 16th double-double of the season (18 points, 14 rebounds). Nicole Iademarco was lethal from deep once more, draining six of her eight three-point attempts for 18 points. Nancy Mulkey and Lauren Grigsby added 11 points and 12 points, respectively.

Rice held every conference opponent to fewer than 55 points at Tudor Fieldhouse this season. Saturday’s win over Louisiana Tech was the sixth consecutive game Rice has won by double-digits. In many ways, it was just another day in the office for this team, which has redefined the standard of excellence, both at South Main and beyond.

Up Next

All that stands between Rice and a perfect Conference USA campaign is a road game against UTSA on Thursday. The Owls defeated the Roadrunners at Tudor Fieldhouse 85-54 in mid-January. Rice will put their 17 game winning streak up against a team which has lost 10 of the last 11 prior to their Saturday game against Southern Miss.

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MBB: Owls erase 20-point deficit to knock off UTEP in the desert

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Rice basketball avenged a prior controversial road loss, rallying from a 20-point deficit to knock off UTEP on the road and setting themselves up well in CUSA pod play.

The continuously unpredictable Rice basketball season took another strange turn in the desert on Saturday night. Visiting UTEP for the first time since losing in controversial fashion in the final seconds earlier this season, Rice hoped they’d play to a much different result in the rematch.

Things couldn’t have looked much different. Rice trailed 37-20 at halftime and the hopes of a close finish seemed all but forgotten. The Miners’ lead would climb to 20 in the second half. Ako Adams would leave the game. Jack Williams fouled out. But when things looked bleakest, the Owls fought back.

The 20-point deficit turned into a 1-point Rice lead late in the second half. Trey Murphy missed what would have been the game-winner in the final seconds of regulation, sending the game to overtime. Chris Mullins had a chance to clinch it in overtime, but his shot missed.

In the second overtime, Rice didn’t need one more shot. Trey Murphy made a huge three-point shot to give the Owls the lead and Mullins did the rest, scoring the Owls final five points of the game from the free throw line. The same Rice team which looked exhausted in double overtime against Western Kentucky weeks ago looked as locked in late as they’d been all game.

The result was more than your average comeback. The 20-point difference was tied second-largest margin overcome by any Rice team in school history. And they did it without two of their most important players on the court in the critical moments.

The win puts Rice in the driver’s seat in their portion of pod play. The 11-seed entering the bonus portion of the conference schedule, Rice has games remaining against Middle Tennesee and Charlotte (twice) with a trip to the conference tournament on the line. Rice defeated both schools (in regulation) during the regular season.

Box

PLAYER FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
J. Williams 1-6 1-1 0-0 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 5 3
Q. Millora-Brown 4-7 0-0 2-3 2 6 8 0 0 0 0 2 10
C. Mullins 4-16 1-3 10-13 2 2 4 6 1 0 4 3 19
J. Parrish 2-5 1-2 1-5 1 8 9 2 2 3 2 2 6
A. Adams 2-5 1-3 0-0 0 2 2 2 2 0 1 0 5
R. Martin 7-12 2-3 7-10 2 11 13 2 2 1 3 3 23
P. Moore 0-0 0-0 0-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
T. Murphy III 4-11 3-7 3-6 1 5 6 1 2 2 0 2 14
D. Peterson 2-4 1-3 0-0 0 3 3 1 1 0 0 3 5

 

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WBB: No. 25 Owls lock up regular season CUSA Title

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Rice women’s basketball turned a third quarter deficit into their 16th consecutive victory, coming from behind to defeat North Texas and clinch the regular season CUSA Title.

For the first time since joining Conference USA, Rice women’s basketball are regular season conference champions. The Owls last achieved a regular season title in 2005 while members of the WAC, the only other conference title in program history.

To do it, Rice needed to stage a comeback. Trailing by three at halftime, the deficit grew to as many as seven before Rice thundered back. Nancy Mulkey led the charge with 24 points and three blocks. Nicole Iademarco connected on three triples and Erica Ogwumike grabbed six rebounds, three on the offensive glass. It was another all-around team effort, something Rice has come accustom to in recent weeks. They’d win by a final margin of 59-47.

Winning the regular season conference title secures Rice the top seed throughout the conference tournament. The first round bye is a plus, but the path beyond that is less important; the Owls’ resume speaks for itself. If they’re able to cut through their first batch of postseason games like they’ve been able to cruise through conference play, they’ll secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Then the dance begins.

There are two kinds of teams the blue blood programs don’t want to face in the NCAA Tournament. Red-hot three-point shooting squads are scary — look at what 16-seed UMBC did to 1-seed Virginia on 12 made three-pointers while shooting 50 percent from deep. The second team is the defensive juggernaut: that’s Rice.

Defense travels. That’s the most intriguing, and at least to outsiders, the most terrifying aspect of this surging team. They’ve held every conference opponent but one, Marshall, to 51 points or fewer on their home court. That includes Western Kentucky (averaging 74 points per game), UAB (73.8) and most recently, North Texas (66.2). Rice is playing at an incredibly high level as the calendar approaches March. To this point, no other team in the conference has been able to keep up.

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