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Early lead fizzles as Rice Basketball falls to USF

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Early lead not enough as Rice Basketball dropped their sixth straight in AAC play, falling to South Florida on the road.

Rice basketball got off to a red-hot start on the road against South Florida, jumping out to an 11-3 lead before the Bulls could settle in. That lead would be short lived — USF rallied to tie the game at 11 shortly thereafter — but the aggressiveness Rice played with led to another big advantage, this time as many as 14 points as the final minutes began to tick away in the first half.

USF would not go away. The home team closed the first half on a 7-0 run and scored 14 of the first 16 points after halftime. All of a sudden it was Rice forced to play from behind. Trae Broadnax rose to the occasion, scoring six of the Owls’ next nine, willing the game into a slugfest, at least for a while.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Rice would get back within a point, but South Florida did not slow down. That small edge gradually grew as the game wore on with the Bulls banking multiple buckets in a row before Rice got a shot to fall. By the time the teams hit the final media timeout, USF led by double-digits and the Owls’ early lead felt like it had been so long ago.

A furious push in the final minutes allowed Rice to get the game back within three, but the rally would prove to be too little, too late as South Florida held on to win. Rice falls to 11-10 with the loss and 2-6 in conference play.

Final Box | USF 69, Rice 64

Key takeaway | Defensive dip

Rice basketball has now lost six AAC games in a row after a 2-0 start in league play. So many of these games have been decided on the margins, but if there is one throughline amongst them all it’s been an dip in defensive performance.

It’s not as if Rice has been a poor defensive team — entering Wednesday the Owls ranked second in the conference in opponent field goal percentage allowed — but the difference in their losing skid has been pronounced.

In their first 15 games, including AAC wins over Tulsa and Charlotte, Rice allowed opponents to shoot 38.5 percent from the floor. In their last six that rate has jumped up to 45.8 percent including a 40 percent shooting performance from USF.

This has still been a formidable defensive unit on most possessions, but ebbs and flows with the offense, turnovers and smaller losses on the margins have put this team into too many tough places. An 0-6 run is the result.

Up Next: vs Memphis (Sun, Feb. 2)

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AAC skid continues as Rice Basketball falls to Tulane

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A tough day from the floor made it impossible for Rice Basketball to keep up against Tulane, which handed the Owls their fifth straight AAC loss.

Rice basketball faced an uphill battle on Saturday afternoon in their quest to snap a four-game losing streak in conference play. Caden Powell opened the scoring but it was the visiting Tulane Green Wave who delivered the first run, rattling off 11 unanswered points.

The Owls wouldn’t be flustered that easily, though. Denver Anglin started the home team rally with a three, one of his four triples in the first half and Jacob Dar quickly came to his aid, leveling the score back at 28 apiece in the final minutes of the half. Seven straight points from Aaron Powell to close the period would send Rice to the break with a one-point advantage.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Tulane would open up a lead early in the second half as Rice struggled from the field. The Owls made six field goals after halftime, seeing a close, physical game get a little bit more out of reach as the Green Wave began to make baskets at better than a 50 percent clip and the Owls just couldn’t keep up.

After taking a modest two-point lead to start the half, Rice would trail for the remainder of the contest. A pair of threes with 20 seconds to play proved too little too late.

Final Box | Tulane 82, Rice 71

Key takeaway | Free Throws Unfullfilled

The free throw issues Rice basketball has experienced this season have been well documented. Rather than rehash that conversation, Saturday’s loss drew attention to a rather unusual statistical line for the team this season. Rice entered this contest fourth in the AAC with 24.5 free throw attempts per game, averaging just shy of one less attempt per game than league-leading Temple (25.9).

It’s not just that Rice is inconsistent from the charity stripe, second worst in the AAC at 68.0 percent. That problem has been exacerbated by the volume of free throws they take. The Owls ran into that problem in this game. They nearly double-up Tulane from the line, taking 33 foul shots to their 17 attempts. That’s almost always a recipe for success, but it wasn’t this time given the number of misses.

Getting to the line is almost always a good thing. For Rice basketball, that general truism might finally be up for debate.

Up Next: at South Florida (Tues, Jan. 28)

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Dominque Ennis’ big day powers Rice Women’s Basketball past Charlotte

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Everything seemed to be falling for Dominque Ennis and Rice Women’s Basketball on Saturday, who blew past Charlotte on the road.

Separation was minimal in the opening quarter when Rice women’s basketball tipped off against Charlotte on the road. Neither side led by more than three points for longer than 20 seconds of the first frame but Rice would start to ramp up the pressure in the second quarter.

Malia Fisher opened the scoring with a jumper and Maya Bokunewicz delivered a three, the exclamation points minutes just later to cap a 12-2 run that put Rice women’s basketball in the driver’s seat. The margin would stick around double-digits for the remainder of the quarter with Rice taking a 10-point advantage into the break.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Charlotte would threaten briefly with a 6-0 spurt early in the third quarter, but Rice took over the game from that point onward. A combination of Sussy Ngulefac on the insider and a barrage of three-pointers from Victoria Flores and Dominique Ennis turned a close game into a blowout.

Rice led by 17 after three quarters and stretched their lead to as many as 26 points midway through the fourth. They never let up, parading past the 49ers and never allowing any serious hopes of a comeback to spark.

Final Box | Rice 84, Charlotte 60

Key takeaway | Electric Ennis

A season best 24 points from Dominque Ennis is the biggest reason this game was never close in the second half, but the big day from one of the Owls’ best shooters further underscores how essential her presence is for this team. Including Saturday, Rice women’s basketball is 3-0 when Ennis makes at least four threes and 3-1 when Ennis attempts at least eight shots from downtown.

When Ennis is clicking the entire offense opens up. Her threat from the outside opens up everything else the Owls want to do. It’s not fair to put the burden entirely on her shoulders, but it should be a reminder to this team to risk getting her enough chances to impact the game. Even when the ball isn’t going in like it was today, the threat she provides makes this team better.

Up Next: vs Tulsa (Wed, 1/29)

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Rice Women’s Basketball falls to UAB in OT

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Rice Women’s Basketball went blow for blow with the UAB Blazers through four quarters before the shooting slumped for good in overtime.

Malia Fisher was the best show in town on Wednesday night as Rice Women’s Basketball slugged out a low-scoring affair in Birmingham against the UAB Blazers. Fisher’s season high 24-point fell just short of half the Owls’ game total and kept the team in the fight when everything else wasn’t going according to plan.

The teams combined for just 19 points in the first quarter, collectively before UAB took a 24-17 lead into halftime. A smatter of threes and free throws in the third quarter seemed to spark the visiting Owls who rallied from a seven point deficit to a three-point advantage, eventually entering the fourth with a two-point advantage.

More: Rice Women’s Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Neither side did much in the last frame of regulation with UAB outscoring Rice 11-9 to set the stage for a winner-take-all overtime session. Victoria Flores got things started with a bucket, but a 9-0 run from the Blazers put the Owls too far behind to mount a comeback.

Final Box | UAB 63, Rice 56

Key takeaway | Shooting struggles persist

The number of subpar shooting performances has started to snow pile. Rice women’s basketball had 45 minutes of hoops on Wednesday night but only managed to come away with 56 points. More often than not a total that low isn’t going to cut it and that was the case this time around.

Through seven AAC games, Rice ranks 11th in the conference in field goal percentage and 12th in scoring. The Owls’ inability to create on that side of the ball has been a weight dragging them down all season and costing them winnable games.

That they’ve managed to tread water around the .500 mark is a testament to a tremendous defensive effort — Rice ranks third in opponent field goal percentage and scoring per game — but it’s not translated to nearly as many wins as this team expected.

Winning with defense is possible and it’s something this program has done tremendously well in the not-so-distant past, but it’s going to take something more consistent on offense. For whatever the reason, this season’s team hasn’t cracked the code on that vital component just yet.

Up Next: at Charlotte (Sat, 1/25)

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Rice Basketball topped at FAU

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Rice Basketball couldn’t hang on to a 16-point second-half lead, succumbing to Florida Atlantic on the road.

It was an evenly matched game in the early goings of Rice basketball’s road tilt at Florida Atlantic on Sunday. Everything was close until the visiting Owls started to get going offensively, cranking up their effectiveness from three. Five different Owls made a triple in the half as a modest lead began to form.

Jacob Dar led the way, making the most of his first start of the season with a team-high 19 points, including a pair of threes to start the second half which helped Rice establish a double-digit lead and maintain it for the better part of the second half until FAU began to chip away in earnest around the 10 minute mark.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Dar would contribute a couple of threes down the stretch to help fend off the FAU rally, but the Rice shooting began to slump, collectively. FAU would close the game on a 17-5 run, holding Rice to two field goals in the final five minutes of play to pull out the come-from-behind win.

Final Box | FAU 75, Rice 73

Key takeaway | Clutch moments

After starting AAC play 2-0, Rice basketball has lost their last four conference games. Winning out was never a realistic expectation, but given how well this team had played in recent weeks, a prolonged losing streak didn’t seem likely to be in the cards either. A bludgeoning at the hands of a talented North Texas team aside, Rice could have very easily won the rest of these games.

The Owls were in one-possession games late against Temple, UTSA and FAU but weren’t able to close out any of them. It’s clear this team has another step to take when it comes to making plays in the final few minutes that prove differential in winning basketball games. Close games are going to happen in conference play and tend to become hallmarks of which teams are remembered in March.

This team has been remarkably ahead of expectations for much of this season and they’ve managed to play competitive basketball almost every time they’ve taken the court. This is their next test. Can they learn to win on the fly when the schedule starts to get tougher? Because the road doesn’t get easier from here.

Up Next: vs Tulane (Sat, Jan. 25)

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