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Rice Basketball drops first-ever AAC tilt to Tulane

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The shooting woes continued for Rice basketball who dropped its American Conference opener on the road against Tulane on Wednesday night.

Playing in their first-ever AAC game, Rice basketball looked every bit the part in the opening minutes against the Tulane Green Wave. The Owls got to the line, made their free throw shots, knocked down a big three and otherwise went toe-to-toe with a Tulane squad that had won seven of eight on their home court so far this season. Then things went sideways.

The three ball faded away quickly. The foul trips stopped. But Tulane just kept scoring. A five-point game with a little under 13 minutes to play in the first half ballooned into a double-digit deficit in the blink of an eye. Then Rice was down by 14. Then 18. Rice was held to 25 percent shooting from the floor in the first half as the deficit continued to grow.

When Rice did manage to string a few baskets together, things got interesting, albeit in brief flashes. Rice got the game back within seven points early in the seven half. Tulane lengthened their advantage only for Rice to sneak back within nine points via a 7-0 run midway through the half. The Owls wouldn’t have much more of a resistance after that, though.

Following Rice’s last push to get within nine, Tulane outscored Rice 20-2 in the next six minutes of action. Down by 27 with zero points from Max Fiedler and only one Rice player above 12 points on the night, there wasn’t much more the Owls could do, falling on the road to begin AAC play 0-1.

Final Box | Tulane 84 – Rice 59

Key takeaway | Yellow Light U?

Green Light U has been the Owls’ tagline over the last several seasons, meant to reflect the “green light” head coach Scott Pera gives his shooters in what is meant to be a fast-paced, three-point-heavy offense. There’s just one problem so far this season: the shots aren’t falling. This was covered in further detail in our midseason Rice Basketball State of the Program and it doesn’t appear to have corrected itself in a significant way during the holiday break. Rice isn’t hitting threes.

Rice shot 25 percent from three against Tulane. Conservatively, that’s at least 10 percentage points behind what they’d call a mediocre day and 15 points behind a great day from deep. This team was built to have great days from long range. It can win with okay days. To continually fail to find any sort of production from three is going to render this offense sluggish, at best.

Travis Evee was 3-for-9 (33 percent) from three on Wednesday night. The rest of the team was 5-for-23 (22 percent). Simply put: the shooting wasn’t there and Rice basketball lost by double a landslide.

Up Next: vs UTSA (Saturday, Jan. 6)

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Rice Women’s Basketball tops Wichita State in AAC opener

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Forced to play away from home in their American Conference opener, Rice Women’s Basketball prevailed nonetheless, topping Wichita State at the Fertitta Center across town.

Rice women’s basketball did not open American Conference play under ideal circumstances. The Owls were forced to play their “home opener” just down the road at the Fertitta Center because of water damage to Tudor Fieldhouse over the holidays.

Makeshift visitors in their inaugural game in a new league, Rice took some time to get settled into their red-clad benches. The Owls and the true visitors, Wichita State, traded baskets and free throws throughout the first quarter. It wasn’t until the midpoint of the second frame that the Owls started to find their groove, opening an 11-point lead, only for the Shockers to whittle it back within one score at halftime.

Wichita State scored the first five points in the second half, but it was all Rice from that point onward. The Owls outscored the Shockers 20-8 through the rest of the third quarter, taking a double-digit lead into the fourth quarter. Dominque Ennis led the charge, scoring 11 of her 17 points after the break. She left the game with a minute remaining in regulation with an injury, souring an otherwise very encouraging night for the Owls.

Staked to a 10-point advantage entering the fourth, the margin waivered below 10 points on two brief occasions, but the Owls delivered clutch free throws and kept things from getting too interesting down the stretch. Despite some early jitters, Rice found a way to close out the “home” win away from Tudor Fieldhouse and move to 1-0 in AAC play.

Final Box | Rice 76 – Wichita State 64

Key takeaway | Making the right adjustments

Early on, Wichita State was able to hang around in this game because of their ability to capitalize on extra opportunities. They outrebounded Rice 24-20 and edged Rice 10-5 in second-chance points, netting 33 percent of their first half scoring after their first shot failed. That’s an exorbitant amount of extra chances and something the Owls simply could not let continue if they were going to win this game.

Not only did Rice do a better job on the boards in the second half, 17-14 in their favor, but they stonewalled Wichita State in those second half opportunities. The Shockers had zero second-chance points in the second half, allowing that double-digit point differential that was bypassed in the first half to flow in earnest after the halftime buzzer. Without the extra opportunities, the Shockers couldn’t keep pace with the Owls.

The teams that strive to compete well into March can make those sorts of adjustments. Wednesday’s win was another step in the right direction for a Rice women’s basketball team that hopes to do just that.

Up Next: at SMU (Sunday, Jan. 7)

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Rice Athletics: Top 10 Moments from 2023

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2023 was filled with highs and lows for Rice Athletics. The Roost picked out 10 moments that stood out the most along the way.

10. Rice women’s basketball beats BYU in WNIT

Getting back to the postseason was something near the top of the priority list for head coach Lindsay Edmonds and Rice women’s basketball. Not only did the Owls achieve that, qualifying for the NIT, but they were able to go on the road and get a win over a very good BYU team.

9. Forbes named Top 30 NCAA Women of the Year Award

Forbes was on pace to be one of the most decorated women’s track athletes ever to run for Rice before sickness abruptly ended her collegiate career. An excellent student an ambassador for the university, seeing Forbes continue to receive honors well after her athletic career had come to an end was extraordinary and much deserved.

8. Rice football inks another historic signing class

For the fourth time in the past five years Rice football head coach Mike Blomgren signed the No. 1 recruiting class in program history. Despite only adding 13 players in this cycle, the Owls made sure their limited scholarship slots were well utilized, bringing in a Texas-centric crop of high school athletes with five impactful transfers.

7. Field Athlete of the Year, times two

One of the final Conference USA honors before Rice made the move to the AAC, the Owls claimed not one, but two Field Athlete of the Year awards. Alexander Slinkman took home the men’s honor for his prowess in the pole vault. Tara Simpson-Sullivan took care of the women’s side of things, dominating the weight and hammer throw events.

6. Rice baseball has three players drafted

Justin Long (7th Round), Hayden Durke (13th) and Matthew Linskey (16th) heard their names called in the 2023 MLB Draft. While the Owls work to return to their winning history at Reckling Park, it’s encouraging to see the pro pipeline continue to produce results.

5. Rice basketball upsets North Texas in Denton

North Texas and Grant McCasland had been the standard in Conference USA for years and Rice basketball hadn’t faired well against the Mean Green, losing 10 of the last 11 by an average of 25 points. To win, and to win by double-digits on the road, was one of the most significant victories of head coach Scott Pera’s tenure.

4. Rice Volleyball beats USC

There have been a lot of high points for Rice volleyball under head coach Genny Volpe, but few individual matches were as impressive as a win over No. 22 USC in straight sets. It was the first sweep of ranked team for Rice since 2009 and the fans in Tudor Fieldhouse had the arena rocking the whole way.

2. Rice football goes bowling once again

Although the results of the SERVPRO First Responders Bowl left much to be desired, reaching back-to-back bowl games is a feat that has only happened on two other occasions in program history. The next step will be finding a way to win and seeing if the Owls can improve their win total once again — but those are questions for 2024.

2. Tommy McClelland named Athletic Director

Following the departure of Joe Karlgaard for the private sector, Rice president Reginald Desroches named Tommy McClelland the Owls’ newest Athletic Director. McClelland has already bolstered the athletic staff and discussed potential renovation projections at Rice Stadium. Having someone with his track record to guide Rice into the AAC will be crucial for all the Owls’ programs.

1. Rice football upsets Houston, wins Bayou Bucket

For the first time since 2010, Rice football won the Bayou Bucket, defeating rival Houston in overtime. The win would eventually become crucial for the Owls’ bowl eligibility hopes and serve as the only Power 5 win by any American Conference team in the regular season. This singular victory will go down as one of the most impactful wins for Rice football in quite some time.

Honorable Mentions…

How about you? Which of these moments from Rice Athletics did you enjoy the most? Cutting this down to 10 was challenging. Which Rice Athletics events should be added to the list?

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Rice Basketball: 2023-2024 New Year’s State of the Program

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Rice basketball has struggled through the first month of the season. Here’s where the Owls stand with American Conference play looming.

A year ago, Rice basketball was riding one of their best starts in program history and seven games above .500 as the New Year approached. The 2023-2024 Owls would trade for those circumstances in a heartbeat. It’s been much tougher sledding this season, for a variety of reasons, and the road isn’t easing up anytime soon.

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Head coach Scott Per has gradually improved the program from season to season. Can he turn this around and keep the Owls arrow pointing upward? Let’s dig in.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: 2023-2024 New Year’s State of the Program

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Rice women’s basketball has battled through a rocky non-conference start. Here’s where the Owls stand with American Conference play ahead.

Unlike a season ago when Rice women’s basketball powered through nonconference play undefeated, the Owls have had to earn every win to start their 2023-2024 campaign. There’s been good, bad and everything in between and there isn’t any time to take a breather. The first AAC games in program history are right around the corner, whether Rice is ready for them or not.

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Rice women’s basketball entered this season with high expectations in league play. Can they still reach those? And what do they need to do, if anything to get back on track as conference play begins? Let’s dig in.

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