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Rice Basketball Roundup: MBB and WBB split vs Charlotte

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Both Rice basketball teams were in action against Charlotte on Thursday. Here’s a brief rundown of how the men and women faired and what’s next for both.

Rice Basketball

Rice basketball overcame a slow start and had to hang on late, edging the Charlotte 49ers at home for their fourth consecutive Conference USA win.

It was a slow start for Rice basketball at Tudor Fieldhouse on Thursday evening. The Owls traded blows with the Charlotte 49ers throughout the first half, but neither side led by more than four and ties were the common thread. The Owls shot just 20 percent from three before the break and were dominated on the boards, with Charlotte owning a 19-12 advantage. Still, it was a close game at the half.

Rice found their shooting stroke early in the second half. The Owls exploded with a 21-6 run, taking a 15-point lead and putting the pressure back on Charlotte. They responded, thundering back and cutting the Rice edge to two points with 5:43 to play. With 14 seconds to go, the game was tied.

Familiar with the pressures of a close game late, Rice got the shot they needed down the stretch — this time in the form of free throw from Quincy Olivari — and some key defensive plays from Max Fiedler and others to close it out and earn their fourth consecutive conference win.

Final Box | Rice 65 – Charlotte 63

Key takeaway | Finding a way to score

Three-point shooting has been the Owls’ bread and butter for years under head coach Scott Pera, but Rice has recently added another level of versatility to its arsenal. In an upset win over North Texas, Rice attacked the lane, trusting their superior guards to create opportunities and capitalize.

Against Charlotte, Rice did not intentionally sidestep the long ball like they did against North Texas, but they did fall back on what worked that night, attacking the basket and trusting Travis Evee and Quincy Olivari to win inside.

A bad shooting night no longer guarantees a loss. A slow start no longer necessitates a furious comeback and near-perfect execution. They’re not perfect, but the Owls are adapting, and that’s a crucial development as they move forward.

Up Next: vs UAB – Saturday, Jan. 28 at 2:00 p.m.

Rice Women's Basketball

Rice women’s basketball never found its rhythm against Charlotte on Thursday night, falling to the 49ers on the road.

Winners of three straight, Rice women’s basketball faced a tough road test on Thursday night against Charlotte. The Owls got on the board first with a three from Destiny Jackson, but it would prove to be just one of four triples the team made in the game, shooting a lowly 21.1 percent from deep and underscoring a difficult shooting night away from home.

Both teams were deadlocked at 15-15 after the first quarter. They traded runs in the middle two frames. Charlotte led by as many as nine. Rice’s largest lead was three. Back and forth the teams went with Rice cutting down the large deficit to just one point with about two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Charlotte responded with a three, putting Rice into comeback mode in the final seconds.

Rice would get close a few times, helped by inconsistent free throw shooting from Charlotte, but it would not be enough. Although they got back within three with seven seconds to play, they could not rally on the road.

Final Box | Charlotte 66 – Rice 61

Key takeaway | Free throw woes

Charlotte let Rice hang around in this game because of free throw struggles of their own, but Rice had a legitimate shot to steal a game in which they did not play their best if they’d just made more free throws. Rice shot 65.4 percent from the charity stripe on Thursday, one of their four worst shooting performances from the line this season.

Poor shooting from the field (32.8 percent) and poor free throw shooting are hard to overcome when both droughts happen on the same night, particularly on the road. Thursday just wasn’t their night.

Up Next: at UAB – Saturday, Jan. 28 at 1:00 p.m.

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Conference USA Basketball 2023: Late-January Roundup

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Conference USA Basketball is in the thick of the conference slate. Here’s where each team stands in late January.

Team NET  KenPom Record
Charlotte 93 107 13-7 (4-5)
FAU 18 36 19-1 (9-0)
FIU 249 249 9-11 (3-6)
LA Tech 158 154 11-9 (4-5)
MTSU 107 115 13-7 (6-3)
North Texas 62 70 16-5 (7-3)
Rice 140 147 14-5 (5-3)
UAB 83 77 13-7 (4-5)
UTEP 167 180 11-9 (4-5)
UTSA 324 327 7-14 (1-9)
WKU 180 168 11-9 (3-6)
Kenpom, NET, and standings reflect games as of 1/23/2023

Key Storylines

Owls up

Winners of three straight and 13 of their last 16, Rice basketball continues to climb upwards in the standings and the ratings. Their most recent victory, an impressive upset of North Texas in Denton, put the rest of the conference on notice. Their continued ascent to sixth in the league in both Kenpom and NET suggests the Owls’ ascent might have some lasting presence and wasn’t just one good night on the road.

Top of the standings tussle

At this point, the top seed in the conference tournament and potentially NCAA berth is Florida Atlantic’s to lose. The Owls remain undefeated in conference play and the schedule is crossing through the halfway point. Can FAU run the table? It will be tough, starting with a matchup this coming Thursday against Middle Tennesee, currently third in the conference standings.

Middle of the pack movement

The end of January and the beginning of February will serve as time to thin the middle of the pack going forward. Only so many teams will be in the race for a first round conference tournament bye in a few weeks time, making the next few games for each all the more important. Keep your eyes on three intriguing matchups over the next few days: LA Tech vs UAB and Charlotte on Rice on Thursday as well as UAB and Rice on Saturday.

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After slow start to C-USA play, Rice Women’s Basketball is back in gear

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It was a strenuous start to conference play for Rice women’s basketball, but a three-game win streak has the Owls back on track.

The first five conference games Lindsay Edmonds coached in with Rice women’s basketball did not go well. Managing a depleted roster bereft of depth and besieged by injuries contributed to an 0-5 start, culminating in a four-overtime defeat on the road against Charlotte.

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Rice Basketball outplays North Texas in “program win”

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Rice basketball overcame a slow start, surging past North Texas to secure one of the more impactful wins of head coach Scott Pera’s tenure.

Rice basketball had defeated North Texas once in their last 11 meetings entering Thursday Night’s matchup at the Super Pit, losing by an average of 25 points per game over the past four contests. The Mean Green just simply had the Owls’ number and that appeared to be the case again early on with the home team roaring out to a 13-2 lead.

Down early, Rice swerved from their usual three-point heavy approach and took the ball inside, exploiting mismatches they had on the drive with their superior guard play from Quincy Olivari and Travis Evee.

Sure enough, that double-digit lead dwindled until Rice erased it entirely with a 9-0 run punctuated by another big drive and score from Olivari to take a 21-20 lead, the Owls’ only edge in the first half.

North Texas wasn’t particularly effective in close range, maintaining their advantage early in the second half primarily with three-pointers — they hit 10 of 27 threes — rather than attacking inside. But when those threes stopped, Rice took over.

The Mean Green hit their final three of the game with 11:29 remaining in the second half, putting them up by five points, 47-42. From that point onward, Rice outscored North Texas 30-13, including a devastating 11-0 run over a four-minute span to put the game away for good and secure head coach Scott Pera’s first career win at North Texas.

Spotlight | Pera’s plan

Rice basketball had two improbable firsts in its win over North Texas. First, Pera’s game plan was entirely bespoke. The Owls entered the game averaging 25.4 three-point attempts per game. They attempted just seven such shots on Thursday night, the fewest three-point attempts by a Pera-coached Rice squad, ever.

Equally surprising for a team that has traditionally relied on the long ball, the low number of deep shots led to a meager three successful three-point baskets. That’s the fewest three-pointers made in a Rice victory under Pera, ever.

For Pera to flip the script 180 degrees took guts. And it worked. A double-digit underdog in the betting markets, Pera’s squad left Denton with what is arguably the most impressive win of his tenure, a win Pera described as a true “program win.”

Final Box | Rice 72 – North Texas 60

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball returns home for a two-game set at Tudor Fieldhouse this weekend. They’ll host Charlotte on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:00 p.m. CT then play UAB at 2:00 p.m. to close out the homestand.

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Rice Women’s Basketball holds on, beats North Texas for third straight win

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Rice women’s basketball never trailed at home against North Texas, but still found themselves in a dogfight to the very end, holding on for the win.

Stifling defense was the theme early on in a Thursday night tilt between Rice women’s basketball and the North Texas Mean Green. The Owls held the visitors to one field goal before the opening media timeout and just 11 points in the first quarter. After struggling to get that aspect of their game going in recent weeks, they leaned on that end of the court heavily as their own shooting took some time to get in gear.

The shots started to fall in earnest in the second quarter. Rice shot 63.6 percent from the floor in the period and extended their lead to 13 points at the break.

While Rice controlled the game throughout the second half, the margins got too close for comfort on a few occasions. The Owls had themselves to blame for much of it, turning the ball over and wasting possessions. The rhythm they seemed to have on that side of the court in the first half seemed to take a lull in the third quarter allowing North Texas tied the game, but they were never able to take the lead.

After holding North Texas to 25 points combined in the first and second quarters, the Mean Green took over with 49 second points. Rice answered with a balanced attack, punctuated by a trio of three pointers from Dominque Ennis off the bench. The lead never again reached double digits, but the Owls were finally able to get some breathing room late and hold on for their third consecutive victory.

Spotlight | India Bellamy

Head coach Lindsay Edmonds is quick to compliment the depth of the roster this season whenever given the chance. Her memories of a thin bench in her inagular season are completely foreign to the myriad of options this team has at its disposal.

“If we have four or five in double digits, I feel really good about our chances,” she said tonight, following a game in which five Owls reached double digits. Many were the usual suspects: Ashlee Austin, Malia Fisher. One was India Bellamy, who delivered 12 points and two critical steals. Only Austin made more field goals (seven) than Bellamy (six).

“India coming off the bench that’s also scoring the ball really well,” Edmonds said. “Everybody stepping up at different times is what makes us so good.” That certainly was the right recipe on Thursday night.

Final Box | Rice 81 – North Texas 74

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice women’s basketball hits the road for a quick two-game trip to the east, starting with a Thursday evening game against Charlotte on Jan. 26 at 5:00 p.m. CT. They’ll stop at Birmingham on the way back to Texas on Saturday to play UAB. That’s a 1:00 p.m. CT tip.

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