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Rice Basketball Rallies Past East Texas A&M

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Rice basketball persevered through a slow start, rallying past East Texas A&M with a strong finish to improve to 2-1 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

For the second time in just a few days, Rice basketball found itself playing from behind on its home court. East Texas A&M opened the game by making five of its first 10 field goals as Rice sputtered to a 3-13 start. Trailing 13-7 near the midpoint of the first half, the Owls finally got into some rhythm on the court and began to mount an offensive of their own.

A slim six-point deficit dwindled and became a lead when Nick Anderson drained a triple in the final minutes of the first half. Rice would go into the break up by one, far from being firmly in control, but having braved the worst of the East Texas A&M attack.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Rice looked more composed with the ball in the second half. Tied up at 37 near the first media timeout, the Owls would go on a 14-4 run with key three pointers from Anderson and Trae Broadnax to reach their first double-digit lead. Both sides would trade baskets down the stretch after that, but the Lions never threatened again.

The Owls improve to 2-2 with the win and are 2-1 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Rice 71, East Texas A&M 64

What They’re Saying

“The main adjustment really was just we had to play harder. We had to turn it up as a group. We felt as though we weren’t playing up to the standard that we set for each other. In the second half we came out and we’re like, we’re really going to put our foot on these guys necks.” – Rice basketball guard Dallas Hobbs on the adjustments the team made at halftime

Key takeaway | Scoring Helps

Rice Basketball is coming off a 2024-2025 season in which the Owls finished last in the American Conference in field goal percentage, knocking down a paltry 42.1 percent of their attempts. The rebuilt roster with the additions of Jalen Smith, Nick Anderson and Dallas Hobbs was expected to help remedy that significantly, but there were never any illusions this team was going to be knocking down every shot.

However, some shots would help.

After shooting worse than 36 percent in their last two games, Rice opened this one with a dreary 35 percent mark in the first half. Leading by one point, the Owls looked to be in for another slog before waking up in the second half and shooting a scalding 64 percent from the floor.

There’s ample room for growth when it comes to consistency, but it’s nice to see at least some of the shots start to fall. Rice can’t expect to finish the game 8-for-12 from three after intermission, but Friday’s showing should be proof they’re capable. They just need to find a way to do it more regularly as the quality of competition continues to increase.

Up Next: vs Tennessee (Nov. 17 at 7:30 pm)

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Rice Basketball Can’t Keep Up with Sharpshooting SFA

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Rice basketball dropped its first home game of the season, falling at home to Stephen F. Austin who took an early and never looked back.

Not far removed from a stout defensive showing against Oregon, Rice basketball found themselves on their heels rather quickly on Tuesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. Owls’ guard Trae Broadnax scored the first points of the night before SFA took control, racing out to a double-digit first half lead. The Jacks controlled the pace of the game in the early going, keeping the home team off balance.

Trailing by five at the break, the situation worsened when SFA reeled off a 9-0 run in the early minutes of the second half as their red-hot shooting performance refused to slow down. The visitors were still shooting better than 50 percent from the field — they’d finish at 49.1 percent — making it hard for the Owls’ to narrow the deficit even when their shots started to fall later in the half.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

There was less than four minutes on the clock when Rice got deficit back within single digits again. Broadnax did his part, leading the way with 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half. It wouldn’t be enough to overcome the sizable hole as Rice fell at home for the first time this season. The Owls are 1-2 overall.

Final Box | SFA 81, Rice 69

Key takeaway | Out of Sync

At the beginning of the season, Rice basketball head coach Rob Lanier explained that the mantra for the team this season would be being undefeated. No matter what the final box score showed, Lanier wanted this to be a team that was relentless in their effort and never allowed any one game to take steal their focus from the next assignment.

Rice won the rebounding battle 39-36, but did not defend well. Only three times last season did Rice allow its opponents to shoot better than 49 percent from the floor, making this kind of defensive performance among the most disappointing from a Lanier-led squad.

Whether it was the hangover from the near-miss against Oregon or something else, the Owls just didn’t look fully like themselves tonight. Were they defeated? Maybe not, but they weren’t the best version of themselves and SFA took full advantage of that and won the game. All this team can do now is refocus and find a way to get back in the win column on Friday.

Up Next: vs East Texas A&M (Nov. 14 at 7:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball edges Houston on the road

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Rice Women’s basketball secured its first win of the season in a hard-fought defensive struggle against rival Houston on the road.

Looking to rebound from an opening game loss to South Dakota State, Rice women’s basketball came out ready to play in their return to the city, albeit across town against rival Houston. The Owls opened the scoring on a 7-0 burst, taking an immediate lead which they would never relinquish.

Ahead by four points after the first quarter, Hailey Adams gave the team some breathing room with seven consecutive points of her own, part of a 10-0 Rice run that put the visiting Owls ahead by 14. Houston wasn’t going to fade the easily, though. The Cougars muscled themselves to the free throw line, clawing back from their double-digit deficit, entering halftime behind by just five points.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Margins remained tight for a while from that point with Rice women’s basketball never truly being able to take a deep breath until freshman Jordin Blackmon hit one of the team’s few threes to get the Owls back in front by double-digits with under nine minutes to play in regulation. Victoria Flores finished a sterling 16-for-16 from the free throw line, all in the second half, to help Rice secure the win.

Final Box | Rice 70, Houston 56

Key takeaway | Bested on the Boards

Points were at a premium on Tuesday night with neither side shooting the ball effectively. Both squads were below 35 percent shooting from the floor, further emphasizing the importance of each possession. A flurry of turnovers didn’t help, but the biggest pain point was the Owls’ frustrating night on the boards.

Houston out-rebounded Rice 50-39 and racked up a staggering 21 offensive boards. That made it all but impossible for Rice to pull away or give themselves any semblance of breathing room. It was a humbling performance against a program playing in its first games with a new head coach which looked very much so up for the challenge against the Owls, preseason picks to contend for the American Conference Championship.

Up Next: vs MTSU (Nov. 15 at 2:00 pm)

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Oregon narrowly survives Rice Basketball upset bid

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Rice basketball kept Oregon off balance from the start, frustrating the Ducks from the floor before foul trouble and a late shooting slump ended their upset bid.

Oregon scored first, but it was Rice basketball that opened the game on the offensive on Friday night. The Owls knocked down three quick three-pointers before a Nick Anderson jumper put the visiting underdogs in front by seven before the first media timeout.

From there, the Rice defense set the tone, holding Oregon to just 27 percent from the floor in the first half. The aggressive press gave the Ducks fits. Had it not been an early edge in offensive boards — Oregon had 10 in the first half — Rice might have been able to lengthen its early lead. Instead, the Owls had to be content with a five-point advantage heading into the locker room at halftime.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Oregon’s physicality started to show in earnest after the break. The Ducks got nine straight points from Nate Bittle inside, including four free throws, to erase the deficit and take a one-point lead before Trae Broadnax leveled the game at 38 apiece with a free throw of his own. Stephen Giwa hit a jumper then Oregon went on another big run.

Rice would miss 12 consecutive field goals during that time and 15 of 16 shots over an eight minute period that saw an 8-point Rice lead evaporate and be transformed into a 9-point hole.

The Owls wouldn’t go away, though. Jalen Smith hit a couple of big threes and Trae Broadnax calmly maneuvered the offense, getting the underdogs back within four points at the final media timeout.

Foul trouble would do the Owls in. Broadnax, Giwa and Dallas Hobbs all fouled out while Anderson was limited to 22 minutes. He would hit a last-gasp three before Oregon’s 38th foul shot put the game out of reach for good.

Final Box | Oregon 67, Rice 63

What They’re Saying

We kept scrapping and I’m proud of that. We’ve got something to build on. Our young guys, I think, come away with a good understanding of what it takes to win at this level and we aspire to do that. We’re going to need those young guys. This was a good experience in a lot of ways to create a standard for ourselves. – Rice Basketball coach Rob Lanier

Key takeaway | Can The Owls Score Just Enough?

The defensive performance Rice basketball authored against a physical Oregon team was incredibly impressive. Holding any team to fewer than 70 points when they take 38 free throws is a good start, but this is an Oregon squad that had been to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and entered the season receiving votes in the AP Poll, two spots shy of being ranked.

The effort was reminiscent of a comment head coach Rob Lanier made about the NCAA Tournament prior to the season. “If we’re the worst defensive team in the league and we’ve gotta outscore everyone to win the [conference] tournament, [that’s] probably not going to be realistic,” he said. “But if we’re defending and rebounding at a very high level, then we’ll have our chance.”

Lanier wouldn’t call that a dominant performance on the boards — Oregon edged Rice 43-36 — but that caliber of defense was enough to make it a one score game with 5:38 to play. And a four point game in the final 30 seconds. That’s a chance.

How effective that chance becomes will depend on how many points the Owls can contribute to the effort. Through two games, the defense looks quite compelling, indeed.

Up Next: vs Stephen F. Austin (Nov. 11 at 7:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball drops opener at South Dakota State

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Rice Women’s basketball didn’t get the level of offensive production they were expecting, falling to South Dakota State in their opening game.

A year ago, South Dakota State needed a furious fourth-quarter rally to spoil the Rice women’s basketball season opener at Tudor Fieldhouse, handing the Owls a loss in a game the home team had led for the vast majority of its duration. The opposite of that contest seemed to unfold in the early going in Brookings, South Dakota, on Friday night.

Rice scored the first points, but quickly fell behind. The Owls rallied to tie the game back up at the end of the first quarter thanks to five quick points from transfer Louann Battiston. The Jackrabbits kept their foot on the gas, though, growing their advantage to nine points in the second frame before another late push from the Owls resulted in a 38-34 halftime deficit for Rice.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

A three from Victoria Flores gave Rice a brief edge in the third, but a 9-2 South Dakota State rally put the Owls behind by seven, a deficit that would linger for the remainder of the quarter and stretch into the start of the fourth quarter. That’s when the offense would stall out for good.

Rice went nearly six minutes of court time without a made field goal in the final stretch as the South Dakota State lead grew to 11 and eventually 14. Unlike the last time these two teams met, there was no furious rally from the visiting team to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. Rice fell to South Dakota State for the second consecutive season.

Final Box | SDSU 79, Rice 65

Key takeaway | Offense Comes Out Flat

During her comments before the season, Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds was adamant her team would play fast and shoot threes, an intentional shift from season’s prior. The Owls’ attempted 35 three pointers (and made 15 of them) in their exhibition, one shy of their season-high a year ago, seeming to convey their eagerness to fulfill Edmonds’ vision.

South Dakota State is a much more challenging opponent than Mary Hardin-Baylor, so there needs to be an adjustment made for the quality of opponent Rice faced, but even still, this wasn’t nearly as high-flying of an offensive performance as the explosive exhibition suggested would be more normative.

Rice women’s basketball averaged 20.1 three point attempts per game last season. The team attempted 16 three-pointers through three quarters and 23 in the game on Friday. Even for accounting for a late outburst while trailing, the deep ball wasn’t as frequent or effective as it needed to be for Rice to win this game. After seeing what it can be at its best in the exhibition, this offensive showing was underwhelming. Hopefully better days are ahead.

Up Next: at Houston (Nov. 11 at 6:30 pm)

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