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Rice Basketball Roundup: MBB and WBB each fall to MTSU

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

Rice Basketball

A last-second three-point attempt at the buzzer hit iron as Rice basketball ran out of time for a second-half comeback against MTSU.

Rice basketball arrived ready to play on Wednesday night against MTSU. Things were back and forth for a few minutes before Rice basketball started to click.

Travis Evee knocked down a couple of threes to help spark a 32-12 finish to the first half. The Owls shot the ball well, connecting on 50 percent of their shots from the floor in the first half, but defended even better, holding the Blue Raiders to 10 field goals before the break on 33 percent shooting.

Middle Tennessee would get their sea legs in the second half, cutting a 14-point Rice lead down to a single point with just over nine minutes to play. Then, after some back and forth, they’d take their first lead of the second half with just over five minutes remaining in the contest. Rice had their chances, including a three-point shot at the buzzer, but they ran out of time.

Final Box | MTSU 71 – Rice 68

Key takeaway | Which team is it going to be?

It was hard to avoid feeling like the sky was falling on Rice basketball through the first eight days of their 2022-2023 season. The Owls opened the season with a 39-point defeat against Pepperdine (a team they handled comfortably last season) and followed it up seven days later with a 35-point loss to Middle Tennessee. The season has just started and things were already a mess.

Since then? Rice is 9-3 with crucial conference wins over WKU and UTEP and a heartbreaking Middle Tennessee team that embarrassed them in Murfeesborro two months ago. Even Wednesday was a tale of two halves. The first half looked like the team that played through most of December. The second half was reminiscent of the November version.

Head coach Scott Pera took the loss hard on himself, calling the team’s second half defense “atrocious” and vowing “I have to do better,” as a string of challenging league games await them.

Guard Quincy Olivari shared the disappointment but was resolute in his focus on moving forward and climb out of their 2-3 conference start. “We can only win one game at a time,” he said. ” We can only focus on the next game ahead.”

Up Next: vs UTEP – Saturday, Jan. 14 at 2:00 p.m.

Rice Women's Basketball

Rice women’s basketball put together an early push, but fell apart late, getting blown out on the road against Middle Tennessee.

Middle Tennesse made one field goal in the first four and a half minutes of regulation, allowing Rice women’s basketball to build an early 9-3 advantage. After some challenging starts for the Owls, an early lead felt meaningful, but it quickly disappeared. They ended the quarter trailing by three and were outscored by the same 16-16 margin in the second quarter, too.

Trailing by six at halftime, things started going further south until — as the broadcast put it — “the wheels came off.” Rice was outscored 53-30 in the second half. Leading players Malia Fisher and Ashlee Austin each fouled out. The team shot 32.7 percent from the field in the game and allowed MTSU to shoot 51.6 percent. Rice missed nine free throws. It wasn’t a good night.

Final Box | MTSU 85 – Rice 56

Key takeaway | Something isn’t right

For the fourth time in their last five games, Rice women’s basketball has lost. They’ve also allowed 74 points or more in all four of those losses, a scoring threshold they’d allowed opponents to pass just twice in their first eight games that didn’t reach overtime. The defense hasn’t been stellar in recent weeks.

But that’s not the only cause for concern. Rice scored at least 76 points in their first six games of the season, only failing to reach that mark three times in the non-conference play, against Texas A&M, TCU and Sam Houston (all wins). In five conference games, Rice has scored 76 points zero times.

There haven’t been significant changes to player availability. They aren’t playing teams that are drastically more talented than they are. But something isn’t working. It’s time to go back to the drawing board and figure it out, beginning with a win against UTEP on Saturday.

Up Next: at UTEP – Saturday, Jan. 14 at 1:00 p.m.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: 2022-2023 New Year’s State of the Program

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After a program-best start, Rice women’s basketball has hit a rough patch. Here’s where the Owls stand with the bulk of Conference USA play ahead.

Rice women’s basketball couldn’t have asked for a better start to its 2022-2023 season. The Owls roared out to a 9-0 start, picking up a slew of in-start victories over rival programs and a few hard-fought wins on the west coast as well. Everything was going right… until it wasn’t.

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A cold spell to open conference play has put this program in a lurch. Can they right the ship, and if so, how quickly can the turnaround begin? Let’s dig in.

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Rice Basketball: 2022-2023 New Year’s State of the Program

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Rice basketball is riding high after a strong winter. Here’s where the Owls stand with the bulk of Conference USA play ahead.

There hasn’t been a better start to a Rice basketball season since the turn of the century, at least, that’s the sort of statistic that creeps up on you when you’ve won 10 of your last 12 games. The Owls are 11-4 on the year to date, their best start since the 2003-2004 season.

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There have been a few dominant showings and some too-close-for-comfort games interspersed. What does what we’ve seen so far and how does it compare with the expectations for this program entering this stretch? Let’s dig in.

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Rice Basketball Roundup: MBB and WBB each fall to LA Tech

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

Rice Basketball

Rice basketball was on the wrong end of 14 lead changes in a back-and-forth affair, falling at home to Louisiana Tech on Thursday.

There was little separation between Rice basketball and Louisiana Tech on Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. From the opening tip until the waning moments of the game, the two teams traded barbs. The Owls led by as many as nine before the Bulldogs powered back to tie the game for the seventh time with just under nine minutes to play in the second half.

Travie Evee and Quincy Olivari, the Owls’ leading scorers, were tremendous, combining for 44 points and eight three-pointers. Evee’s final heave of regulation was tremendous, falling through at the buzzer to force overtime.

Louisiana Tech would connect on 6-of-8 shots in the extra period and both three pointers. Rice came within two points of equalizing, but missed two crucial free throws down the stretch before running out of time.

Final Box | Rice 72 – UTEP 67

Key takeaway | Defense no longer optional

Rice basketball dubbed itself “Green Light U” last year in reference to their willingness to shoot the ball early and often. That’s been a staple of their game since head coach Scott Pera arrived on campus. It’s been the defensive side that, so far, has been the missing component in the Owls’ arsenal.

No one is going to bang the gavel and declare Rice a defensive juggernaut just yet, but the frequency with which individuals continue to make significant defensive contributions is increasing. Even after an up-and-down first half, they came up big plays in key moments.

“We did make some plays when we had to, yeah, some big ones,” Pera said. “Because these kids are playing hard. They’re trying like heck and they’ve gotten better at a lot of those things.

Cameron Sheffield had two blocks and 11 defensive rebounds. Seryee Lewis forced a kick out pass, then corralled the rebound on the ensuing deep three. Max Fiedler forced a shot clock violation in the final 90 seconds with a strong position in the lane. Little by little, these individual moments are beginning to cascade.

Ultimately though, it was not enough. Rice doesn’t get to OT without some of those big defensive plays, but they’re going to need more of them to finish off games like this.

Up Next: vs Middle Tennessee – Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 7:00 p.m.

Rice Women's Basketball

Rice women’s basketball never got it in gear on the road, falling to Louisiana Tech in Ruston, falling to 1-3 in conference play.

Aside from a single three from Katelyn Crosthwait and seven points from Ashlee Austin, things got off to a rocky start in Ruston for Rice women’s basketball on Thursday night. Crosthwait and Austin were the only Owls to score in the opening quarter as the team fell behind 20-10 on a meager 26.7 percent shooting from the floor.

Rice chipped away a few points from that double-digit deficit in the second quarter and a few more in the third. After a rough beginning, they trailed Louisiana Tech by five entering the final frame and would have their chance to recover but the shots just weren’t falling. The Owls started 1-for-6 from the field, going over seven minutes without a field goal in the fourth quarter alone.

“We dug a deep hole and even though we fought and won the last three quarters, it was just too much to overcome,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said.

They were able to extend the game on free throws and get within three in the final seconds, but things never quite clicked and Rice women’s basketball is now 1-3 in conference play.

Final Box | LA Tech 79 – Rice 74

Key takeaway | Mid season slump is real, but not irreversible

You wouldn’t know it from watching their start to conference play, but this team began the season 9-0 and blazed through a couple of Power 5 programs in-state to get there. It’s been tough sledding ever since.

Unfortunately for the Owls, every game remaining is a conference game and the stakes will continue to raise with each successive contest. Non-conference wins won’t count in their quest for a top seed in the C-USA Tournament. They know that, though. And they’ve shown the ability to course correct before, even within their winning streak.

Oddly enough, this program went through a similar stretch last season. Edmonds sent the team home after an 0-5 start and they came back and finished 8-4 in their final 12 regular season games.

Up Next: at Middle Tennessee – Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 6:00 p.m.

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Rice Basketball Roundup: MBB and WBB sweep UTEP

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

Rice Basketball

Rice basketball capped off a 2-0 road trip on Saturday, taking down UTEP in overtime. It was their ninth win in their last 10 games.

Days removed from a big road win at Western Kentucky, Rice basketball found itself in an early hole in El Paso against UTEP. The Miners were up 20-15 just past the halfway mark of the first half. Not only did Rice do enough to narrow the deficit, the Owls’ finally got their shots to fall, going on a 16-0 run over the next six minutes and entering halftime with a 32-25 lead.

Rice was able to hold UTEP at bay for much of the second frame, taking their advantage to as many as 15 points. It wouldn’t last long, though. UTEP responded with a 12-0 run and then, with Rice up by 12 with 3:23 to go, UTEP finished the half on a 14-2 run to force overtime. On a day which Rice missed seven free throws, they made enough down the stretch in OT to secure the win with Quincy Olivari delivering the final pair.

Final Box | Rice 72 – UTEP 67

Key takeaway | If Rice can win games like this… watch out

Quincy Olivari and Travis Evee are the most dangerous shooters the Owls have. They went 8-of-34 from the field on Saturday… and Rice still won. The Owls have quietly won nine of their last 10 with the only loss in that timeframe coming to a Top 10 Texas team in overtime. Rice has proven they can take the nation’s best to extra minutes and win on the road in conference play, twice in one weekend.

“Our kids had resolved. They dealt with adversity. They made plays when they had to,” head coach Scott Pera said.

Pera has this team playing great basketball as they enter the meat of conference play. Already with 11 wins, they’re five wins shy of matching Pera’s best mark at Rice (16) with 17 games left to play before the Conference USA Tournament.

Up Next: vs Louisiana Tech – Thursday, Jan. 5 at 7:00 p.m.

Rice Women's Basketball

Rice women’s basketball took charge of a close game late, powering past UTEP to earn their first conference win of the season.

It wasn’t until past the 4-minute mark in the third quarter that the margin between Rice women’s basketball and the UTEP Miners exceeded five points. The close game had reached a six-point UTEP advantage courtesy of a three-pointer, which proceeded a quick Rice rally to tie the game by the time the quarter reached its conclusion.

Then Rice put on the clamps. UTEP made two shots from the floor in the fourth quarter on 22.2 percent shooting. Rice held them scoreless in the final 3:05, meanwhile, Rice scored the final eight points of the game, ending with a nine-point advantage, the largest by either team in the game.

Final Box | Rice 62 – UTEP 53

Key takeaway | Winning on defense

Head coach Lindsay Edmonds was quick to give much of the credit to the Owls’ work on defense. “I thought we hung our hats more on defense and rebounding this game, which is what we’ve been focusing on since we dropped the last one,” she said. Rice did outrebound UTEP eight to six in the pivotal fourth quarter, finishing just shy of even on the game (UTEP had 32 boards to Rice’s 30.)

Rice held UTEP to 34.6 percent shooting for the game, their best defensive showing since holding Texas Southern to 23.3 percent shooting on November 23. The 53 points allowed was the second fewest scored on Rice this year, better than only Texas Southern’s 49 points. It wasn’t a perfect defensive performance, but it was much better than the Owls have had in recent weeks, and most importantly, it was best when it mattered the most.  

Up Next: at Louisiana Tech – Thursday, Jan. 5 at 6:00 p.m.

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