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Rice Basketball fall to sharp shooting Pepperdine in opener

November 7, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice basketball was unable to keep pace with a torrid Pepperdine shooting barrage, falling to the Waves on the road to begin their 2022-2023 season.

Pepperdine visited Houston to open last season, with the Owls winning in commanding fashion. On Monday, the two squads reversed roles. Rice flew to California, put up an early fight, but eventually fell in lopsided fashion to the home squad.

Although the game ended with a one-sided result, it didn’t start out that way, The Waves got the first bucket, a layup to open the scoring before the Owls battled back. There were brief runs through the remainder of the first half, but neither side ever led by more than six points until the final minutes before the break when Pepperdine hit a triple at the buzzer to go up eight.

At that point, there weren’t any signs of panic. Despite the deficit, Rice had seemingly kept pace on both ends of the court with Pepperdine through the first 20 minutes. The Owls’ were aggressive, showcased by quick production from freshman Mekhi Mason who had clearly been given the green light to attack the rim. His first bucket gave Rice a 4-2 lead in the first 90 seconds of play.

More: Rice Basketball Season Preview

Unfortunately for the Owls, that late three to close the first half proved to be a harbinger of things to come. Pepperdine connected on its first four threes in the second half, finishing the game 15-of-30 from long range and a staggering 62.9 percent from the floor, rendering the Owls’ most earnest comeback attempts moot. They simply could not slow down the Waves’ attack.

“Their good shooters didn’t miss shots. Sometimes it’s a make-or-miss game,” Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera said in the aftermath. And as if that wasn’t direct enough, Pera made sure to circle back and own the Owls’ own shortcomings too. “Our defense was obviously less than stellar, horrendous at times.”

The Owls’ own shooting woes only exacerbated the issue. Rice shot just 38.1 percent from the field, struggling to get into a rhythm. Rice defended extremely well against Pepperdine in their season opener last season. That wasn’t the case on Monday resulting in a crushing opening game loss.

“This is something we can’t forget,” Pera said. “This is something that cannot happen. This is [not a] kind of loss this program should be taking.”

Rice will only have a few days to look at the film and move forward, with their home opener coming later this week.

Player Spotlight | Quincy Olivari

Olivari was missed last season, so seeing him back on the court was an encouraging sign in itself. He led Rice in scoring with 15 points, converting 4-of-11 opportunities from three. Olivari had three rebounds and added six assists, tying a career-high.

Final Box | Pepperdine 106 – Rice 67

FINAL | @RiceMBB (0-1) falls to Pepperdine 106-67 pic.twitter.com/6pScezwrXR

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) November 8, 2022

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball returns home for their first game at Tudor Fieldhouse later this week where they’ll host St. Thomas in a double-header of Owls’ hoops contests. The women open their season later that evening, also at Tudor. Both games will be available to watch on CUSAtv.

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Filed Under: Archive, Basketball Tagged With: game recap, Rice basketball

2022-2023 Rice Women’s Basketball Season Preview

November 4, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2022-2023 Rice women’s basketball season is around the corner and the team can’t wait to build on last season’s successes.

The most common word Rice women’s basketball head coach Lindsay Edmonds would use to describe last season was whirlwind. Coming in as a first-time head coach in the midst of a program in transition with a minimal roster and the lingering challenges of COVID-19 was never going to be easy. Edmonds and her team persevered.

One year later the program seems poised to continue its ascent. For one, they have more bodies. Edmonds added the No. 1 recruiting class in Conference USA to supplement a much more experienced roster than they had at this point last season.

Edmonds joked that one of the biggest differences from last year’s squad to this one is readily apparent when you walk into the gym. “Last year we took half of a court to stretch,” she laughed. “[This year] we take up an entire sideline!”

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Filed Under: Archive, Basketball, Premium, Women's Athletics Tagged With: Rice Women's basketball, Season Preview

2022-2023 Rice Basketball Season Preview

November 4, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

It’s been a slow build for Rice basketball. Will the 2022-2023 season be the time when it all comes together and the Owls truly take flight?

Rice basketball head coach Scott Pera knows there’s no silver bullet. He’s coached a lot of basketball to this point and was honest in his preseason assessment of the 2022-2023 team and what he felt the program needed to do to take another step in the right direction.

“You can’t take huge jumps. It’s really hard to improve a lot in certain areas,” he said. “We’ve got to be a little better defensively. We’ve got to be a little bit better offensively. We’ve got to shoot the ball from the free throw line a little better.”

Little by little, Pera theorized, those gradual improvements stack up to meaningful change.

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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Forward Gabe Warren commits to Owls

October 22, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2023 Rice Basketball Recruiting class continues to pick up steam, landing a big commitment this week from 3-star forward Gabe Warren.

Not long after securing a pledge from 4-star forward Keanu Dawes, the 2023 Rice Basketball recruiting class has doubled up. The Owls now have two members of their upcoming class. In addition to Dawes, Glendale, AZ forward Gabe Warren has committed to Rice Basketball.

Warren had already accrued nearly a dozen offers at the time of his commitment to the Owls, including offers from TCU, Sam Houston, Brown, Dartmouth and others. A Top 50 ranked small forward nationally and the No. 11 player in the state of Arizona, Warren should add some pop to the Rice program when he arrives on campus.

According to 247 Sports rankings, Warren and Dawes rank No. 2 and No. 1 all-time, respectively. The 2023 Rice Basketball recruiting class is currently slotted at No. 42 in the nation and No. 1 in Conference USA. Head coach Scott Pera and his staff have delivered two impressive additions, who enter South Main as the most highly regarded recruits in almost 10 years.

When asked about his decision and his expectations for the program, Warren didn’t beat around the bush. “The program has been slept on for too long,” he said. “Keanu and I noticed that and want to start something big.”

Standing 6-foot-6, Warren can shoot and score from all over the court. Whether from deep of at the rim, he’s an offensive weapon. He’s great off the ball but even more importantly, can create his own shot when he has the rock. He’s really fun to watch. Warren is a big get for the program and someone that will assuredly make an impact for Rice in the years to come.

🏀🏀 pic.twitter.com/FzpnrNNMKf

— Gabe Warren (@gdw_hardwork) October 11, 2022

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Filed Under: Archive, Basketball Tagged With: Gabe Warren, Rice basketball, Rice basketball recruiting

Rice Basketball Recruiting: 2023 4-star Forward Keanu Dawes commits to Owls

October 11, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2023 Rice Basketball Recruiting picked up a massive commitment from four-star Stratford forward Keanu Dawes.

A run of tremendous weeks of athletics on South Main extended to the hardwood this week. The 2023 Rice Basketball recruiting class scored a massive commitment from right down the road. Stratford High School forward Keanu Dawes has committed to the Owls.

Dawes’ addition is a tremendous win for the Rice basketball program. The consensus four-star recruit is a Top 120 player in the country and the No. 9 player in the state of Texas. He picked Rice over an impressive array of six finalists: Rice, Texas A&M, Texas, Utah, BYU and Oklahoma State.

Some heavy hitters wanted to get Dawes’ into their programs. Rice prevailed, notching a big recruiting win for head coach Scott Pera. Dawes is a versatile, 6-foot-9 player that will provide an instant impact at South Main. He can score from all three levels and defend well.

In September, Dawes told On3 he meshed well with the other players during his visit to campus. “We instantly had chemistry,” he said. “It felt like I had known them for years.” Dawes also mentioned the coaching staff sold him on being a critical piece as the team made the transition from Conference USA to the American, a move Pera had mentioned would help on the recruiting trail.

On a separate instance, Dawes confirmed to ZagsBlog that Pera was the first coach to reach out to him and begin building that relationship. All of those factors led him to his decision, which he announced on  Tuesday, October 11.

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Filed Under: Archive, Basketball Tagged With: Keanu Dawes, Rice basketball, Rice basketball recruiting

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