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Rice Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Owls vs Middle Tennessee

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Rice basketball returns home in need of a win to keep their Conference USA Tournament hopes alive. How do the Owls’ stack up against Middle Tennessee?

Rice Basketball

Time: March 1 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: CUSATV

MTSU 7-21 (3-12), Last 5 (1-4)

  • 75-70 (L) vs North Texas
  • 91-83 (L) vs Rice
  • 83-72 (L) at UAB
  • 79-66 (L) vs UAB
  • 61-53 (W) at Southern Miss

Rice 13-15 (5-10), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 86-72 (W) at UAB
  • 91-83 (W) at MTSU
  • 73-70 (L) vs Old Dominion
  • 70-54 (W) vs Charlotte
  • 68-62 (L) at UTEP

MTSU statistical leaders

  • Scoring | CJ Jones – 16.4 per game
  • Rebounds | Jayce Johnson – 4.9 per game
  • Assists | Donovan Sims – 3.5 per game
  • Steals | Donovan Sims – 1.6 per game
  • Blocks | Tyson Jackson – 0.7 per game

Rice statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Trey Murphy – 13.2 per game
  • Rebounds | Drew Peterson – 6.5 per game
  • Assists | Drew Peterson – 3.4 per game
  • Steals | Trey Murphy – 1.1 per game
  • Blocks | Trey Murphy – 0.6 per game

Rice keys to victory

When Rice basketball and Middle Tennessee last met the Owls shot the lights out of the Murphy Athletic Center in Murfreesboro. Rice shot 52.8 percent from the field and scored 91 points, the most against any conference opponent this season.

A hot shooting start would be a plus, but it’s the defensive side of the ball which could hold the key. Middle Tennessee is a poor rebounding team that is currently ranked in the top half of Conference USA in turnovers. Rice is going to be able to score against Middle Tennessee’s porous defense. Staying vigilant on the other end of the court should ensure the Owls get a much-needed bounce-back win.

Standings check

Middle Tennessee win against Southern Miss in their previous game puts the burden to win this matchup squarely on Rice. If the Blue Raiders win, they’ll finish above Rice in the final standings with two wins and the tiebreakers over the Owls. If Rice wants to control their own destiny, they have to win this game.

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Rice Women’s Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Owls vs LA Tech

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Rice women’s basketball is back on a winning streak and has their eyes set on C-USA’s top seed. A win over Louisiana Tech would get them one step closer.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 29 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Thomas Assembly Center
TV: CUSATV

LA Tech 13-13 (5-10), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 60-50 (W) vs Marshall
  • 68-44 (W) at FIU
  • 77-75 (L) at FAU
  • 63-61 (L) vs Southern Miss
  • 62-52 (W) vs FIU

Rice 18-8 (13-2), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 77-60 (W) vs MTSU
  • 66-59 OT (L) at Old Dominion
  • 62-51 (L) at Charlotte
  • 69-66 (W) vs North Texas
  • 74-65 (W) at UAB

LA Tech statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Amber Dixon – 12.0 per game
  • Rebounds | Anna Larr Roberson – 5.4 per game
  • Assists | Rzizel Guinto – 2.9 per game
  • Steals | Amber Dixon – 1.7 per game
  • Blocks | Grayson Bright – 0.7 per game

Rice statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Erica Ogwumike – 18.9 per game
  • Rebounds | Erica Ogwumike – 10.3 per game
  • Assists | Jasmine Smith – 3.0 per game
  • Steals | Sydne Wiggins – 1.7 per game
  • Blocks | Nancy Mulkey – 3.3 per game

Rice keys to victory

Rice women’s basketball used their suffocating defense to overcome Louisiana Tech in the first meeting of these two squads this season. That came back in mid-January. Both teams have come a long way since.

Louisiana Tech has won three-of-five games for the first time in conference play. Rice is recovering from their first C-USA losing streak since 2018, winning their last two games.

The Rice offense has been up and down. The defense has remained firm. Rice maintains the second-best field goal defense in Conference USA. Louisiana Tech is 12th in the same metric. The Owls have learned to rely on their depth more often in recent weeks. Combing their tenacity with a few bright spots from their younger playmakers will keep Rice alive in the conference race.

Standings Check

Old Dominion and Rice sit atop the Conference USA standings with three games remaining in the regular season for both squads. The Monarchs hold the tiebreaker — for now. A rematch on March 7 could decide who claims the No. 1 seed between these two 13-2 teams. The Monarchs have additional games remaining between FAU and UAB.

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Conference USA Basketball: Men’s and Women’s Bracketology (Feb. 26)

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Conference USA Basketball hopes to extend its season into the NCAA Tournament. Here are the latest Bracketology projections for the men and women.

Men

13-Seed North Texas vs 4-Seed Oregon (West Region)

Pod play was meant to raise the profile of the conference, enabling the top teams to gain additional resume-building wins. We haven’t seen that ideal play out yet. As things currently stand, Conference USA looks to be a one-bid league once again.

Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky are currently the two teams on the outside looking in. Tech owns the conference’s best record at 20-7 and sits at No. 73 in Kenpom’s ratings, two spots ahead of North Texas (No. 74th).

It’s conceivable that either North Texas or Louisiana Tech could run the rest of the table in the regular season before the other wins the conference tournament. Even then, it would take an exceedingly weak bubble to get two C-USA squads into the field this year.

Women

11-Seed Western Kentucky vs 6-Seed TCU (Fort Wayne Region)
11-Seed Old Dominion vs 6-Seed Kentucky (Greenville Region)

The women have a much better chance of getting multiple bids. Old Dominion and Western Kentucky are both projected to be in the field right now. They’ve each compiled an RPI in the Top 35, well within the range of an at-large selection should they fail to clinch an automatic bid.

Defending Conference USA Basketball Tournament Champion Rice is tied with Old Dominion atop the standings. Rice doesn’t have the resume to get in without winning the tournament, whereas both Old Dominion and Western Kentucky could secure a spot with a few more wins down the stretch.

It’s more likely the women get three teams into the NCAA Tournament than it is for the men to get two representatives. The Rice women would have to win the tournament with some bubble help for the other squads, but it’s starting to look like more of a legitimate possibility than anyone might have thought a few months ago.

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Rice Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Men at UTEP | Women at UAB

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There will be no Rice basketball at Tudor Fieldhouse this weekend. Both the men and the women hit the road for games against UTEP and UAB, respectively.

Rice Basketball

Time: Feb. 22 at 6:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Don Haskins Center
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: CUSATV

UTEP 13-14 (4-10), Last 5 (0-5)

  • 69-55 (L) vs UAB
  • 68-64 (L) at Charlotte
  • 72-53 (L) at Old Dominion
  • 67-62 (L) vs WKU
  • 71-61 (L) vs Marshall

Rice 13-14 (5-9), Last 5 (4-1)

  • 84-75 (W) vs North Texas
  • 86-72 (W) at UAB
  • 91-83 (W) at MTSU
  • 73-70 (L) vs Old Dominion
  • 70-54 (W) vs Charlotte

UTEP statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Bryson Williams – 18.6 per game
  • Rebounds | Bryson Williams- 7.1 per game
  • Assists | Jordan Lathon – 2.8 per game
  • Steals | Nigel Hawkins – 1.0 per game
  • Blocks | Bryson Williams – 0.9 per game

Rice keys to victory

Rice basketball put together a near-perfect gameplan when they squared off with UTEP in Houston earlier this year. The Owls silenced Bryson Williams, holding him to three points before he fouled out. He attempted just two field goals, well under his season average of 13.4 attempts.

The supporting cast didn’t was limited, too. UTEP shot 5-of-28 from three (17.8%). Still, the Miners managed to make a few more shots than Rice down the stretch. If Rice can execute that plan again but bring their recent hot shooting hands, the Owls have all the pieces they need to get their revenge.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 22 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Bartow Arena
TV: CUSATV

UAB 17-9 (9-5), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 63-51 (W) vs UTEP
  • 64-53 (L) at Rice
  • 51-50 (W) at North Texas
  • 62-52 (L) vs MTSU
  • 61-59 (W) at MTSU

Rice 16-8 (11-2), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 64-53 (W) vs UAB
  • 77-60 (W) vs MTSU
  • 66-59 OT (L) at Old Dominion
  • 62-51 (L) at Charlotte
  • 69-66 (W) vs North Texas

UAB statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Rachael Childress – 16.9 per game
  • Rebounds | Angela Vendrell – 7.7 per game
  • Assists | Angela Vendrell – 4.7 per game
  • Steals | Angela Vendrell – 1.2 per game
  • Blocks | Zakyia Weathersby – 1.1 per game

Rice keys to victory

The Owls cycled through much more of their bench against North Texas than they’ve typically rotated through in previous weeks. As long as Nancy Mulkey is limited or unable to go, finding production from the bench will be hugely important. Alexah Chrisman, Kendall Ellig, Destiny Jackson and others have risen up from time to time. Who will it be on Saturday?

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Rice Women’s Basketball Preview: Owls seek rebound vs North Texas

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Losing is not a familiar feeling for Rice Women’s basketball. The Owls look to get back to their winning ways against North Texas on Thursday.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 20 at 7:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
TV: ESPN3

North Texas 9-16 (3-10), Last 5 (0-5)

  • 67-52 (L) vs Rice
  • 80-60 (L) vs MTSU
  • 51-50 (L) vs UAB
  • 72-59 (L) at Charlotte
  • 71-66 (L) at Old Dominion

Rice 16-8 (11-2), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 67-52 (W) at North Texas
  • 64-53 (W) vs UAB
  • 77-60 (W) vs MTSU
  • 66-59 OT (L) at Old Dominion
  • 62-51 (L) at Charlotte

North Texas statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Anisha George – 13.2 per game
  • Rebounds | Anisha George – 8.4 per game
  • Assists | N’Yah Boyd – 2.7 per game
  • Steals | Destinee McDowell – 2.6 per game
  • Blocks | Destinee McDowell – 1.4 per game

Rice keys to victory

Returning home to play a familiar opponent is nothing but good news for Rice women’s basketball. Rice beat North Texas 67-52 in Denton earlier this season. They beat them three times last year and twice the year before that. The Owls know the Mean Green inside and out. That’s a good start, but not enough by itself to push the home team to a much-needed victory

In their two losses, Rice has not shot well from the floor and relied heavily on Erica Ogwumike and Nancy Mulkey to carry the load. Ogwumike fouled out against Charlotte and Mulkey played less than her usual complement of minutes, exiting with an injury in the second half. Rice needs someone else, anyone else, to step up and provide a scoring threat to make the defense guard something beyond Ogwumike’s drive to the basket.

Lauren Schwartz has been in a bit of a shooting slump of late, connecting on more than two shots from the field once in her last five games — all starts. She’s shown herself to be a capable scoring threat at times this year and could be the key cog Rice needs to snap back into their winning ways.

More: Complete playlist of 2020 Rice baseball walk up songs

If not Schwartz, look for fellow starters Sydne Wiggins and Jasmine Smith to knock down the key shots behind the Owls’ leading scorers. Both have had moments, but neither has been leaned upon to carry the offense on a consistent basis.

The defense will continue to be the Owls’ bread and butter. None of their conference opponents have reached 70 points. Six have been held to 60 or fewer. Rice doesn’t need to reinvent the wheel on Thursday. They just need to play their game and create a few more plus opportunities on offense. Finding a new spark their should be more than enough to get this team back in the win column.

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