The source for Rice sports news

Rice Basketball 2020: Tiebreaker scenarios prior to C-USA pod play

By

Rice basketball has their eyes set on a Conference USA Championship Tournament berth. Here’s what it would take to secure a spot.

The Conference USA Basketball Tournament pits the top 12 of 14 conference teams in a four-day event. An automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament is the grand prize. Rice basketball is playing their best down the stretch and hoping for a shot in Frisco. The Owls have to get there first before they can entertain any ideas of cutting down nets.

The easy way

Conference USA introduced the pod system last season in hopes of earning the league an at large bid. That hasn’t materialized yet, but it has added a bit more intrigue to the final month of the season. Teams 1 through 5, 6 through 10 and 11 through 14 face off against each other.

The top two brackets have the distinction of guaranteed spots in the conference tournament. The top two teams of the bottom pod get in whereas the bottom two are the only programs left at home. Here’s a snapshot of the current standings and projected finishes.

Rice basketball is mathematically alive for the middle pod, but it’s complicated. Any loss would eliminate them from the middle pod and land them in the bottom pod. Here’s the path t0 the middle.

Currently sitting at 4-8 in conference play, Rice would need to win out, beating Old Dominion and Charlotte. That would put their record at 6-8. From there, Rice would need two of the following four things to happen to make the middle pod:

  1. UAB loses at least once (vs MTSU, at MTSU) dropping their record to 6-8 or worse. (Rice has the head to head victory)
  2. UTEP loses at least once (vs Marshall, vs WKU) dropping their record to 5-9 of worse
  3. UTSA loses twice (vs Marshall, vs WKU) dropping their record to 5-9
  4. Old Dominion loses twice (at Rice, at North Texas) dropping their record to 6-8 (Rice would have the head to head victory)

Marshall or FAU finishing 6-8 wouldn’t help Rice. Both programs own head to head wins over the Owls.

The hard way

If Rice is seeded in the bottom pod they’ll have to finish in the top two of that four team grouping. They’ve already beaten Middle Tennessee, so they’d most likely need to conjure a reprisal of that performance and find another win or two along the way. It’s possible but more challenging than an autobid.

Rooting guide

Rice basketball fans need to root for these outcomes, in order of importance by day.

Midweek (Thursday games)

  • Rice beats Old Dominion
  • Middle Tennessee beats UAB (Wednesday)
  • WKU beats UTEP
  • Marshall beats UTSA
  • FAU beats Southern Miss

Saturday games

  • Rice beats Charlotte
  • North Texas beats Old Dominion
  • Middle Tennessee beats UAB
  • Marshall beats UTEP
  • WKU beats UTSA

There are a few more complicated scenarios that could allow Rice to sneak in. We’ll have an update on where things stand entering the weekend. The first step is a win Thursday against Old Dominion. If Rice can’t achieve that, the rest of these combinations are void.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Women’s Basketball 2020: Owls dispatch MTSU for 30th straight C-USA win

By

In a rematch of last season’s Conference USA Championship Game, Rice women’s basketball beat Middle Tennessee with relative ease.

For the 30th time in as many tries, Rice women’s basketball won a conference game. The Owls’ most recent victory, a 77-60 win over Middle Tennessee at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday served as the most recent reminder of this team’s dominance.

Rice had dispatched of every C-USA opponent they’d faced this season, but they had yet to play either Old Dominion or Middle Tennessee, the two programs still in striking distance of the Owls’ in the conference standings. Facing their toughest test of the season, Rice verified their supremacy with their trademark level of suffocating defensive intensity.

Middle Tennessee made two of their first 15 shots and nine of their first 32. The Lady Raiders entered with a 40% shooting percentage on the season. Rice held them to 33.8% shooting while knocking down 47.3% of their own shots.

Winning conference games is hard. Rice women’s basketball has made it seem easy. And beating one of the conference’s better teams by nearly 20 points only underscores the expectations the Owls are putting on themselves. Perfection isn’t the goal — the NCAA Tournament is — but the more Rice wins the closer they get to achieving that greater aspiration.

Final Stats

Player of the Game – Erica Ogwumike

The impressiveness of Rice women’s basketball leading scorer Erica Ogwumike continues to be understated. On Saturday she tallied a double-double at halftime. That would have been her 10th consecutive double-double had she not been subbed out with nine rebounds when Rice had a commanding lead over UAB their last time out.

Ogwumike finished with ## points and ## rebounds. Her presence on the court gives Rice a chance to win every possession, something few teams in college basketball can say of any one individual.

Up Next

Rice women’s basketball will hit the road for their next two contests. On Thursday, Feb. 13 they’ll face Old Dominion in arguably their most important C-USA game of the season to this point. That game is scheduled to tip off at 5:30 p.m. Saturday they’ll head to Charlotte for a 3:00 p.m. game. Both are scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Men and Women vs MTSU

By

Both Men’s and Women’s Rice Basketball teams are on winning streaks. Can they keep them going against Middle Tennessee on Saturday?

Rice Basketball

Time: Feb. 8 at 5:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Murphy Athletic Center
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: CUSA TV 

MTSU 6-18 (2-9), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 80-73 (L) vs Louisiana Tech
  • 65-63 (W) vs Southern Miss
  • 67-66 (L) at UTEP
  • 83-80 (W) at UTSA
  • 75-70 (L) vs North Texas

Rice 11-13 (3-8), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 79-59 (L) at North Texas
  • 72-64 (L) vs UTEP
  • 90-88 (L) vs UTSA
  • 84-75 (W) vs North Texas
  • 86-72 (W) at UAB

MTSU statistical leaders

  • Scoring | C.J. Jones – 16.2 per game
  • Rebounds | Tyson Jackson – 5.0 per game
  • Assists | Donovan Sims – 3.5 per game
  • Steals | Donovan Sims – 1.7 per game
  • Blocks | Tyson Jackson – 0.8 per game

Rice keys to victory

Beyond an incredible stretch of shooting, the Owls’ recent two-game winning streak has featured a pair of hot starts that have put a renewed sense of confidence in a team coming off a tough stretch. Rice tends to be a streaky shooting team. If the Owls can keep the game close early until they find their stroke, they might have found a recipe for success that could work.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 8 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: ESPN3

MTSU 16-7 (8-3), Last 5 (4-1)

  • 78-60 (L) at Louisiana Tech
  • 77-69 (W) at Southern Miss
  • 76-60 (W) vs UTEP
  • 69-48 (W) vs UTSA
  • 80-60 (W) at North Texas

Rice 15-6 (10-0), Last 5 (5-0)

  • 75-64 (W) vs Southern Miss
  • 69-61 (W) at UTEP
  • 74-62 (W) at UTSA
  • 67-52 (W) at North Texas
  • 64-53 (W) vs UAB

MTSU statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Anastasia Hayes – 17.7 per game
  • Rebounds | Charity Savage – 11.2 per game
  • Assists | Anastasia Hayes – 4.1 per game
  • Steals | Charity Savage – 1.9 per game
  • Blocks | Charity Savage – 1.5 per game

Rice keys to victory

This will be a rematch of last year’s conference championship game. The Owls’ won that game, but it wasn’t easy. Middle Tennesse led by eight points at halftime before Rice turned on the jets in the third quarter and eventually punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

The third quarter has been where Rice has made its move. Tina Langley’s squad makes adjustments, executes and outlasts. Saturday’s contest should be no different. If Rice can win the third quarter, they’ll have enough firepower to prevail at home.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball 2020: Owls blow out UAB to stay white-hot

By

Rice basketball snapped out of a cold spell with a blazing shooting streak, riding their hot hands to a huge road win over UAB on Thursday.

The last time Rice basketball was on the court they posted a potentially season-altering win over Conference USA leading North Texas that, quite frankly, came out of nowhere. A switch flipped at some point during that win. The Owls duct taped that switch to the floor, maintaining their torrid shooting pace on the road against UAB.

Entering Thursday’s contest, the Blazers were far less consistent than the Mean Green. But it really didn’t matter how well UAB was playing. Rice couldn’t miss.

UAB scored first. Then Rice took over. Rice led by 19 at the break, their largest lead at halftime in any game this season. They stretched that lead to as many as 29 points, squeezing the fight out of a UAB team that had won their last two C-USA games.

Rice shot 52.7 percent from the field and made 13 three-pointers. That’s a step down from their 61.5 percent shooting performance against North Texas, but more than enough to get Rice beyond 80 points for the third straight game.

Final Stats

Player of the Game – Drew Peterson

Not only did Peterson lead the Owls in scoring, but he was also the point man who commanded the team on both sides of the court. He was the only player on either team to play more than 31 minutes — he played 39. His six assists marked the second game in a row with at least six assists and he added five rebounds, second-most on the team.

Up Next

Rice basketball will play its final road game of the season prior to pod play on Saturday. They’ll travel to Murfreesboronext to play Middle Tennessee. That game is scheduled to tip off on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Men and Women vs UAB

By

Rice Basketball had a great weekend, sweeping North Texas in emphatic fashion. The men and the women return to action on Thursday against UAB.

Rice Basketball

Time: Feb. 6 at 7:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Bartow Arena
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: ESPN+ (If you don’t have ESPN+ you can access a free trial or subscribe here.)

UAB 14-9 (5-5), Last 5 (3-2)

  •  68-65 (W) at FAU
  • 84-77  (L) vs Southern Miss
  • 72-58 (L) vs Louisiana Tech
  • 76-68 (W) at UTSA
  • 69-55 (W) at UTEP

Rice 10-13 (2-8), Last 5 (1-5)

  • 81-68 (L) at Southern Miss
  • 79-59 (L) at North Texas
  • 72-64 (L) vs UTEP
  • 90-88 (L) vs UTSA
  • 84-75 (W) vs North Texas

UAB statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Jalen Benjamin – 12.5 per game
  • Rebounds | Makhtar Gueye – 5.3 per game
  • Assists | Tyreek Scott-Grayson – 1.9 per game
  • Steals | Tavin Lovan – 1.1 per game
  • Blocks | Tyreek Scott-Grayson – 0.6 per game

Rice keys to victory

In their most recent outing, Rice proved they can beat anyone when they shoot the lights out. Barring another historic performance from the field, Rice will have to get better on the other side of the court. North Texas shot 51 percent from the field and 48.5 percent from three. Most nights, that’ll be good enough to win in Conference USA. Rice has to get that percentage down into the 40s, at least.

Rice Women's Basketball

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

UAB 15-7 (7-3), Last 5 (5-0)

  • 92-73 (W) vs FAU
  • 74-68 (W) at Southern Miss
  • 71-51 (W) at Louisiana Tech
  • 94-55 (W) vs UTSA
  • 63-51 (W) vs UTEP

Rice 14-6 (9-0), Last 5 (5-0)

  • 60-47 (W) vs Louisiana Tech
  • 75-64 (W) vs Southern Miss
  • 69-61 (W) at UTEP
  • 74-62 (W) at UTSA
  • 67-52 (W) at North Texas

North Texas statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Rachael Childress – 17.5 per game
  • Rebounds | Angela Vendrell – 8.1 per game
  • Assists | Angela Vendrell – 4.7 per game
  • Steals | Angela Vendrell – 1.1 per game
  • Blocks | Angela Vendrell – 1.0 per game

Rice keys to victory

UAB is going to trust Rachael Childress and Angela Vendrell to run the show. The matchup between those two and the Owls’ tandem of Erica Ogwumike and Nancy Mulkey will be pivotal in determining the outcome of this gam . So far, they’ve been up to the task.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts