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Rice Basketball 2020: Men and women ready for test vs WKU

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Rice Basketball is in the midst of conference play. The men are 0-1 while the women are 1-0. Both take on WKU on Saturday with the women at home. Here’s a preview of both games.

Rice Basketball

Time: 4:00 p.m. CT
Venue: E.A. Diddle Arena
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: ESPN3

WKU 8-5 (1-0), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 76-74 (L) at Wright State
  • 86-79 OT (W) vs Arkansas
  • 86-82 OT (L) at Rhode Island
  • 76-62 (L) vs Belmont
  • 93-84 (W) vs North Texas

Rice 8-6 (0-0), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 73-60 (L) at Lamar
  • 96-84 (W) vs HBU
  • 103-70 (W) vs St. Thomas
  • 75-61 (L) vs Sam Houston St
  • 89-69 (L) at Marshall

WKU players to watch

Earlier this season Western Kentucky picked up a huge win over SEC power Arkansas, but it came at a tremendous cost. Star center Charles Bassey suffered a leg injury in that game that will force him to miss the entire season. A different man has led the Tops in scoring in each of their next three games, but Carson Williams has filled the void admirably. He’s averaging 17.3 points and seven rebounds per game without Bassey.

Rice keys to victory

Rice basketball has lived and died by the three this season. When the Owls aren’t making their outside shots, they’ve struggled to finish games. Rice is 2-4 when making less than 30 percent of their threes and 6-2 when shooting better than mark, including a season-high 52 percent against UC Santa Barbara. WKU has allowed 102 threes against them in 13 games.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Tudor Field House
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: ESPN+ (If you don’t have ESPN+ you can access a free trial or subscribe here.)

WKU 8-4 (0-0), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 74-63 (W) vs Oklahoma
  • 91-86 OT (W) at Ball St
  • 88-84 (W) at Samford
  • 67-50 (L) at Purdue
  • 61-54 (L) at North Texas

Rice 6-6 (0-0), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 63-56 (L) at Texas Southern
  • 77-55 (W) vs Prairie View A&M
  • 54-45 (L) vs Virginia Tech
  • 54-52 (L) vs Georgia Tech
  • 81-43 (W) vs Marshall

WKU players to watch

WKU will rely on a three-way attack, spearheaded by junior forward Raneem Elgedawy. She leads the team in scoring and rebounds. Dee Givens provides an outside presence, knocking down a team-best 26 threes. Whitney Creech is the distributor, averaging 4.3 assists per game while also forcing 1.9 steals.

Rice keys to victory

Whatever adjustments Rice made between nonconference play and their C-USA opener against Marshall, they need to keep. The Owls looked transformed, playing their best defense of the season. That will be important against WKU, who enters the weekend as the No. 2 scoring offense in Conference USA.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Have the Owls flipped the switch?

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Rice Women’s Basketball improved to .500 on the season with their first conference win, but something felt different in the Owls’ most recent victory.

Uncertainty hung in the air around Rice Women’s Basketball as they tipped off against Marshall on Thursday night. On one hand, it was just another game, the next one on the schedule following a disappointing 5-6 start. On the other, it was a chance to defend last season’s perfect standard that has seemed worlds away from where the current team had been in recent weeks.

The game started, ended, and the scoreboard served as evidence for the Owls’ resounding blowout victory. The win felt a lot like last season’s Conference USA games, all wins for the Blue and Gray. Now, winners of 20 conference games in a row, the 2020 Owls are growing into their identity. At least, that’s how senior leader Erica Ogwumike explains the subtle shift she’s seen over the past week.

“I don’t think anything was really different, but I think we learned a lot this past week,” Ogwumike said. “We’ve learned a lot in Puerto Rico. Each game we’re learning. So I think you’re going to see that growth in every single game.”

That maturation process has come with a cost. Rice doesn’t have any Power 5 wins under their belt. They were a disappointing 0-4 in those marquee opportunities. Because of that, it’s probably going to require a conference tournament victory to return to the NCAA Tournament. The Owls’ résumé isn’t likely to have enough star power to get them to the Big Dance as an at large selection. Rice isn’t unaware of the uphill battle they face. But they’re also undeterred.

Head coach Tina Langely said she was “actually pleased with a lot of things in the non conference [schedule]”, clarifying the young roster that’s had to rely on more freshman than they did at this point last season is progressing. “We have a lot of players playing that maybe didn’t play as much last year. And so we had a lot of growth to do,” Langely said. “We played great competition and every day we got better.”

Thursday’s “better” was two-fold. First, and most importantly, Rice locked played some of their most tenacious defense of the season. They had 50 rebounds, seven steals and forced 15 turnovers. Center Nancy Mulkey only had one block. Yet Rice held Marshall to three points in the second quarter (and 43 overall), putting the game out of reach before the halftime buzzer sounded.

As has been the Owls’ penchant under Langley, defense won the day. Rice was able to work through a 3-for-11 start to that dominant second quarter and still stretch a nine-point lead to a 23 point advantage. Poor shooting, something which has hampered this team already this season, gave way to some of the most purposeful defensive possessions Rice has yet to put forth.

“I definitely think that you saw us on the defensive end really stick to who we are as a defensive team,” Langley said. “On the offensive end, I think we’re just continuing to learn each other and, and learn our offense.”

When Rice is playing well on defense, it doesn’t often take 80 points to win games. Rice could have won with 50 on Thursday, but the extra work afforded to their young core was important. By the midpoint of the third quarter, Ogwumike, Mulkey, Sydne Wiggins and Jasmine Smith were all on the bench.

“I think we’re just locked in,” Ogwumike said after posting only her second double-double of the season. She looked as sharp as ever, cutting through the lane and scrapping for every rebound remotely in her vicinity. That focus spread to the rest of the team, impacting the off-the-ball movement and the shot selection all night. Even when they had cold spurts from the floor, how Rice attacked the basket was different.

And now it’s onto the next one. Langely called it the one that matters the most.”The game in front of us is the biggest game of the year,” she said, speaking of the team’s newfound focus. “If we continue to play with that mindset, I think we can have some success.” Whether it’s the mindset, the defense, the offense, or a mixture of all of it together, whatever Rice did to generate their blowout victory in their first conference game of the season, more of that, please.

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls cruise past Marshall to open C-USA play

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Rice Women’s Basketball got back on the right track with a dominant win over Marshall in their first Conference USA action of the season.

From Nancy Mulkey’s opening lay up to the final buzzer, Rice women’s basketball looked completely in control of their conference opener against Marshall. The Owls had been all over the place in recent weeks. On Thursday they looked eerily similar to the same team that won 19 consecutive games against C-USA opponents last season.

Rice opened up an early 16-6 lead. Their passes were crisp and their off-ball movement set up plenty of opportunities. They constantly made the extra pass, and were rewarded with good shots.

Then the Owls went ice cold from floor. They made 6 of their next 21 shots (28.5 percent), but managed to extend their lead thanks to lockdown defense. Up 27-14, they cranked up the afterburners, hitting five shots in a row from the field on their way to a 15-0 run to close the first half with a 37-14 advantage.

The second half was all cruise control. Rice had all of their starters off the court before the third quarter came to a close. A core of freshmen and younger players took the massive lead and extended it, finishing off an emphatic opening statement to begin conference play, winning 81-43. Their 81 points tied a season-high while their 40 points allowed were the fewest since they beat Little Rock 66-40 on Nov. 9.

Final Stats

Player of the game – Eric Ogwumike

The Owls’ leading scorer and top rebounder was involved in every possession on both ends of the court. She’s the glue that holds this team together. Rice can win without a dominant night from Ogwumike, but when she’s playing at her peak, it’s hard for other schools in the conference to keep pace. Despite only playing 22 minutes, Ogwumike picked up her second double-double of the season with 14 points and 12 rebounds.

An honorable mention, Lauren Schwartz played a fantastic game. She made a halfcourt block, chased down the ball on the other side of the court and layed it up for two points. Later on, she stole a long pass then went behind the back to maintain possession. That led to Rice points as well. Every time she touches the ball, something magical could happen,

Up Next

Rice hosts Western Kentucky on Saturday. The Hilltoppers entered conference play 8-3. The Owls last faced WKU in the Conference USA Tournament, beating them in a tightly contested game, 64-57.

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Rice Basketball 2020: Men and women open C-USA play vs Marshall

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Rice Basketball starts conference play on Thursday with the men and women each taking on Marshall. The women are at home. Here’s a preview of both games.

Rice Basketball

Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: ESPN+

Marshall 6-7 (0-0), Last 5 (4-1)

  • 86-50 (W) vs Bluefield State
  • 89-62 (W) at Morehead State
  • 90-72 (W) vs Eastern Kentucky
  • 88-80 (L) at Northern Iowa
  • 83-61 (W) at Duquesne

Rice 8-5 (0-0), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 77-69 (W) vs ECU
  • 73-60 (L) vs Lamar
  • 96-84 (W) vs HBU
  • 103-70 (W) vs St. Thomas
  • 75-61 (L) vs Sam Houston St

Marshall players to watch

The Thundering Herd are still trying to figure out how to replace Conference USA’s all-time leading scorer, Jon Elmore. So far, they’ve relied on a combo of Jarrod West and Taevion Kinsey to carry the load. Both are playing upwards of 34 minutes per game while averaging north of 14 points.

Rice keys to victory

Marshall is one of the best rebounding teams in Conference USA. Six different players have 48 or more boards through 13 games and nine have posted more than 30 rebounds this season. Winning on the offensive glass has been a struggle for Rice basketball this season. The Owls are 11th in C-USA with 9.4 offensive rebounds per game. The Owls should be able to shoot with Marshall, but giving their opponents too many extra chances could snowball on them quickly.

Rice Women's Basketball

Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: CUSA TV

Marshall 5-6 (0-0), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 85-41 (W) vs Alderson-Broaddus
  • 72-60 (W) vs Indiana State
  • 82-69 (L) vs Bowling Green
  • 66-41 (L) at Rutgers
  • 59-56 (L) at Towson

Rice 5-6 (0-0), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 71-57 (W) vs Northern Arizona
  • 63-56 (L) at Texas Southern
  • 77-55 (W) vs Prairie View A&M
  • 54-45 (L) vs Virginia Tech
  • 54-52 (L) vs Georgia Tech

Marshall players to watch

Freshman guard Savannah Wheeler has been a breath of fresh air for the Marshall frontcourt. She’s scored in double-digits in 11 of her first 13 collegiate games, posting 18 in her debut against Kentucky Christian. She’s dangerous from deep, as it Taylor Pearson who leads the team with a .400-clip from three.

Rice keys to victory

Rice can’t allow any frustration from their tough start to linger in their first game back in Houston following a disappointing Puerto Rico trip. Marshall is third in C-USA in assists and second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio. They don’t make a lot of mistakes and work to find open shooters. Rice will have the size advantage and plenty of quickness on the wings. They need to use it.

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Rice Basketball: Mixed nonconference play shows modest improvement

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It’s been an up and down start to the Rice basketball season. Moe on the good, the bad and the path forward for the Owls this season.

Rice basketball has secured a winning record in nonconference play for the first time in the Scott Pera era. In Pera’s first year, the Owls were 3-10 prior to C-USA action. Last season they improved to 5-8. At the end of 2019, Rice is 8-5 with conference play set to start on Thursday.

The emergence of Trey Murphy has been an important development for this team. He missed the Bahamas Showcase with an injury suffered during the Houston game but has since returned to form. He leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.8 points per game.

Ako Adams is keeping a clean handle on the ball and distributing well, opening up opportunities for guys like Robert Martin and Drew Peterson, who’s on pace to have the best season of his young career.

Freshman Max Fiedler, Zach Crisler and Quincy Olivari have become core pieces of the rotation. Fielder is third on the team with 51 rebounds and Crisler is shooting a cool .529 from the field.

Room for improvement

It hasn’t been all roses. In fact, it’s been more of a roller coaster than expected. A 4-1 start and a 2-for-3 showing in the Island of Bahamas Showcase were the high points. A narrow loss to Houston at home and a gutpunch defeat to Sam Houston in the nonconference finale were the low points.

Discipline remains a noticeable sticking point with this team. It’s hard to wrap your head around how a Rice team that made quick work of a good Penn team could flounder against Lamar and also erase a 22-point deficit to knock off UC Santa Barbara on the road. The best of Rice can hang with an elite Houston team. The worst was blown out by Arkansas by 48 points.

The team is still young, and their collective experience has produced positive moments. If they can pull together enough of those, they should be able to take another step forward as conference play begins.

The path forward

Five of the Owls’ first seven conference games are away from home. They’ll tip off against Marshall on Thursday, January 2 and make the short trip to Western Kentucky on Saturday, January 4. Then they return home for games against Florida Atlantic (Jan. 9) and FIU (Jan. 11)

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