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Linebacker Myron Morrison commits to Owls

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The 2019 Rice football recruiting class picked up its first addition after the early signing period with the commitment of linebacker Myron Morrison.

Rice signed 17 players in the early signing period in mid-December, leaving room for a handful of additional players slated to sign on National Signing Day. The coaching staff has been hard at work, hosting several key targets as soon as the dead period ended on January 11. Linebacker Myron Morrison, one of those targets who was on campus this weekend. He received an offer on Sunday and has committed to Rice.

The 6-foot-2, 193-pound outside linebacker won’t travel far from home to play for the Owls next season. The soon-to-be graduate of Atascocita High School is staying local, passing over offers from Colorado State and Air Force as well as fellow Houston-based schools Texas Southern and HBU.

Morrison will fit in nicely between safety Hunter Henry and defensive tackle Izeya Floyd, two of his future teammates who were with him on campus this weekend.

Building the family atmosphere and showcasing the culture of the Rice program continues to be a mainstay in the Rice recruiting process. Just about every official weekend features a mix of current commits, current players and heavy involvement by the staff. The results so far have been extremely promising.

Morrison joins Garrett Braden as the only linebackers in the 2019 class. Barring the emergence of a must-have type of player, the Owls will most likely stand pat with these two at the position this go around. They’ve got reason to be content. Braden is a winner and Morrison can deliver a hefty blow. Bringing in players who play with physicality has been a focal point of this offseason. Morrison certainly fits the bill.

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WBB: Owls own only perfect record in CUSA West

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Everything is going the right way for Rice women’s basketball in 2019 as the Owls enter the heart of their Conference USA schedule.

Rice women’s basketball dropped their first two games of the season. They’ve since won 13 of their next 14 games, thoroughly outclassing their Conference USA opponents. Rice sits at 13-3 with a perfect 4-0 record in conference play, 16 games into their 28 game regular season schedule.

It’s been a team effort the whole way. As good as Rice has been with the ball in their hands, their defense has been even better. Rice ranks second in scoring defense allowing a meager 48.2 points per game in their conference games to date. They allow the second-fewest rebounds per game and own the third-best assist to turnover ratio. The Owls’ opponents aren’t getting good shots and when they miss they’re not getting many extra chances.

Scoring leader Erica Ogwumike continues to be the consistent spark who moves the offense along, but she’s had plenty of help. Nancy Mulkey is converting on 61.7 percent of her field goals and Jasmine Smith is fourth in CUSA with 20 assists in conference play.

Meanwhile, Nicole Iademarco has secured her space in the Rice record books. Iademarco broke the Rice women’s basketball three-point scoring record against UTSA, passing former teammate Maya Hawkins. The senior tacked on a few more long balls against UTEP on Saturday. She’s now drained 170 three-point shots with plenty of time to add to her own record before the season is through.

Last 4

  • W, 58-47 at Southern Miss
  • W, 61-51 at Louisiana Tech
  • W, 85-54 vs UTSA
  • W, 76-42 vs UTEP

Up Next

The end of January sets up to be extremely important for Rice. The Owls stand atop the Conference USA standings but will play three of the next four (North Texas, Middle Tennessee, UAB) before the end of the month. Wins in those games, plus another against Western Kentucky in mid-February could cement this team as clear front-runners going into the conference tournament.

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MBB: Buzzer beater sends UTEP over Owls

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After making a big shot of their own, Rice basketball lost a heartbreaker on a buzzer-beating three point shot, falling to UTEP on the road.

Trey Murphy hit a three-point shot in the final second of the game and the Don Haskins Center let out a noticeable gasp. The Owls had led for the vast majority of the 39 minutes and 59 seconds, but UTEP had stormed back from a 17-point hole to retake the lead as the final seconds ticked off the clock.

Murphy’s shot gave Rice a 64-63 advantage — the game clock read 0.6 seconds. After consulting the monitor the officials put 1.5 seconds on the clock and handed the ball back for UTEP. No problem, Quentin Millora-Brown deflected the in bounds pass and the buzzer rang.

Not so fast. 0.5 seconds was put back on the clock this time. Not enough to do much, but apparently just enough time for Jordan Lathon to knock down a shot, sending UTEP over Rice at the buzzer, 65-64.

The loss is tough to swallow for Rice, who fall to 2-3 in conference play after winning two straight games to start out the New Year. Ako Adams missed a good portion of the game with an injury. Having him on the court down the stretch would have been huge. Instead, UTEP picks up their first conference win of the season.

The Box

PLAYER FG 3PT FT OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
J. Williams 6-13 3-6 0-2 3 8 11 1 0 2 2 4 15
Q. Millora-Brown 1-2 0-0 0-1 3 1 4 3 1 0 2 2 2
D. Peterson 2-5 2-3 0-0 1 2 3 0 0 0 1 1 6
C. Mullins 4-13 1-4 1-1 0 1 1 3 2 0 2 1 10
A. Adams 2-8 2-7 2-4 0 1 1 3 0 0 1 3 8
R. Martin 4-8 2-4 4-5 3 9 12 1 1 0 3 2 14
J. Parrish 0-4 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 0 0 0 2 4 0
T. Murphy 3-7 3-6 0-0 1 3 4 0 2 1 0 2 9

Player of the game – Robert Martin

Rice has used three different starting lineups this season; none have included freshman forward Robert Martin. That hasn’t stopped Martin from becoming a tremendous asset for the Owls off the bench. He picked up his second double-double of the season against UTEP, snagging 12 boards and scoring a team-high 14 points. He also added a steal and an assist.

Up next – At North Texas

The lone conference game Rice played before the New Year came on Dec. 29 against North Texas. The 12-1 Mean Green had compiled the best non-conference record among CUSA squads. They were able to take down the Owls 103-87, but the game was closer than the final score indicates. Rice held an 11-point lead midway through the first half before a cold shooting streak opened the doors for North Texas to pull away.

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Owls set for big recruiting weekend

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With a few weeks remaining before National Signing Day, Rice football is working to finish off their 2019 recruiting class.

National Signing Day, February 6, is fast approaching. Rice signed 17 players during the early signing period —  a three day stretch in December which seems like so long ago. Now, though, the holidays are over and coaches and players trickling back to South Main.

Soon the final push for the 2019 Rice Football class will begin in earnest. That starts with an extremely important official visit weekend kicking off on Friday. Rice is tentatively scheduled to host nine players including a few signees. Here are five priority targets the Owls are after this weekend:

Brian Chaffin – Center from Stanford (Grad Transfer)

Graduations, injury losses and transfers have left a leadership void on this team. Bringing in the right veterans who understand the culture Bloomgren is trying to create at Rice would be a big catalyst to this program. Chaffin is one such player. An Under Armor All-American out of high school, Chaffin was a top-10 center in the nation. Recruiting by Bloomgren while he was at Stanford, he played in 28 games over the last three seasons along an impressive offensive line.

Reagan Williams – Fullback from Stanford (Grad Transfer)

Williams is another Stanford product with meaningful collegiate experience. The fullback played in 32 games over the past three seasons and could be the second Pac-12 fullback transfer in two years for Bloomgren. Rice added Gio Gentosi last year, who capped off the season with his first career touchdown. Needless to say, the fullback is an important piece in this offense.

Cooper Laake – Defensive Tackle from Austin, Tx

A former Texas Tech commit, Laake’s recruitment opened up when Kliff Kingsbury was replaced in Lubbock by Matt Wells. Laake has offers from Colorado State, Oregon, and Purdue among others. He’s a gamechanger up front. The 6-foot-3, 270-pound defensive tackle would be an even bigger addition in light of recent transfer news at the position.

Jovoni Johnson – Dual Threat QB from Conway, AR

Losing a commitment at the 11th hour wasn’t part of the plan at quarterback, but Rice could rebound nicely with the addition of Jovoni Johnson. Standing 6-foot-5 with some nice wheels, Johnson has intriguing raw talent. He threw for 1,339 yards and ran or 853 yards during his senior season, tallying 30 combined touchdowns. He’s being targeting by Arkansas for a walk-on spot but Rice would prefer he heads south to Texas.

Tom Stewart – Pro Style QB from Harvard (Grad Transfer)

Given the health concerns at quarterback last season it would be prudent for Rice to invest in another veteran arm who’ll be ready to come in and play immediately if needed. Stewart saw action in five games in his first two years at Harvard before appearing in nine contests last fall. He threw for 1,974 yards and 15 touchdowns with five interceptions. His teammate, wide receiver Justice Shelton-Mosley, is also high on the Owls’ priority list.

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MBB: UTSA game preview

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Rice basketball is riding a two-game winning streak in Conference play. Can the Owls make it three in a row with a win over UTSA on Thursday?

Rice is playing their best basketball of the season at an opportune time. After a slow winter on the court, the Owls have won two in a row. If they want to extend that streak to three they’ll have to win on the road, something that’s been a challenge for head coach Scott Pera’s younger squad.

The Owls have one road win in six chances, downing Rio Grande Valley 75-67 on Dec. 18. Outside of that game, Rice has dropped all their other away games by double-digits. A win against UTSA would give Rice a two-game road winning streak and a third win in conference play.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN+. Radio is available via the Stretch Internet Portal.

UTSA 8-7 (2-0), Last 5 (5-0)

  • W, 67-63 @ UTEP
  • W, 75-60 vs UTEP
  • W, 70-67 vs Southeastern Oklahoma St
  • W, 64-50 @ Texas A&M CC
  • W, 101-77 vs Bethany College

Rice 7-9 (2-1), Last 5 – (3-2)

  • W, 78-66 vs Louisiana Tech
  • W, 73-65 vs Southern Miss
  • L, 103-87 vs North Texas
  • L, 83-66 vs Omaha
  • W, 75-67 @ Rio Grande Valley

UTSA players to watch

It’s been a two-man show for UTSA this season. Sophomore guards Jhivvan Jackson and Keaton Wallace lead the way, averaging 20.5 and 18.4 points per game, respectively. There have been two games of single-digit scoring between them this season. It doesn’t matter who’s matched up against them, both Jackson and Wallace have torched even the better defensive teams they’ve faced in non-conference play.

The problem for UTSA comes with the next man up. After Jackson and Wallace get their 40 points the Roadrunners have struggled to find anyone else who can be relied upon consistently.

Senior forward Nick Allen has had spurts of strong play, but foul trouble and poor shooting nights have been concerns. Junior forward Byron Frohnen leads the team in rebounding, averaging 7.8 boards per game.

Rice keys to victory

The Rice defense has been the linchpin to the Owls’ recent success. After allowing three of their previous four opponents to top 80 points, Rice held both Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech in the 60’s — both of those offenses average in the mid-70’s.

Against UTSA the secret might just be limiting the Roadrunners secondary players. Jackson and Wallace have combined for 40+ points, but they’ve yet to score 70 together against any D1 programs. They’re going to need help. If Rice can limit those secondary pieces and keep the two stars from going too ballistic, things should work out well.

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