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Rice Football 2022 Spring Practice Notebook 1: Introductions

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Rice football has returned to the practice field with a few new coaches, some newly-health players and plenty of things to watch for this spring.

Spring ball is in the air and Rice football is back on the grass, well, on the artificial turf of the Waltrip Indoor Facility. The Owls’ opted to escape the brunt of the icy cold blast on the first day of practices which are scheduled to take place over the next several weeks leading up the Blue & Gray Spring Game set for April 16.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren met with the media on Tuesday to provide a few updates on the roster and make a few introductions. Beyond those announcements, there are a few position changes to relay and some additional notes (in addition to prior roster takeaways) as the Owls kick off practices this week.

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Rice Football: Assessing the impact of Jake Bailey entering the Transfer Portal

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Rice football wide receiver Jake Bailey has entered the Transfer Portal. How will that affect the Owls going forward and how should they respond?

The Transfer Portal giveth; the Transfer Portal taketh away. Rice football suffered a significant loss on the transfer market this week with star wide receiver Jake Bailey opting to enter the portal on Tuesday. How does the impact the Rice offense? What will the Owls’ next steps be? We work through those questions and discuss the repercussions of Bailey’s decision below.

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Rice Football: Owls add UConn home game to 2023 schedule

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Rice football has announced a modification to its 2023 conference schedule, swapping a road game at BYU with a home contest against UConn.

Following the conclusion of the 2021 Rice football schedule, athletic director Joe Karlgaard took notice of just how grueling the Owls’ nonconference slate had been. Games against Arkansas, Texas and Houston wore the team down before conference play even began.

It was during that conversation with Karlgaard that he mentioned potential changes might be forthcoming. “As we go into the American I want to make sure that we’ve got some good balance in our non-conference schedule, which we did not have this year,” he said in early December. A few months later, Rice has adapted its 2023 schedule to better align with those notions.

Rice announced on Friday the addition of UConn to its 2023 schedule. The game will be played on October 7, 2023 and will replace a previously scheduled road game at BYU. The revised 2023 schedule is as follows:

Sept. 2 – at Texas
Sept. 9 – vs Houston
Sept. 16 – vs Texas Southern
Oct. 7 – vs UConn

With a trip to Texas already on the slate, swapping out BYU for UConn makes a lot of competitive sense. BYU reached the AP Top 10 in each of the past two seasons, accruing a 21-4 record over that time. UConn has 21 combined wins since 2013. This scheduling change has a high likelihood of setting the Owls’ up for one more win, further aiding in their chances to return to a bowl game.

Rice football begins in 2022 schedule on the road against USC. Rice will then host McNeese and Houston before ending its nonconference campaign across town at Houston.

Rice begins spring practice on March 8.

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Rice Football: What I’m watching in Spring Practices — Patreon Q&A

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Rice football kicks off spring practice soon. This month’s Patreon Q&A focuses on what I’ll be following closely during these sessions.

In season or not, Rice football frequently appears as a focal point in these Q&A posts. Our February Q&A follows suit, focusing on the upcoming weeks of spring practices and which items I’ll personally be keeping a close eye on as the weeks progress. Practices are currently slated to start sometime in early March.

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Rice Basketball edges Southern Miss on Senior Day

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It took overtime to get it done, but Rice Basketball sent off its seniors on a high note, topping Southern Miss on Senior Day at Tudor Fieldhouse.

It had been a back-and-forth game from the start with no obvious moments of separation. Rice basketball traded runs with Southern Miss but both teams stayed neck and neck through regulation and beyond. It was always close. Right up until the moment Chris Mullins let a three-point shot fly with just under 90 seconds remaining in overtime.

The three-point shot would dive through the hoop and give Rice a 5-point advantage with time ticking off the clock quickly. From that point, forward Rice made their foul shots and played out the string, but it was Mullins’ triple that afforded the pivotal moment.

Last Time Out: Rice Basketball furious rally not enough vs LA Tech

“Fitting. Appropriate. Whatever word you want to use. A four-year warrior. He’ll never forget that shot as long as he lives. I probably won’t either,” head coach Scott Pera said of Mullins’ dagger three, reflecting on a Senior Fight victory. Ten of the Owls’ 13 points in overtime were scored by seniors, snapping a season-long losing streak and rejuvenating the entire roster.

“We needed a win,” Pera admitted.

That win didn’t come easily. Before Rice got to overtime they overcome an eight-point first-half deficit. Every time they came close, Southern Miss found a way to push their advantage up another few points. It wasn’t until a set of three three-pointers by Travis Evee at the midpoint of the second half that Rice would take their first lead in what felt like forever.

Southern Miss would answer. Then Rice volleyed back. The battle was fierce. Rice had the chance to end it in regulation but couldn’t get one more three-ball to fall as the clock expired. That would eventually set up Mullins’ deep bomb, a memorable way for the seniors’ last home game to end.

Player Spotlight | Chris Mullins

A four-year starter, Mullins is the most tenured player on the roster. He was shut out in his last game against Louisiana Tech, going 0-for-4 from the field with no rebounds. On Saturday against Southern Miss he scored 12 points, grabbed seven rebounds and played 40 minutes, the second-most court time he’s gotten in a game all season, behind only a 3OT outing against Evansville in November.

“I can still remember my first game here,” Mullins said as he attempted to take in the emotions of the final home game of his career. “It’s just come full circle. I started off with a win and I ended with a win here. I’m going to have so many memories here. It’s a great feeling.”

Stat Corner | Get to the line

Rice basketball shot 29 free throws. Southern Miss shot eight. One of the major differences in this game was how often Rice was able to get to the charity stripe. Even though they only converted 20 of those chances, good for a modest 69 percent, they still vastly outdid their opponents at the line and made one of their opposing players foul out.

Final Box | Rice 77 – Southern Miss 72

Up Next | Full Schedule

Rice basketball will finish out their regular season schedule on the road. Next up is UTEP, who they’ll visit on Mar. 3 for an 8:00 p.m. tilt. Then Rice will finish in San Antonio against UTSA on Mar. 5. at 2:00 p.m. After that, it’s onto the conference tournament which tips off on Mar. 8.

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