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Rice Football: Behind enemy lines with a Charlotte Insider

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Charlotte is next up on the 2023 Rice football schedule so we’re going behind enemy lines with 49ers’ insider Hunter Bailey from The Charlotte Observer.

49ers insider Hunter Bailey from the Charlotte Observer was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and Charlotte. The answers below should shed some light on the Owls’ upcoming opponent.

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Rice Women’s Basketball loses big lead, falls to Georgia Tech

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Rice women’s basketball built a 17-point lead but could not hang on, allowing miscues to sink them late against Georiga Tech.

At least early on, the friendly confines of Tudor Fieldhouse seemed to be a welcoming backdrop for a resurgent Rice women’s basketball team that got things going quickly against Georgia Tech. Destiny Jackson delivered eight first-quarter points, propelling the Owls to an early lead, which grew to a double-digit advantage midway through the second quarter.

It looked as if the Owls would be able to put things in cruise control when their advantage reached 17 points in the early minutes of the third quarter. Instead, things started to sputter for the home team.

Georgia Tech traded blows with Rice for a while in the third quarter, but didn’t really began their comeback bid in earnest until the final minute of the frame. The Yellow Jackets finished on a 7-0 run, converting their foul shots and a key three pointer to pull within six. That deficit shrunk to one at the midpoint of the fourth quarter, putting the pressure back on Rice to find a way to finish.

Foul trouble and turnovers would prove to be the Owls’ undoing. Malia Fisher spent most of the final quarter on the bench before fouling out in the final minute. Limited minutes from Fisher late and six turnovers in the final quarter proved too much to overcome. Dominque Ennis had time to toss a pair of threes up to tie the game, but neither found home, handing Rice their second consecutive defeat.

“I’m not into moral victories,” head coach Lindsay Edmonds said after the game. “I felt like that was one we let slip away.”

Final Box | Georgia Tech 78 – Rice 75

What They’re Saying

“I told the team, I reminded them, we did not schedule a cupcake non-conference and we did it on purpose. We wanted to challenge ourselves. We wanted to be battle-tested. We wanted to be put in these situations. And hopefully, these adversities that we’re dealing with now are going to bring blessings to us in March and we’ll be able to figure out how to win the games that we need, to have the toughness that we need to… Hopefully it’s going to help us in February and March, when it matters the most.” – Head coach Lindsay Edmonds

Key takeaway | Take care of the basketball

Two stats sum up why this game ended the way it did: rebounds and turnovers. When games get close, teams that execute are the ones that tend to win. Yes, high-caliber shooting can bail anyone out on any given night, but over the long haul, it typically requires excelling in the fundamentals and doing the little things well.

Rice was outrebounded 41-34 for the game and 10-5 in the fourth quarter. Likewise, Rice committed one less turnover in the game than Georgia Tech did but gave the ball back to their opponent six times in the fourth compared to twice by the Yellow Jackets.

Up Next: vs St. Mary’s (Sun. Nov 19)

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Rice Football 2023: Charlotte Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football is in “playoff mode” as they visit Charlotte, two wins away from six with two games to go. Here’s what we learned from the Owls at practice this week.

There was definitely an extra dose of intensity at Rice football practices this week. The Owls said all the right things and seemingly did all the right things in preparation for Charlotte, even as they waded through continued uncertainty at quarterback and a few other key positions.

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This week’s roundup focuses on what the Owls plan to do if Daniels misses another week, a potential adjustment in the backfield and the stated importance of this matchup by several Rice players.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

The Plan at Quarterback, again

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Rice Basketball shooting goes cold in loss to Texas

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Rice basketball hung around early, but couldn’t keep pace with Texas, falling in Austin by the final score 80-64. The Owls are 1-2 overall.

A year removed from taking Texas to overtime but coming up short, Rice basketball gave their orange-clad opponents another rigorous challenge in Austin once more. Despite struggling to find their shooting stroke early on, Rice hung around.

It was the Rice defense that enabled them to prolong the fight, forcing eight Texas turnovers in the first half with three steals and two blocks. Anthony Selden was in the middle of many of those key defensive plays. Along the way, the Owls fell behind by as many as 12 points in the first half, but climbed back to within four before another cold spell left them behind by nine at the break.

Texas’ movement was the difference. The Longhorns did a better job consistently creating room for their shooters. That difference in shot quality when combined with a tough night from three for Rice put the visiting Owls in catch-up more all night long until time ran out.

Rice was able to briefly cut the deficit to nine points at the start of the second half, but the Longhorns were able to keep the Owls at arm’s length for more or less the remainder of the contest. Any dreams of a thrilling upset this time around would not come to pass.

Final Box | Texas 80 – Rice 64

Key takeaway | The shots will fall

Scott Pera has designed this team to score points. Facilitating open looks and setting up his players to be in the best possible situations for them to succeed is his bread and butter. But — as he’d be the first to tell anyone who asked — it’s the players who make the plays.

For whatever reason, those players haven’t been making the shots. Honestly, it’s basketball. Shooting slumps happen. Teams have off nights where the shot doesn’t fall. That happens more frequently against better defenses, including the one the Owls faced on Wednesday night, but it still happens.

The Texas defense was gritty. Rice didn’t get many clean looks and when they did, they did not convert at a high enough rate. On the other side, when Texas was given open looks, they made Rice pay. It will be the Owls’ night soon enough. 18 percent from three is the exception, not the rule.

Up Next: Ball Dawg’s Classic – Henderson, NV

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Rice Football 2023: Charlotte presser quotes and depth chart

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Rice football visits Charlotte this week. Here’s what Mike Bloomgren had to say about the matchup at hand and a few depth chart notes.

Head coach Mike Bloomgren and a set of players met with the media for their customary weekly availability. They recapped the UTSA game and looked ahead at their upcoming matchup with Charlotte.

Listen Now: The Roost Pod – Breaking down Rice Football vs UTSA

We touch on those items, then dig into the Rice football depth chart and what the team looks like heading into the weekend. First, the quotes:

Press Conference Quotes

“We’ve talked a lot in the last couple days about entering playoff football and that’s always exciting. You get an opportunity to wake up every day and kind of bounce out of bed. It’s just exciting to get those opportunities and we know we need to go 1-0 this week. We know we have a very talented opponent on the other side in Charlotte and Biff Poggi’s team. We’re going to prepare the right way and we’re going to go there and expect to go 1-0 this week.”– Mike Bloomgren on the team’s mindset

“It was great to have JT out at practice yesterday. He was in the bubble, able to be out there and hang out a little bit. I don’t know for sure, we’ll see. We’d love to have him back, there’s no doubt about that. If he gets cleared, we expect to play him.” – Mike Bloomgren on the status of JT Daniels

“What’s been interesting is to see how there offense has evolved. They went five straight games with scoring no more than 16 points and in their last two contests they went 33 and 38. They are definitely on an upswing. Making the change at quarterback to Trexler Ivery has seemed to give them a little bit of a boost and a little more stability maybe, but what they did in this last game to give themselves a chance against Memphis is they ran it down their throats.” – Mike Bloomgren on the Charlotte offense

“I think this is a great team and it’s far and away the best team I’ve been apart of since I’ve been here. I’m very grateful to be here and be a leader… It’s going to be a great opportunity that we have in front of us this Saturday, the Saturday following and hopefully the one coming up following that. That’s the only goal that we have is to win football games, go 1-0 this week and get to that bowl game and win it.” – Defensive lineman Izeya Floyd on the team’s goals right now

“We have to focus on the first game ahead of us. We can’t be so involved in the larger scheme that we miss the little details. Something that we’ve been talking about and focusing on is taking one step at a time, focusing on how we can improve every practice.” – Offensive lineman Ethan Onianwa on how the team is approaching earning bowl eligiblity

Depth Chart

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Depth Chart Notes

There were no changes to the official depth chart this week. That’s been the norm more often than not, with only significant injuries causing major fluctuations in the most recent updates. Now, who is actually going to play versus who is listed as the starter could be another question entirely. That’s something that might come down to kickoff in some cases, with most being able to sort out by the end of the week.

Make sure you read our Thursday practice report, reserved for subscribers, for the latest on the Rice football quarterback situation as well as other key injury notes and updates. Bloomgren has already announced he does not expect running back Juma Otoviano or tight end Elijah Mojarro to be available this week.

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