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Rice Basketball Recruiting: Forward Gabe Warren commits to Owls

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The 2023 Rice Basketball Recruiting class continues to pick up steam, landing a big commitment this week from 3-star forward Gabe Warren.

Not long after securing a pledge from 4-star forward Keanu Dawes, the 2023 Rice Basketball recruiting class has doubled up. The Owls now have two members of their upcoming class. In addition to Dawes, Glendale, AZ forward Gabe Warren has committed to Rice Basketball.

Warren had already accrued nearly a dozen offers at the time of his commitment to the Owls, including offers from TCU, Sam Houston, Brown, Dartmouth and others. A Top 50 ranked small forward nationally and the No. 11 player in the state of Arizona, Warren should add some pop to the Rice program when he arrives on campus.

According to 247 Sports rankings, Warren and Dawes rank No. 2 and No. 1 all-time, respectively. The 2023 Rice Basketball recruiting class is currently slotted at No. 42 in the nation and No. 1 in Conference USA. Head coach Scott Pera and his staff have delivered two impressive additions, who enter South Main as the most highly regarded recruits in almost 10 years.

When asked about his decision and his expectations for the program, Warren didn’t beat around the bush. “The program has been slept on for too long,” he said. “Keanu and I noticed that and want to start something big.”

Standing 6-foot-6, Warren can shoot and score from all over the court. Whether from deep of at the rim, he’s an offensive weapon. He’s great off the ball but even more importantly, can create his own shot when he has the rock. He’s really fun to watch. Warren is a big get for the program and someone that will assuredly make an impact for Rice in the years to come.

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Conference USA Football 2022: Week 8 Roundup

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Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 8.

Team Week 8 Result Up Next
Charlotte vs FIU L, 34-15 at Rice
FAU at UTEP L, 24-21 vs UAB
FIU at Charlotte W, 34-15 vs LA Tech
LA Tech vs Rice L, 42-41 (OT) at FIU
MTSU — OFF —  — at UTEP
North Texas at UTSA L, 31-27 at WKU
Rice at LA Tech W, 42-41 (OT) vs Charlotte
UAB at WKU L, 20-17 at FAU
UTEP vs FAU W, 24-21 vs MTSU
UTSA vs North Texas W, 31-27 — OFF —
WKU vs UAB W, 20-17 vs North Texas

Notable Week 8 results – Standings

And then there was one

A Frank Harris touchdown pass with 15 seconds remaining lifted UTSA past North Texas, 37-21 in San Antonio. The win served as revenge from last season’s upset, but it also ensured the Roadrunners would be the lone unbeaten team remaining in conference play.

Falling back to earth

After a remarkable run under head coach Bill Clark, UAB hasn’t shown nearly the same level of consistency under interim man Bryant Vincent. The Blazers picked up their third loss of the season on Saturday, falling to WKU, and sit at 2-2 in conference play through four games. Barring a late-season run, it’s not looking like the Blazers will have a seat in the championship game this season.

Top heavy?

Following Saturday’s results, there are just four teams (out of 11) with winning records in conference play: UTSA, Western Kentucky, North Texas and Rice. The Owls kept pace with that upper tier with a heart-stopping overtime victory over Louisiana Tech in Ruston this weekend. Luke McCaffrey had more than 200 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns in the win.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Thinning out the top

North Texas had a chance to seize control of the conference title race on Saturday, but it’s possible the Mean Green will be out of the hunt by the time the month of October concludes if things go wrong next weekend. North Texas faces Western Kentucky, also 3-1 in conference play, with the loser picking up a second loss and without a tiebreaker against UTSA.

Danger zone

Meanwhile, below that tandem in the standings, UAB and FAU meet in Boca Raton. Both have challenging schedules down the stretch and have a lot riding on this game. If there’s any chance of sneaking into a conference title game, this is their last chance to make a move. If not, it sets up the potential for a late season slide for programs picked to finish much more highly in the preseason polls.

Rising Miners?

UTEP fell out of the spotlight with a rough 1-3 start, but has quietly been pretty good since. They dropped a road game against Louisiana Tech, but have still managed to win three of their last four. A win over MTSU — which is still winless in conference play — would put them one win from bowl eligibility with games still remaining against Rice and FIU.

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Luke McCaffrey soars, lifting Rice Football past Louisiana Tech

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After a shaky start, a banner day for Luke McCaffrey helped push Rice Football to their first road win of the season, downing Louisiana Tech.

It wasn’t pretty. There were large swathes of the game that each phase — offense, defense and special teams — will want to forget. But when the dust settled, Rice football won on the road as a favorite for the first time under head coach Mike Bloomgren. Here are a few immediate reactions from the game:

Maddening offense finally figures it out

Fixing the offense was priority one this week during practice. Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren was adamant that nothing was “broken” and that the team could get things turned around. They focused their running back snaps, reconfigured the offensive line and put their trust in quarterback TJ McMahon. When it came time to play the game, it felt like things had gotten worse, not better.

A gutsy fake punt on the Owls’ first drive of the game was the only run that went longer than four yards in the first quarter. Excluding that fake, converted by fullback Micah Barnett, Rice averaged 0.6 (yes, zero point six, not a typo) yards per carry on their first three possessions. Early on, the passing game wasn’t much better. Even when accounting for two early third down conversions, McMahon started the game 3-for-8 for 23 yards.

The Roost Podcast: Stay tuned for the game recap this week – Rice Football vs LA Tech

Instead of improved, this offense looked broken for two-plus quarters. The running game wasn’t fixed, and one could argue it might even have gotten worse. No matter the combination, the offensive line hasn’t gelled to the degree it needs to for this offense to be effective. On top of that, McMahon is learning on the job and the highs and lows are being experienced in real-time.

It was encouraging to see the team start moving the ball in the second half. But we already knew they could score. We knew they had playmakers that could make plays and we’ve seen McMahon at his best. They’re just maddeningly inconsistent right now and it’s going to be hard to have much confidence in the unit until they string together a few consecutive quarters of quality play.

Fortunately for Rice football, McMahon’s high came at the right time.

The silver lining? The second half. Rice football scored 28 points in the second half and accounted for 322 yards, including 204 on the ground. The ability is there. The consistency needs to arrive soon.

When in doubt, Luke McCaffrey

Bradley Rozner caught a touchdown but was otherwise quiet. The running game was non-existent. Turnovers plagued the team all day long. Had it not been for the big play ability of Luke McCaffrey, Rice might have scored at all on Saturday. McCaffrey hasn’t been perfect in his transitional year from quarterback to wide receiver, but it’s abundantly clear that his raw speed and tremendous athleticism give this offense a spark.

McCaffrey scored the first touchdown of the day on a perfect throw from McMahon, one of his best on the day. Then McCaffrey made some magic of his own in the third quarter, breaking off a 66-yard reception after catching a pass in stride. His 77 yards after the catch was more than any other receiver on either team had receiving yards in regulation. He finished with 171 receiving yards, two receiving touchdowns and a receiving score.

Outside of McCaffrey, it was McMahon and Otoviano that provided the sparks. It might not be possible to build the entire offense out of McCaffrey, and if McMahon can settle in and the running game can show any semblance of life, Rice football shouldn’t have to. But it’s nice to know that when in doubt, Rice has a guy that can make it happen.

Stop. The. Turnovers.

As if things weren’t hard enough for the offense, the unit continued to make its own job more challenging on Saturday. Rice football entered the game tied for eighth-worst in Conference USA with 13 giveaways. McMahon was second nationally with 10 interceptions.

The Owls had given the ball away too many times, but there was some hope that all the tipped passes that fell into defenders’ hands were bad luck, rather than symptoms of a growing problem. Luck or not, the issues persisted. Against Louisiana Tech, Rice fumbled four times, losing two of them. turned the ball over three times. They turned it over on downs once as well.

After a three-and-out in which the offense went backward nine yards, Broussard fumbled on a first down carry. That set the Louisiana Tech offense up on a short field from which it took a goal line pick from Sean Fresch to keep points off the board. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Broussard fumbled on the one-yard line a few drives later and was benched. Sean Fresch added a turnover on a punt return, too.

This offense is not consistent enough as it is. They can’t afford to lose possessions and spot opponents with better field positions. And it’s maddening to watch them turn things on in the second half and score points in bunches as soon as they ceased handing the ball to the other team.

The defense can’t hold on forever

Louisiana Tech entered the game averaging 34.0 points per game in conference play and 29.7 points overall. Rice held them 35 points in regulation, essentially on par with their standards. Had it not been for some opportunistic plays by this unit, Rice football might have been out of the game entirely before halftime.

The defense gave this team a chance on a day in which the offense struggled mightily, but the signs of exhaustion were there. Louisiana Tech broke off a 49-yard carry in the first quarter. The Bulldogs scored a 32-yard touchdown on a screen pass immediately following a sack that pushed them back to second-and-20.

It’s true, the defense is being asked to carry its weight and more, but lapses in concentration of that magnitude are quick to undo the positive gains accrued on the other 95 percent of their snaps. Louisiana Tech’s final fourth quarter drive was another heart-pounding reminder they’re not perfect, yet.

Rice entered Saturday tied for second-best in Conference USA with only 11 plays of 30+ yards allowed on defense, so it’s not time to hit the red-alert button just yet. But after looking dominant at times in recent weeks, there were some signs of tiredness that seeped through on Saturday, particularly on that final drive and subsequent conversion.

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Rice Football 2022: LA Tech Insider gives his take on the Bulldogs

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Rice Football is set for a big game this weekend against Louisiana Tech. Ben Carlisle of BleedTechBlue fills us in on what to expect in this game.

BleedTechBlue publisher Ben Carlisle was kind enough to stop by and answer a few questions about the upcoming matchup between Rice Football and Louisiana Tech. The answers below should shed some light on the Owls’ upcoming opponent.

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Rice Football 2022: LA Tech Game Week Practice Report

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Rice football visits Louisiana Tech this weekend for their final time in Conference USA play. Here’s what we learned from practice this week.

Back in action after a Week 7 loss to FAU, Rice football enters the weekend as road favorites for only the second time under head coach Mike Bloomgren. They’ve got to get the offense going this weekend against Louisiana Tech and they’ve made some plans to do just that.

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This week’s roundup highlights what the team is doing to get the running game going, injury updates (both good and bad) as well as some individual highlights from the week.

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