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Rice Football to begin spring practice on Monday, March 1

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Spring football is back. Rice football is scheduled to kick off its spring schedule on Monday, March 1. Stay tuned to The Roost for updates.

Rice football will begin spring practices on March 1. The spring football roster, including early enrollees and returning seniors, was released mid-February but might have gotten lost in the shuffle considering everything that’s gone on in Houston over the past two weeks.

We’ve broken down the most notable changes and shifts on that new roster for subscribers here. We’ll also be providing updates throughout the month as practices progress. There will be details on important competitions like quarterback and wide receiver plus notes on a few new faces just recently arriving on South Main.

Our Starting Lineup tier subscribers will get access to every update from spring practices. You’ll also get access to all recruiting updates, past and future as well as any special features along the way. Offers for the class of 2022 are picking up as Rice looks to build off consecutive strong classes.

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There should also soon be an announcement regarding the changes on the coaching staff. Departing from the staff are offensive coordinator Jerry Mack and special team’s coordinator Drew Svoboda. Rice is expected to name former Cal tight ends coach Marques Tuiasosopo as their new offensive coordinator. Jim Jackson, formerly of UMass, will coach tight ends.

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Rice Baseball 2021: Owls swept by Louisiana in first road series

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Rice baseball (2-4) fell in three straight games to Louisiana. The Owls had good moments on the mound, but couldn’t keep up with the Cajun’s bats.

THREE FOR THE ROAD | Louisiana wins series 3-0

1. The Bullpen posts another strong showing

The season hasn’t been long, but we’ve seen the same narrative play out more than once. Rice baseball starting pitching surrenders the lead. The offense doesn’t have the juice to catch back up, but the bullpen keeps the team within striking distance until the innings run their course.

That same scenario manifested itself on Friday and Saturday against Louisiana. Dalton Wood and Reed Gallant were terrific. Wood allowed no hits and struck out three in 2.1 innings on Friday. Gallant allowed two hits with one strikeout in 4.1 innings on Saturday. But despite their best efforts, neither factored in a decision on the weekend because the lead had already been lost before they got their chance on the mound.

Sunday’s collective wasn’t as strong, but it did include several faces seeing their first action of the season in a situation where Rice was already trailing.

2. More offense, please

Rice scored three runs in each of their three games against Louisiana. Justin Dunlap, the Owls’ most productive hitter against Houston Baptist, did not play in the series. Among the Owls that did, only four — Braden Comeaux (.364), Justin Long (.333), Cade Edwards (.304) and Bradley Gneiting (.238) — are hitting better than .220 on the season.

Guy Garibay, who made his Rice debut on Friday night, drew three walks and hit a home run. He’s fifth among all Owls with a .385 on-base percentage. Rice is going to need more from incoming transfer Connor Walsh and Hal Hughes at the plate, too.

3. Flipped rotation not working for the Owls

We’ve seen a lot of tremendous pitching performances from the Rice staff so far this season. Unfortunately, that hasn’t extended to their unexpected series-starting pitcher Mitchell Holcomb. Entering the season, Roel Garcia and Blake Brogdon were the sure-fire top two arms in the rotation. Holcomb was the likeliest candidate to pitch on Sundays. He wasn’t supposed to be a Friday night guy.

Listen: The Roost Podcast Offseason Interview Series

But the storm and limited availability of others have made Holcomb the man tasked with opening series thus far. By head coach Matt Bragga’s own admission, he hasn’t been at his best. That’s put Rice in early holes.

If everything had gone according to plan, Holcomb still would have been in the rotation, so his struggles so far still would have impacted the team. But there’s something to be said from falling behind in a series so quickly. It changes how pitchers are deployed and how a team responds. Getting Garcia back into the No. 1 spot is a must.

THE PLAY BY PLAY

FRIDAY | Louisiana 7 – Rice 3

Louisiana struck early in the opener. A leadoff home run sparked a three-run, eight-batter first inning against Mitchell Holcomb that put Rice into comeback mode from the start. The Owls were able to equalize with a Connor Walsh home run, but the offense was quiet from that point onward.

Holcomb would allow another two runs before exiting after three innings. Alex DeLeon allowed two more runs in 2.2 innings before Dalton Wood came on and blanked the Cajuns for the final 2.1 innings. By then, it was too late. Rice had just four hits total after the second inning.

SATURDAY | Louisiana 5 – Rice 3

After trading zeroes in the first, Louisiana scratched across a run in the second and the third innings to take a 2-0 lead. Rice had their best opportunity in the fourth, striking for three runs and driving starting pitcher David Christie from the game.

The Owls did not hold the lead for more than a few minutes. A pair of RBI doubles against Rice starter Blake Brogdon put Louisiana in front in the bottom half of the inning. Brogdon would be chased before recording the third out. He was charged with all three runs in the inning as well as the 5-3 loss.

SUNDAY | Louisiana 6 – Rice 3

Rice struck first on Sunday, sneaking a run across on an error in the third inning. That 1-0 lead would hold until Garcia was lifted in the fifth inning for Brandon Deskins. The sophomore didn’t exhibit the same amount of control that he did against Houston Baptist. He was charged with three runs and saddled with the loss.

Including the three allowed by Deskins, the bullpen would collectively concede six runs before Rice baseball found a way back onto the scoreboard.

Garibay came through with his first collegiate home run in the eighth, but the celebration was somewhat muted with teammate Comeaux having been just escorted from the field after being hit by a pitch.

ON DECK | Rice Baseball vs Prairie View A&M (Wed) and Shriner’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park: Sam Houston (Fri), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Sat), Texas State (Sun).

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Rice Women’s Basketball: Owls shoot circles around Louisiana Tech

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Rice women’s basketball rebounded from a challenging road trip with an emphatic home sweep of Louisiana Tech. The wins kept the Owls atop C-USA.

The lede up to the Marshall games was different for Rice women’s basketball. The team wasn’t able to practice like they’re used to before fleeing a thawing city in the midst of ever-present COVID-19 concerns. Win or lose, last week was hard.

So win Jasmine Smith launched a half-court heave in the third quarter of Friday’s win over Louisiana Tech, the bench exploded. “Everything is so heavy right now,” head coach Tina Langley recalled after the game. “You can’t even see each other smile hardly anymore. So to be able to see [Smith] celebrate and have some fun, I think really brought us all a lot [of joy].”

That infectious energy imbued Rice to a two-game sweep of Louisiana Tech this weekend. The Owls jumped out to an early lead in the opening game, but Louisiana Tech fought back and held the Rice accountable for their miscues.

Listen: The Roost Podcast Offseason Interview Series

A five-point halftime lead reflected what had been a fairly evenly contest to that point. Then the Rice women took a page out of the men’s playbook and began a barrage of three-pointers. Including the half-court bomb from Smith, Rice hit six threes in a row, blowing what had been a close game wide open. The Owls closed out the fourth quarter with a comfortable lead, capping off an emphatic bounce-back win.

Saturday was more of the same. The two teams traded blows early on, with Rice clinging to a two-point lead at halftime. Then came the third quarter and, once again, the three point barrage. Rice made three of their seven three pointers in the third quarter, extending the lead to double-digits to set up a relatively stress-free fourth quarter.

Player Spotlight | Nancy Mulkey

Mulkey notched her 1,000th career point with, what else, but a three pointer in the third quarter. She’s perfect from deep on her career, making all three of her attempts. As good as the Owls have been as a unit, Mulkey has been on another level.

As of the end of this series, the Owls’ center leads the team in field goal percentage, rebounding, blocks and points. She’s also the only member of the team to be shooting 1.000 from three.

Stat Corner | Going deep

This isn’t a team that takes a lot of three point shots. With Nancy Mulkey in the paint, there’s hardly much need to rely on volume from deep. It’s just never been part of head coach Tina Langley’s offensive philosophy. Until now?

“To be honest with you, we’ve been talking about [shooting more threes] for some time.”

Rice finished their Friday game with 14 made three-pointers, four more than they converted in their two-game set against Marshall last weekend and more than they’ve made in any game over the past three seasons. Four different players hit at least three three-pointers. The Owls 25 attempts were the most they’d taken since Feb. 14, 2019 in a win over FIU.

The volume was down Saturday, but the efficiency remained sky-high. Rice hit 50 percent of their deep balls, tied for their fourth-best shooting performance from three this season.

Up Next

While some programs have ended their regular season schedule, Rice women’s basketball has one more set of games lined up prior to the conference tournament. The Owls will make up previously scheduled games against North Texas. The Owls will play Thursday in Denton and finish the two-game set Saturday at Tudor Fieldhouse.

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Rice Basketball: Owls ice cold in road sweep by Louisiana Tech

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Rice basketball dropped both games to Louisiana Tech this weekend, ending the regular season with a 6-10 record in Conference USA play.

It was a tough two-game stint for Rice basketball, who were swept by Louisiana Tech on the road this weekend. Rice has lost four in a row after sweeping Southern Miss at home to start the month.

On Friday night, the Owls came out cold. Louisiana Tech was red hot. Rice shot 29.0 percent from the field in the first half and 35.3 percent from the field in the second. Louisiana Tech shot 63.6 percent from the field in the first half, doubling the Owls efficiency — and their scoring.

Down 28 points entering the break, the hole proved too big to overcome. Rice shot marginally better down the stretch, but outside of Cameron Sheffield (17 points on 5-of-8 shooting) nobody had a particularly strong outing.

Louisiana Tech fell somewhat back to earth on Saturday, but Rice was unable to string together the consistency necessary to weather the Bulldogs’ runs. Rice led 21-15 in the first half, but watched that lead dissipate before the halftime buzzer. Not even Riley Abercombie’s strong day from deep (15 points on 5-for-8 from three) was enough to reinvigorate the Rice offense.

Player Spotlight | Max Fiedler

Fiedler’s importance to this team was demonstrated both on and off the court this weekend. Rice had no rhythm with him absent on Friday. On Saturday, Fiedler delivered a double-double, his tenth of the season. He overcame foul trouble and the challenges of playing with a facemask to give the Owls a chance.

Stat Corner | Ice cold

Sometimes it’s not your night. That was abundantly clear on Friday when the Owls seemingly couldn’t buy a bucket. 11 Owls attempted a field goal in the game. Just three — Sheffield, Quincy Olivari and Travis Evee — made more than one shot. Missing Max Fiedler, who left the game after getting hit in the face, compounded the shooting woes.

Listen: The Roost Podcast Offseason Interview Series

But Fiedler was on the court Saturday when the Owls shooting hit another rut. Rice had a lead over Louisiana Tech midway through the first half. Then the Bulldogs went on a 25-6 run over the final eight minutes. It didn’t matter which combination of players Rice had on the court, the shots weren’t falling.

Rice cut the deficit to four points in the second half. Louisiana Tech responded with a 16-2 run.

Even when considering the volume of shots Rice attempts from three, the Owls still average roughly a 45 percent clip from the floor this season. The Owls finished below 35 percent in both games over the weekend. That’s not going to cut it in the conference tournament.

Up Next

Unlike the women’s team, which has two more games left against North Texas, the men are scheduled to be off this coming weekend. Barring a last-minute game added to the slate, the Owls’ next action will come in Frisco at the conference tournament in March.

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Rice Basketball Preview: Owls vs Louisiana Tech

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The Rice basketball has both teams back in action last week, taking on Louisiana Tech as the regular season winds down.

Rice Basketball

Time: Feb. 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT and Feb. 27 at 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Thomas Assembly Center
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: Friday – CUSAtv / Saturday – CBS Sports Network

Louisiana Tech 17-6 (10-4), Last 5 (4-1)

  • 65-62 (W) vs Southern Miss
  • 68-63 (W) at North Texas
  • 55-57 (L) at North Texas
  • 70-58 (W) vs UAB
  • 69-64 (W) vs UAB

Louisiana Tech statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Isaiah Crawford – 11.5 per game
  • Rebounds | Kenneth Lofton – 7.3 per game
  • Assists | Cobe Williams – 3.1 per game
  • Steals | Cobe Williams – 3.1 per game
  • Blocks | Isaiah Crawford – 0.6 per game

Rice 12-10 (6-8), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 53-79 (L) at North Texas
  • 88-62 (W) vs Southern Miss
  • 76-68 (W) vs Southern Miss
  • 71-77 (L) at Western Kentucky
  • 66-89 (L) at Western Kentucky

Rice statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Quincy Olivari – 15.9 per game
  • Rebounds | Max Fiedler – 8.8 per game
  • Assists | Max Fiedler – 3.9 per game
  • Steals | Travis Evee – 1.2 per game
  • Blocks | Max Fiedler – 1.0 per game

What’s at stake

Conference USA made the curious, late-in-the-season decision to expand the conference tournament field this past week. Rather than limit the tournament to the top 12 teams as has been the custom in the past, every team will receive an invite this year.

At 6-8, Rice is in the middle of the pack among the overall conference standings, but only two games out of the bottom spot in the West. They won’t have any worries about missing the tournament now, making the opportunity to climb in the seedings and face a team that might just barely originally snuck in all the more appealing.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 26 at 2:00 p.m. CT and Feb. 27 at 4:00 p.m.
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: Friday – CUSAtv / Saturday – CUSAtv

Louisiana Tech 13-7 (8-6), Last 5 (3-2)

  •  44-57 (L) at Southern Miss
  • 60-55 (W) vs North Texas
  • 58-63 (L) vs North Texas
  • 77-51 (W) at UAB
  • 83-61 (W) at UAB

Louisiana Tech statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Keiunna Walker – 16.6 per game
  • Rebounds | Anna Larr Roberson – 6.8 per game
  • Assists | Amber Dixon – 3.3 per game
  • Steals | Raizel Guinto – 1.5 per game
  • Blocks | Anna Larr Roberson – 0.7 per game

Rice 13-2 (9-1), Last 5 (4-1)

  • 67-59 (W) at Old Dominion
  • 64-55 (W) vs Western Kentucky
  • 77-74 (W) vs Western Kentucky
  • 54-48 (W) at Marshall
  • 56-68 (L) at Marshall

Rice statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Nancy Mulkey – 16.3 per game
  • Rebounds | Nancy Mulkey – 7.5 per game
  • Assists | Jasmine Smith – 4.3 per game
  • Steals | Jasmine Smith and Sydne Wiggins – 1.3 per game
  • Blocks | Nancy Mulkey – 3.2 per game

Whats’s at stake

Rice women’s basketball faded in the fourth quarter in rather uncharacteristic fashion last time out against Marshall. One loss in 10 tries is stomachable, but the Owls wiggle room was less forgiving. North Texas (8-2) and Middle Tennessee (10-2) sit within percentage points of Rice for the best record in the conference. The pressure is now on Rice to take care of business, otherwise they might lose the top spot in the conference tournament to someone else.

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