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Rice Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Men and Women vs Charlotte

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Each of the Rice Basketball teams saw winning streaks snapped against Old Dominion. They’ll look to get back on track against Charlotte. Here’s a preview of those games.

Rice Basketball

Time: Feb. 15 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: ESPN+ (If you don’t have ESPN+ you can access a free trial or subscribe here.)

Charlotte 14-10 (8-5), Last 5 (2-3)

  • 72-59 (L) at Louisiana Tech
  • 74-68 OT (L) at Southern Miss
  • 68-64 (W) vs UTEP
  • 91-84 (W) vs UTSA
  • 81-72 (L) at North Texas

Rice 12-14 (4-9), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 90-88 (L) vs UTSA
  • 84-75 (W) vs North Texas
  • 86-72 (W) at UAB
  • 91-83 (W) at MTSU
  • 73-70 (L) vs Old Dominion

Charlotte statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Jordan Shepherd – 14.2 per game
  • Rebounds | Jahmir Young- 5.2 per game
  • Assists | Jordan Shepherd – 4.2 per game
  • Steals | Cooper Robb – 1.6 per game
  • Blocks | Amidou Bamba – 1.0 per game

Rice keys to victory

The Owls’ shooting pace entering the Old Dominion game was unsustainable. They’d hit more than 50 percent of their shots from the field in each of their three prior games — all victories. Dropping back down below that mark was expected. Falling all the way to 36.1 % was a bit more than regression to the mean. A stunning 8-for-37 from three was the culprit. Rice needs to find a way to be a bit more effective inside against Charlotte which ranks fourth in C-USA in three-point defense.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 15 at 3:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Halton Arena
TV: ESPN+ (If you don’t have ESPN+ you can access a free trial or subscribe here.)

Charlotte 16-7 (7-5), Last 5 (4-1)

  • 55-37 (W) vs Louisiana Tech
  • 63-59 (W) vs Southern Miss
  • 82-76 OT (L) at UTEP
  • 67-47 (W) at UTSA
  • 72-59 (W) vs North Texas

Rice 16-6 (11-0), Last 5 (5-0)

  • 74-62 (W) at UTSA
  • 67-52 (W) at North Texas
  • 64-53 (W) vs UAB
  • 77-60 (W) vs MTSU
  • 66-59 OT (L) at Old Dominion

Charlotte statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Jade Phillips – 15.5 per game
  • Rebounds | Jade Phillips – 9.7 per game
  • Assists | Jada McMillian – 3.4 per game
  • Steals | Jade Phillips – 1.5 per game
  • Blocks | Jazmin Harris – 0.8 per game

Rice keys to victory

Rice women’s basketball has no streak to uphold when they hit the court in Charlotte on Saturday. The Owls played hard against Old Dominion, but the focus was lacking at times. The free throw shooting was sub-par and the thin lineup wasn’t able to bounce back in a tough environment. It was an off night. Every team has those.

The Owls can put any thoughts of a drop off to bed by playing their physical brand of basketball and eliminating some of those unforced errors. To this point, Rice has proven they’re a hard to beat when they don’t beat themselves.

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Rice Baseball 2020: Previewing the Texas series

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The 2020 Rice baseball season begins with a three-game series against an in-state rival. The Owls welcome the Texas Longhorns to Reckling Park this weekend.

The long offseason is over and Rice baseball returns to the diamond on Valentine’s weekend for a three-game series with the Texas Longhorns. The Owls won their opening series a year ago, taking two of three from Rhode Island. A similar result this weekend against Texas would qualify as a great start to the 2020 campaign.

Game Notes

Times: Friday 7:00 p.m. | Saturday 5:00 p.m. | Sunday 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Reckling Park
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: CUSA TV (TBD)

Projected Pitching Matchups

Both staffs have question marks entering opening weekend. Here’s our best guess. Stats are from 2019.

Friday | Alex De Leon (7-3, 3.53 – JUCO) vs Bryce Elder (2-4, 2.93)
Saturday |Blake Brogdon (0-0, 27.00 – 1.1 IP) vs Ty Madden (4-1, 3.40)
Sunday | Kel Bordwine (1-3, 4.37)  OR Drake Greenwood (0-2, 7.81) vs Coy Cobb (1-3 3.45)

The availability of Roel Garcia probably impacts the pitching combinations somewhat. If he can go a few innings, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Brogdon throw most of a game and Bordwine bumped into a long-relief role following a short outing from Garcia. We’ll have to see how it plays out.

Texas Pitching

Bryce Elder will be a challenging test for the Rice lineup on opening night. He’ll probably be one of the better arms the Owls face this year. He’ll be followed by Coy Cobb and most likely Ty Madden, both of which were regular starters for the Longhorns last season. Cole Quintanilla and Kamron Fields could be the first guys called from the pen. Each was among the leaders in appearances among the Texas staff last season.

Texas Hitting

The Texas lineup has a lot of talent, but most of it is unproven. Left fielder Eric Kennedy leads the way at the plate. He’s coming off a 2019 season in which he led the team with a .310 batting average and an .800 OPS. After him, center fielder Duke Ellis is probably the next most consistent hitter.

We’ll see a lot of young faces on the dirt against the Owls this weekend. Several true freshmen are likely to earn starting roles out of the gate. Two-way player Andre Duplantier and power hitter Brenden Dixon should both see plenty of action.

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Rice Women’s Basketball 2020: C-USA winning streak snapped by Old Dominion

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The biggest game of the Rice women’s basketball season went to overtime before Old Dominion prevailed, snapping the Owls’ 30-game conference winning streak.

Rice women’s basketball knew they were in for a 40-minute slugfest when they stepped onto the court to face Old Dominion on Thursday. The Monarchs weren’t intimidated by the Owls’ 30-game Conference USA winning streak. That was evident from the start.

Old Dominion was aggressive. Errant Rice passes were turned into Old Dominion fastbreak points. Missed Rice free throws — they were a woeful 12-of-22 from the charity stripe — became momentum-shifting plays in favor of the home squad.

Most teams have opted to tread cautiously when matching up with the defending champs. Old Dominion attacked, capitalizing on lapses and forcing the Owls to play from behind for much of the contest. Rice trailed for more than 30 minutes. The third quarter, which has been the hallmark of the Owls’ dominance this year, left Rice trailing entering the fourth.

PODCAST | Breaking down the early signing period

While the Owls relied on Ogwumike to do the heavy lifting, Old Dominion provided one of the most balanced showings the Owls have seen this year. Ajah Wayne, Taylor Edwards and Amari Young all finished in double-figure scoring. Marie Reichert was just shy with eight points.

One game does not define a season. Win or lose, Rice women’s basketball was still going to play Old Dominion again before the regular season ended. If Thursday night was any indication, these two teams might be meeting again in the conference tournament. It took overtime to separate these two teams. Old Dominion had the edge this time.

A 30-game winning streak in conference play is unprecedented. It had to end at some point — all streaks do — but this result should not diminish any faith in this team. Their first C-USA loss since 2018 is proof the Owls’ know what it takes.

There’s no more pressure to be perfect. The Owls’ aren’t in the driver’s seat right now, but they’re still equipped to win the conference and punch their ticket to the NCAA Tournament. That’s the goal. If anything, Thursday’s loss should add to the Owls’ intensity down the stretch.

Final Stats

Player of the Game – Erica Ogwumike

This was the Erica Ogwumike show. Coming off an NCBWA Player of the Week selection, the Owls’ senior leader played an incredible game in a hostile environment. Rice played a thin lineup, trusting Ogwumike to carry the load — she delivered with 26 points, 18 rebounds. She needed someone else to step up, but that help came up just short.

Up Next

Rice women’s basketball wraps up the road trip on Saturday. They’ll head to Charlotte for a 3:00 p.m. game. That game is scheduled to be broadcast on ESPN+.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep. 23 – Rice Football 2020 National Signing Day

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National Signing Day has come and hone and the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class is mostly complete. Carter and Matthew break down the newest signees.

The majority of the 2020 Rice Football recruiting class was signed during the Early Signing Period. We broke down how they fit with the current roster in our prior podcast (Ep. 22). Since then, Rice has added four new names to the fold and several other odds and ends off the field have come to light. There truly is no offseason. Stay tuned to the 2020 class and other important happenings below.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, Give a listen to Episode 23.

Episode 23 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Thank you to all who filled out our postseason survey. Your feedback is extremely valuable and will help us improve both the podcast and the site.
  • National Signing Day — Rice football added four players on National Signing Day: kicker Collin Riccitelli, linebacker Jaren Banks, corner Lamont Narcisse and safety Gabe Taylor. We break down how they fit with the Owls and what to expect from each of them in 2020 and beyond.
  • Rankings Talk —  The 2020 Rice Football recruiting class is the highest-rated class in program history. What does that really mean and will it matter for the Owls when it’s time to take the field in the fall?
  • Spring Practices Near — Spring practices begin at the end of February with the Rice football spring game slated for Friday, April 3. A few storylines to follow during camp. More than anything, it’s encouraging that the Owls will have a full roster to work with this spring.

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

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Rice Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Men and Women vs Old Dominion

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Both Men’s and Women’s Rice Basketball teams face pivotal matchups against Old Dominion on Thursday. Here’s a preview of both games.

Rice Basketball

Time: Feb. 13 at 7:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: ESPN+ (If you don’t have ESPN+ you can access a free trial or subscribe here.)

Old Dominion 10-15 (6-6), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 65-55 (W) vs FAU
  • 68-58 (W) at Southern Miss
  • 76-73 (L) at Louisiana Tech
  • 85-81 OT (L) vs UTSA
  • 72-53 (W) vs UTEP

Rice 12-13 (4-8), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 72-64 (L) vs UTEP
  • 90-88 (L) vs UTSA
  • 84-75 (W) vs North Texas
  • 86-72 (W) at UAB
  • 91-83 (W) at MTSU

Old Dominion statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Xavier Green – 12.5 per game
  • Rebounds | Aaron Carver – 10.2 per game
  • Assists | Malik Curry – 3.7 per game
  • Steals | Jason Wade – 2.6 per game
  • Blocks | Aaron Carver – 0.6 per game

Rice keys to victory

Fresh off their first wins ever in Birmingham and Murfreesboro, Rice basketball just needs to keep the hot streak going. The Owls’ shooting has been tremendous. They’ve shot better than 50 percent from the field in three straight games — all wins. They only hit seven three-pointers against MTSU and still controlled the game.

This team has proven they can beat anyone if they’re shooting well. That’s easier said than done, but it’s a clear differentiator between success and failure.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 13 at 5:30 p.m. CT
Venue: Chartway Arena
TV: ESPN+ (If you don’t have ESPN+ you can access a free trial or subscribe here.)

Old Dominion 20-3 (10-1), Last 5 (5-0)

  • 75-63 (W) at FAU
  • 67-50 (W) vs Southern Miss
  • 77-61 (W) vs Louisiana Tech
  • 62-43 (W) at UTSA
  • 77-69 (W) at UTEP

Rice 16-6 (11-0), Last 5 (5-0)

  • 69-61 (W) at UTEP
  • 74-62 (W) at UTSA
  • 67-52 (W) at North Texas
  • 64-53 (W) vs UAB
  • 77-60 (W) vs MTSU

Old Dominion statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Ajah Wayne – 11.2 per game
  • Rebounds | Amari Young – 8.4 per game
  • Assists | Taylor Edwards – 3.4 per game
  • Steals | Amair Young – 2.5 per game
  • Blocks | Marie Reichert – 1.3 per game

Rice keys to victory

Rice women’s basketball takes a 30-game conference winning streak into this pivotal matchup with Old Dominion. The winner leaves in first place in the conference standings with precious few weeks left to play.

Old Dominion is one of the most balanced teams in the conference. They can score and play terrific defense.  Four different Monarchs average double-digit points per game. To win, Rice needs to stay secure on the defensive end of the court and make Old Dominion make hard shots. Either way, this could be a grind-it-out, grueling finish in Virginia.

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