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MBB: Louisiana Tech game preview

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Rice basketball picked up their first conference win this week. Can they make it a winning streak with a win over Louisiana Tech on Saturday?

Rice and Louisiana Tech sport eerily similar CUSA records after two games of conference play. Both squads are 1-1 with wins over Southern Miss (0-2) and losses to North Texas (2-0). They’ll meet in an earlier rubber game of sorts on Saturday, Jan. 5. The winner will improve to 2-1, no worse than tied for second place in CUSA.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN3. Radio is available via the Stretch Internet Portal.

Louisiana Tech 11-4 (1-1), Last 5 (1-4)

  • L, 63-59 @ North Texas
  • W, 71-56 vs Southern Miss
  • W, 73-68 vs Texas A&M CC
  • W, 83-62 @ Louisiana
  • W, 96-80 vs Mississippi Valley State

Rice 6-9 (1-1), Last 5 – (2-3)

  • W, 73-65 vs Southern Miss
  • L, 103-87 vs North Texas
  • L, 83-66 vs Omaha
  • W, 75-67 @ Rio Grande Valley
  • L, 99-89 (OT) vs UC Santa Barbara

Louisiana Tech players to watch

Guard Daquan Bracey is one of the most productive shooters in the conference. He enters Saturday’s contest with the Owls with a 46.5 percent shooting percentage from the field, sixth best in CUSA. He leads Louisiana Tech in scoring (13.8 points per game), assists (4.1) and steals (1.2).

Checking in at 6-foot-8 and 6-foot-7, respectively,  Oliver Powell and Anthony Duruji provide a strong interior presence. Both forward average at least six rebounds per game and have the ability to score in bunches.

Louisiana Tech can score. If not one of those three, expect to see sharpshooter Amorie Archibald who has hit a team-high 28 three-point shots.

Rice keys to victory

Closing out games has been a struggle for Rice in the early going. The last time out against Southern Miss might have been one of the Owls’ best finishes of the season. The Eagles connected on just three shots over the final five minutes, failing to regain a lead they’d had for most of the game.

Louisiana Tech is one of the stronger teams in Conference USA. The Bulldogs went a perfect 7-0 in December before stumbling in their first game of the New Year. North Texas held them to 59 points, but they’re still averaging 78.6 points per game. If Louisiana Tech gets hot the Owls could find themselves buried quickly, making staying disciplined and contesting shots a must on Saturday.

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Owls rally to take down Southern Miss at home

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Rice basketball earned their first conference win, taking down Southern Miss at Tudor Fieldhouse, leveling the Owls’ CUSA record at 1-1.

A little more than seven minutes into the field half Rice had turned the ball over three times and connected on two shots from the field. The Owls trailed the visiting Southern Miss Eagles 16-6 and were dangerously close from one more run from their opponents pushing the game out of reach. This team stayed cool, keeping the deficit from growing.

Rice entered the half trailing by nine, still in the game, but in need of a run of their own. The Owls had shot 37 percent from the field in the first half and turned the ball over nine times. The game was well within reach, assuming Rice could reel in their missteps and focus.

Not only did Rice settle in, they outscored Southern Miss 40-23 over the final 20 minutes, clinching their first conference victory. The Owls committed just three turnovers after the break and outrebounded Southern Miss 24-15.

Player of the game – Jack Williams

When Rice had brought the game level, tied 46-46 in the second half, Jack Williams hadn’t scored any points. His first basket of the game, a three-pointer, extended the Owls’ lead to six. As Southern Miss attempted to mount a comeback, Williams hit four consecutive shots, scoring nine straight to keep Rice out in front. He finished with 12 points (all in the second half) and 10 rebounds, his second double-double of the season.

Up next – Louisiana Tech

Rice will get one more game at home before going back on the road. The Owls host Louisiana Tech, 11-4 (1-1), with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. The Bulldogs are coming off a road loss to the same North Texas squad that handed Rice their only CUSA loss of the season.

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MBB: Southern Miss game preview

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Rice basketball lost an early lead and dropped their first conference game to North Texas. Can they bounce back against Southern Miss?

An 11-point lead was erased all-too-quickly as a Rice shooting slump combined with a hot-streak for North Texas took the Owls’ first chance at a conference win. They’ll return to the gym on Thursday, Jan. 3 looking to play a full 40 minutes against Southern Miss.

The game is not scheduled for TV broadcast but will be available on CUSA TV and on the radio via the Stretch Internet Portal.

Southern Miss 8-5 (0-1), Last 5 (2-3)

  • L, 71-56 @ Louisiana Tech
  • W, 66-60 @ South Dakota
  • L, 55-51 @ Kansas State
  • L, 63-60 @ Wichita State
  • W, 81-47 vs Millsaps

Rice 5-9 (0-1), Last 5 – (2-3)

  • L, 103-87 vs North Texas
  • L, 83-66 vs Omaha
  • W, 75-67 @ Rio Grande Valley
  • L, 99-89 (OT) vs UC Santa Barbara
  • W, 78-73 vs St Edwards

Southern Miss players to watch

A relatively young Rice team will be tasked with defending a dangerous duo of senior guards for Southern Miss. Cortez Edwards and Tyree Griffin are the only Eagles averaging more than 30 minutes played and 12 points per game. If Rice can limit them and control the ball, they’ll be able to force a host of other role players to carry their team on the road.

The only other Southern Miss player to start in all 13 of the Eagles’ contests to this point is senior guard Kevin Holland. He doesn’t score at as high a rate as Edwards or Griffin, but his versatility and consistency make him an important piece on the floor. He averages 4.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Rice keys to victory

Unlike North Texas, Rice comes into this game averaging more points per game than Southern Miss. Southern Miss won’t be expected to replicate the same level of explosiveness as the Mean Green offense, meaning the Owls should be able to trade punches with the Eagles.

Southern Miss has excelled in protecting the ball (+4.69 turnover margin) whereas Rice has struggled with turnovers throughout the season (-1.93). If the Owls stay calm, play their game and don’t force things they should be more than capable of bringing home the win.

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Conference USA Football leads the way with 4-2 finish in bowl games

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Conference USA football represented themselves well in the 2018 postseason, finishing 4-2, the best record in the Group of 5.

Rice football wasn’t in the postseason in 2018, but the Owls saw several of Conference USA’s bowl teams firsthand last season. Middle Tennessee, North Texas, UAB, Marshall, FIU and Louisiana Tech represented CUSA in bowl games, finishing 4-2. Rice played four of those squad and will play the other two in 2019.

Conference USA finished with a 66.7 winning percentage in bowl games, the best record of any conference in the nation. Here’s how each CUSA squad’s bowl appearance turned out:

New Mexico Bowl (Dec. 15) – Utah State 52, North Texas 13

North Texas won sixth of their first seven games and three of their final six. One of those four losses was a blowout at the hands of an extremely talented Utah State team which was receiving votes in the most recent AP Poll. Even without head coach Matt Wells, who moved on to Texas Tech, the Aggies proved to be too much for the Mean Green.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (Dec. 15) – App State 45, Middle Tenn. 13

App State, too, was without its head coach. Scott Satterfield is the new head man at Louisville, but that didn’t seem to matter much in the New Orleans Bowl. Mountaineers’ wide receiver Malik Williams threw two touchdown passes. If that doesn’t sum up how bad of a day at the office it was for MTSU, I’m not sure what will.

Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl  (Dec. 18) – UAB 37, NIU 13

UAB’s storybook ceiling finished with a blowout win over a strong Northern Illinois team. The Blazers finished with a program-best eight wins in 2017 and improved on that in 2018, winning 11 games. Entering the offseason head coach Bill Clark received several Coach of the Year recognitions and a raise, which makes him the highest paid coach in the conference.

Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl (Dec. 20) – Marshall 38, USF 20

Marshall dropped the hammer on one of the most bizarre seasons in college football history. South Florida started the year 7-0 with wins over two Power 5 teams (Illinois and Georgia Tech). The Bulls lost their last six games and never came close to beating Marshall.

Makers Wanted Bahamas Bowl (Dec. 21) – FIU 35, Toledo 32

FIU won a back-and-forth shootout in what was the most exciting CUSA bowl game. After a Christian Alexander touchdown pass to Sterling Palmer gave the Panthers a 14-10 lead the two teams traded six more scores. Both teams scored in the final 45 seconds, but FIU clung to a 3-point lead, emerging with their ninth win, the best mark in school history.

Sofi Hawai’i Bowl (Dec. 22) – Louisiana Tech 31, Hawai’i 14

Hawai’i kept things close until Louisiana Tech exploded for three touchdowns in the third quarter. Warriors’ quarterback Cole McDonald was benched for his struggles midway through the second quarter and Bulldogs’ quarterback J’Mar Smith and company put this game to bed before the fourth quarter rolled around and McDonald was put back into the game.

Here’s how the rest of the conferences and independent teams fared:

Power 5

SEC: 6-5*
ACC: 5-5*
Big Ten: 5-4
Pac-12: 3-4
Big 12: 4-3

Group of 5

Conference USA: 4-2
Mountain West: 3-2
Sun Belt: 3-2
American: 2-5
MAC: 1-5

Independents: 2-1

*pending National Championship Game between Clemson and Alabama

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Owls in the NFL – Week 17

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Rice football has nine alumni currently active on NFL rosters. Here’s how the NFL Owls fared in their respective Week 17 games.

Chris Boswell, K (Steelers) – Boswell missed the Steelers 2018 regular season finale with a groin injury. His replacement, Matt McCrane connected on all three of his field goal attempt and an extra point, accounting for 10 of the Steelers’ 16 points in their win over the Bengals. Pittsburgh missed the Playoffs.

Bryce Callahan, CB (Bears) – Callahan was placed on injured reserve after breaking a bone in his foot against the Los Angeles Rams. The Bears defeating the Minnesota Vikings in Week 17 and will host the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in the Wildcard Round.

Christian Covington, DE (Texans) – Covington was credited with one tackle and one quarterback hit in the Texans’ Week 17 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. Next week the Texans host the Colts in the Wild Card Round.

Phillip Gaines, CB (Browns) – Gaines missed the last four games of the Browns’ season with an injury. The Browns lost their Week 17 game to the Ravens.

Vance McDonald, TE (Steelers) – McDonald was targeted six times in the Steelers’ Week 17 loss. He caught three of those passes for 39 yards including a long of 22-yards, Pittsburgh’s second-longest reception of the day. McDonald caught 50 passes for 610 yards and four touchdowns this season, all career bests.

Andrew Sendejo, S (Vikings) – Placed on injured reserve after missing extended time following a groin injury. The Vikings’ missed the Playoffs.

Jordan Taylor, WR (Broncos) – On the PUP list following off-season surgery. The Broncos missed the Playoffs and have since fired head coach Vance Joseph.

Luke Wilson, TE (Lions) – Wilson missed the Lions’ final game of the regular season. His season ends with 13 receptions for 87 yards. This was the first season of his professional career in which he did not record at least one touchdown.

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