The source for Rice sports news

The Roost Podcast | Ep. 24 – Evan Kravetz and Clifton Douglass

By

Former Rice baseball pitcher Evan Kravetz and Conference USA Assitant Commissioner Clifton Douglass join us on the Roost Podcast this week.

There’s a lot going on in Conference USA. Baseball season is in its early days as the basketball seasons begin to wind down toward the conference tournament. In the midst of everything going on, we had the chance to sit down and chat with some folks plugged into both Conference USA and Rice baseball.

Former Owls’ pitcher Evan Kravetz joined us to talk about Rice on the diamond. Current Conference USA Assitant Commissioner Clifton Douglass came on the show to talk about the basketball season and more.

You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, Give a listen to Episode 24.

Episode 24 Notes

  • Housekeeping — Get notifications when new shows are posted and other updates by turning on push notifications when you follow The Roost Podcast on Twitter.
  • Evan Kravetz — Making his first appearance on the show, Kravetz caught Rice fans up on what his last year has been like since he was selected by the Cincinnati Reds in the MLB Draft. He told us all about minor league life, his perfect 0.00 ERA from his debut season in pro ball. Then he gave a few names to watch on the current Rice baseball roster.
  • Clifton Douglass —  Another first time guest, Douglass walked through the decision making process that led Conference USA to institute bonus play. Does he think it has had the intended results? We also hit on the conference tournament at The Star in Frisco and the success on the court by Rice women’s basketball, the North Texas men and more.

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.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Conference USA Women’s Basketball 2020: Mid-conference play update

By

The Conference USA women’s basketball season is creeping closer and closer to March. Here’s where things stand with roughly half the conference games in the books.

The driving story of Conference USA women’s basketball remains the incredible undefeated run from the Rice Owls. Through eight games of the current season, Rice has won an astounding 27 consecutive games against C-USA foes. The Owls are as good as advertised, and they’ve done it while missing games from two of their most prominent stars: Erica Ogwumike and Nancy Mulkey.

UTEP has been a pleasant surprise, after being picked to finish near the cellar the Miners are two games out of first place. With Old Dominion, Middle Tennessee and UAB have emerged as a tier above the rest, but matchups between the remaining teams (save for 1-7 FIU) feel like a toss up on any given night.

The Standings

Early Player of the Year pick

It’s hard to pick against Preseason Conference USA Player of the Year Erica Ogwumike. The Owls’ do-it-all guard has scored 51 points in the past two games after missing the two prior contests with an injury. She’s had double-digit rebounds in six straight contests and continues to wow every time she takes the court. As long as she’s healthy, it’s going to be hard to beat this team.

Panic buttons

For the most part, the women’s standings reflect preseason expectations. The teams that were supposed to be good have proven to be good and vice-versa. The only possible exception could be Middle Tennessee. The Lady Raiders were the only other non-Rice team to receive first-place votes. Since the preseason, though, they’ve fallen three games behind the Owls in the standings. There would be no shame in finishing runner up to the Owls, but it would mean to NCAA bid and a disappointing season for MTSU.

February game to watch

Circle February 8 on your calendars for the matchup which could decide who wins Conference USA. Middle Tennessee visits Rice for a 2:00 p.m. tip. The Owls could be playing for their 30th consecutive C-USA win at that point. A stumble against a quality opponent could open the door for someone else to win the conference crown down the stretch.

Bracketology

Conference USA women’s basketball is projected to remain a one-bid league in the latest Bracketology. Charlie Breme has current frontrunner Rice as a 12-seed in the Portland region, squaring off against Kentucky in the first round. Whether it’s Rice or someone else, the odds off C-USA being anything more than a single-bid, double-digit seed seems decidedly unlikely.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Conference USA Basketball 2020: Mid-conference play update

By

The Conference USA basketball season is creeping closer and closer to March. Here’s where things stand with roughly half the conference games in the books.

Credit first belongs to WKU, who withstood the injury to Charles Bassey and have remained neck-and-neck with North Texas atop the conference standings. The Hilltoppers were supposed to be there. The Mean Green were not. Picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll, North Texas has been by far the most impressive team through the first several months of the season.

The Standings

Early Player of the Year pick

UTSA guard Jhivvan Jackson has been on another world this season. He leads C-USA in scoring, averaging 26.3 points per game. That’s the second-highest total in the nation, trailing only Marquette’s Markus Howard (28.3 ppg). Jackson has failed to reach 20 points in one conference game. If it weren’t for him, UTSA’s already surprisingly challenging season could be in a much more dour spot.

Panic buttons

The conference has shown remarkable balance this season. Outside of North Texas and WKU, teams three through 11 have been fairly evenly matched. Then there’s Southern Miss, MTSU and Rice. Each has their own shortcomings and is running out of time to turn things around before the conference tournament in March.

February game to watch

Bonus play has yet to be decided, so the latter portion of the month’s schedule is still TBD. WKU should play North Texas in what could be the deciding game for the No. 1 seed. For the time being, circle Thursday, February 6 when Louisiana Tech visits WKU. If the Bulldogs are going to make a push, that might be their best chance.

Bracketology

Conference USA Basketball is projected to remain a one-bid league in the latest Bracketology. Joe Lunardi has current frontrunner North Texas as a 13-seed in the East region, squaring off against Kentucky in the first round. Whether it’s North Texas or someone else, the odds off C-USA being anything more than a single-bid, double-digit seed seems decidedly unlikely.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Conference USA Football 2019: Bowl Updates and Championship Recap

By

FAU has won the 2019 Conference USA football championship. Now eight teams venture on to bowl season, with the first game approaching soon.

Team Opponent Bowl Time Date
Charlotte Buffalo Maker’s Wanted Bahamas Bowl Fri. Dec. 20 1:00 p.m.
FAU* SMU Cheribundi Boca Raton Bowl Sat. Dec. 21 2:30 p.m.
FIU Arkansas St Camellia Bowl Sat. Dec. 21 4:30 p.m.
UAB Appalachian St R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Sat. Dec. 21 8:00 p.m.
Marshall UCF Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl Mon. Dec. 23 1:30 p.m.
LA Tech Miami Walk-on’s Independence Bowl Thr. Dec. 26 3:00 p.m.
WKU Western Michigan SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Mon. Dec. 30 11:30 a.m.
So. Miss Tulane Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Sat. Jan. 4 10:30 a.m.
*Won Conference USA Football Championship Game

Conference USA Championship Week 15 results – Standings

The Conference USA Football Championship was a total non-event. FAU jumped out in front of UAB quickly, turning a 14-3 first quarter lead into an overwhelming 35-6 halftime advantage. All the while the Ole Miss football Twitter account was tweeting out gifs in regards to the not-so-secret future of one Lane Kiffin. That ended up being more entertaining than the game itself.

Updates from elsewhere in C-USA

Time runs out for Frank Wilson and Bobby Wilder

Now former head coach Frank Wilson was fired from UTSA following the season. Shortly after, former Old Dominion head coach Bobby Wilder elected to resign from the program. At the time, those were the only Conference USA football head coaching jobs to open this offseason.

What’s next for some of C-USA’s best?

For the past few seasons, Bill Clark and Lane Kiffin have represented the best coaching Conference USA has to offer. Rumors of both coaches potentially being on the move surfaced during the lead up to the conference championship game. Kiffin made the leap to the SEC. Clark is staying put, for now, but the coaching carousel hasn’t stopped spinning just yet.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Conference USA Football 2019: Week 12 C-USA Roundup

By

A big road for Rice football was the highlight of Week 12. The latest from this weekend of Conference USA Football as title races begin to wind down.

Team Week 12 Result Week 13
Charlotte — OFF —  — vs Marshall
FAU — OFF —  — at UTSA
FIU — OFF —  — vs Miami
LA Tech at Marshall (Fri) L, 31-10 at UAB
Marshall vs LA Tech (Fri) W, 31-10 at Charlotte
MTSU vs Rice L, 31-28 vs Old Dominion
North Texas — OFF —  — at Rice
Old Dominion — OFF —  — at MTSU
Rice at MTSU W, 31-28 vs North Texas
Southern Miss vs UAB W, 36-17 vs WKU
UAB vs UTEP W, 37-10 vs LA Tech
UTEP at UAB L, 37-10 at New Mexico St
UTSA vs Southern Miss L, 36-17 vs FAU
WKU — OFF —  — at Southern Miss

Notable Week 12 results – Standings

Rice Wins

It took 10 tries, but Rice Football finally put one in the win column in 2019. The Owls came out of the gates white-hot, following a field goal with four first-half touchdowns to stake a 31-14 halftime lead. The points would hold, giving the Owls the first road win of the Mike Bloomgren era.

LaTech vs Marshall

What should have been a battle of C-USA heavyweights ended in a Friday night dud. Louisiana Tech quarterback J’Mar Smith and star wideout Adrian Hardy were suspended against Marshall, silencing the Bulldogs’ offense on the road. Louisiana Tech still controls their own destiny in the West, but the defeat puts added pressure on the players who will suit up next week.

Ruh-roh Roadrunners

Entering the weekend, UTSA had yet to beat a team with a winning record. The Roadrunners needed to knock off at least two in their next three games to clinch bowl eligibility and stave off the pressure bearing down on head coach Frank Wilson. Not only did they fall to Southern Miss, they posted a program-worst home attendance in defeat.

Week 13 storylines

Wild, Wild West

As if things weren’t wild enough through the first 12 weeks of Conference-USA play, the next slate of games could thrust an entire division into chaos. Louisiana Tech beat Southern Miss. Southern Miss beat UAB. UAB can complete the circle with a win over Louisana Tech next weekend. If the Blazers they’ll set up the potential for a three-way tie in the division.

What will Western do?

East Division contender Western Kentucky could play a significant role in who represents the West in the conference championship game. They host Southern Miss, who could take the pole position in the West if they beat a J’Mar Smith-less Louisiana Tech on Saturday. If UAB and WKU, there will be three teams atop the west with identical 5-2 conference records.

Road warriors

FAU holds the tiebreaker over Marshall in the East, but both teams share 5-1 records. Each will go on the road before finishing their seasons in front of their home fans. Both need a win to keep pace in the divisional race. If one stumbles, the other could have their half of the conference locked down prior to the final weekend of the regular season.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts