The source for Rice sports news

Rice Basketball Rallies Past East Texas A&M

By

Rice basketball persevered through a slow start, rallying past East Texas A&M with a strong finish to improve to 2-1 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

For the second time in just a few days, Rice basketball found itself playing from behind on its home court. East Texas A&M opened the game by making five of its first 10 field goals as Rice sputtered to a 3-13 start. Trailing 13-7 near the midpoint of the first half, the Owls finally got into some rhythm on the court and began to mount an offensive of their own.

A slim six-point deficit dwindled and became a lead when Nick Anderson drained a triple in the final minutes of the first half. Rice would go into the break up by one, far from being firmly in control, but having braved the worst of the East Texas A&M attack.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Rice looked more composed with the ball in the second half. Tied up at 37 near the first media timeout, the Owls would go on a 14-4 run with key three pointers from Anderson and Trae Broadnax to reach their first double-digit lead. Both sides would trade baskets down the stretch after that, but the Lions never threatened again.

The Owls improve to 2-2 with the win and are 2-1 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Rice 71, East Texas A&M 64

What They’re Saying

“The main adjustment really was just we had to play harder. We had to turn it up as a group. We felt as though we weren’t playing up to the standard that we set for each other. In the second half we came out and we’re like, we’re really going to put our foot on these guys necks.” – Rice basketball guard Dallas Hobbs on the adjustments the team made at halftime

Key takeaway | Scoring Helps

Rice Basketball is coming off a 2024-2025 season in which the Owls finished last in the American Conference in field goal percentage, knocking down a paltry 42.1 percent of their attempts. The rebuilt roster with the additions of Jalen Smith, Nick Anderson and Dallas Hobbs was expected to help remedy that significantly, but there were never any illusions this team was going to be knocking down every shot.

However, some shots would help.

After shooting worse than 36 percent in their last two games, Rice opened this one with a dreary 35 percent mark in the first half. Leading by one point, the Owls looked to be in for another slog before waking up in the second half and shooting a scalding 64 percent from the floor.

There’s ample room for growth when it comes to consistency, but it’s nice to see at least some of the shots start to fall. Rice can’t expect to finish the game 8-for-12 from three after intermission, but Friday’s showing should be proof they’re capable. They just need to find a way to do it more regularly as the quality of competition continues to increase.

Up Next: vs Tennessee (Nov. 17 at 7:30 pm)

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

Recent Posts

Oregon narrowly survives Rice Basketball upset bid

By

Rice basketball kept Oregon off balance from the start, frustrating the Ducks from the floor before foul trouble and a late shooting slump ended their upset bid.

Oregon scored first, but it was Rice basketball that opened the game on the offensive on Friday night. The Owls knocked down three quick three-pointers before a Nick Anderson jumper put the visiting underdogs in front by seven before the first media timeout.

From there, the Rice defense set the tone, holding Oregon to just 27 percent from the floor in the first half. The aggressive press gave the Ducks fits. Had it not been an early edge in offensive boards — Oregon had 10 in the first half — Rice might have been able to lengthen its early lead. Instead, the Owls had to be content with a five-point advantage heading into the locker room at halftime.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Oregon’s physicality started to show in earnest after the break. The Ducks got nine straight points from Nate Bittle inside, including four free throws, to erase the deficit and take a one-point lead before Trae Broadnax leveled the game at 38 apiece with a free throw of his own. Stephen Giwa hit a jumper then Oregon went on another big run.

Rice would miss 12 consecutive field goals during that time and 15 of 16 shots over an eight minute period that saw an 8-point Rice lead evaporate and be transformed into a 9-point hole.

The Owls wouldn’t go away, though. Jalen Smith hit a couple of big threes and Trae Broadnax calmly maneuvered the offense, getting the underdogs back within four points at the final media timeout.

Foul trouble would do the Owls in. Broadnax, Giwa and Dallas Hobbs all fouled out while Anderson was limited to 22 minutes. He would hit a last-gasp three before Oregon’s 38th foul shot put the game out of reach for good.

Final Box | Oregon 67, Rice 63

What They’re Saying

We kept scrapping and I’m proud of that. We’ve got something to build on. Our young guys, I think, come away with a good understanding of what it takes to win at this level and we aspire to do that. We’re going to need those young guys. This was a good experience in a lot of ways to create a standard for ourselves. – Rice Basketball coach Rob Lanier

Key takeaway | Can The Owls Score Just Enough?

The defensive performance Rice basketball authored against a physical Oregon team was incredibly impressive. Holding any team to fewer than 70 points when they take 38 free throws is a good start, but this is an Oregon squad that had been to back-to-back NCAA Tournaments and entered the season receiving votes in the AP Poll, two spots shy of being ranked.

The effort was reminiscent of a comment head coach Rob Lanier made about the NCAA Tournament prior to the season. “If we’re the worst defensive team in the league and we’ve gotta outscore everyone to win the [conference] tournament, [that’s] probably not going to be realistic,” he said. “But if we’re defending and rebounding at a very high level, then we’ll have our chance.”

Lanier wouldn’t call that a dominant performance on the boards — Oregon edged Rice 43-36 — but that caliber of defense was enough to make it a one score game with 5:38 to play. And a four point game in the final 30 seconds. That’s a chance.

How effective that chance becomes will depend on how many points the Owls can contribute to the effort. Through two games, the defense looks quite compelling, indeed.

Up Next: vs Stephen F. Austin (Nov. 11 at 7:00 pm)

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

Recent Posts

2025-2026 Rice Basketball Season Preview

By

Rob Lanier was tasked with laying the foundation for Rice Basketball a year ago when he arrived on South Main. What’s in store for the Owls in his second season?

Extended rebuilds are no longer a thing in the world of college athletics, but Rice basketball knew they’d be facing more than a one-year reboot when they made the decision to move on from Scott Pera a year ago and hire Rob Lanier. The roster was gutted and Lanier and his new staff scrambled in the portal to rebuild the roster in short order. The results were mixed.

This time around, the Owls did lose players to the portal, like is normative for just about every program these days except for perhaps the upper-tier blue bloods, but the continuity already established has those around South Main more optimistic about what the program might be able to accomplish in Year 2.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Subscriber content. Please login to see the full post or visit our Patreon page.
Sorry! This part of content is hidden behind this box because it requires a higher contribution level ($10) at Patreon. Why not take this chance to increase your contribution?
Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

Recent Posts

Rice Basketball Recruiting: G Dallas Hobbs commits to Owls

By

The Transfer Portal remains kind to Rice basketball recruiting efforts. Mount St. Mary’s guard Dallas Hobbs has committed to the Owls.

A high-scoring point guard with NCAA Tournament experience is heading to South Main as the most recent addition to the 2025 Rice Basketball recruiting class. Mount St. Mary’s guard Dallas Hobbs has committed to the Owls.

A native of DeSoto, Texas, Hobbs spent his first two seasons of college ball with the Mountaineers, making 11 starts as a true freshman before becoming a full-time starter as a sophomore this past season. He averaged 12.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while knocking down more than 50 three-pointers.

“Coach [Lanier] likes to play fast and lets his guards play with a lot of freedom and that’s what I do,” Hobbs told The Roost. “So it’s a great fit.”

Hobbs helped lead Mount St. Mary’s to the NCAA Tournament, where they defeated American University in a First Four matchup before eventually losing to Final Four participant, Duke. Hobbs scored 17 points in that game, shooting 4-of-8 from three.

Now that Hobbs is in the fold, the 2025 Rice Basketball recruiting class has grown to three portal additions. Also committing this week were Texas A&M-Corpus Christi center Stephen Giwa and Prairie View A&M guard Nick Anderson.

More: Rice Basketball 2025 Roster Tracker

Hobbs is a two-way player with a quick first step. He drives the paint well and can finish at the rim. His highlights showcase a variety of powerful moves to the basket. He should be able to contribute at the point guard position immediately for Rice basketball. At a minimum, he’ll provide another potent scoring option the Owls’ need.

“I’m just at hooper,” Hobbs said. “I do everything. Dribble, pass, shoot, play defense. Whatever it takes.”

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

Recent Posts