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Rice Baseball 2020: Previewing the Texas Tech series

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Rice baseball returns home to face Missouri State. The Owls are seeking their first series win of the season. Here’s how both teams stack up.

The final weekend of nonconference play for Rice baseball poses the biggest challenge of their season to date. The hot and cold Owls will take on No. 5 Texas Tech in their own ballpark for a three game series this coming weekend. A series win over Missouri State was a good first step. Taking a game or more from a College World Series perennial like Texas Tech would be an impressive statement prior to Conference USA play.

Game Notes

Times: Friday 6:30 p.m. | Saturday 2:00 p.m. | Sunday 11:30 a.m.
Venue: Rip Griffin Park
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: Friday and Saturday on Tech TV ($), Sunday on FSSW+

How each team fared this week

Rice baseball (2-10) won their first series of the season last weekend, taking two of three games from visiting Missouri State. The Owls then lost both of their midweek games, the first to Louisiana and the next to Houston.

Texas Tech (13-1) has won nine games in a row. They beat FAU last Friday before taking two games from Florida State over the weekend. They pummeled UNLV by a combined score of 22-5 in two midweek games.

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday | Alex DeLeon (1-2, 9.82) vs Clayton Beeter (1-1, 3.00)
Saturday |Blake Brogdon (0-3, 4.60) vs Bryce Bonnin (2-0, 4.15)
Sunday | Drake Greenwood (0-1, 4.09)  vs Austin Becker (1-0, 4.38)

Texas Tech Pitching

The bullpen has been the strongest part of the Texas Tech pitching staff. Micah Dallas and Hunter Dobbins have mowed through opposing batters at a remarkable pace. Those two have combined for 35 strikeouts in 23.2 innings, allowing just three runs and three extra base hits over that time. Jakob Brustoski has a 0.00 ERA and a 0.500 WHIP with 11 punchouts.

On the starting front, things are a bit rockier. Staff ace Clayton Beeter has been good outside of a start against Tennessee, Texas Tech’s only loss of the season. The rest of the rotation has struggled to get past the fifth inning. The deep bullpen has helped, but eventually the starters are going to have to carry more of the load.

Texas Tech Hitting

The Tech offense has been dynamite. Second baseman Brian Klein is hitting .431 with nine doubles in 14 games. He’s one of six every day players batting better than .300 for the Red Raiders. The rest of the lineup is nearly just as potent. Only one player with at least 10 plate appearances has a batting average below .270. Catcher Nate Rombach is slugging .787.

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Rice Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Owls vs Middle Tennessee

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Rice basketball returns home in need of a win to keep their Conference USA Tournament hopes alive. How do the Owls’ stack up against Middle Tennessee?

Rice Basketball

Time: March 1 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Tudor Fieldhouse
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: CUSATV

MTSU 7-21 (3-12), Last 5 (1-4)

  • 75-70 (L) vs North Texas
  • 91-83 (L) vs Rice
  • 83-72 (L) at UAB
  • 79-66 (L) vs UAB
  • 61-53 (W) at Southern Miss

Rice 13-15 (5-10), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 86-72 (W) at UAB
  • 91-83 (W) at MTSU
  • 73-70 (L) vs Old Dominion
  • 70-54 (W) vs Charlotte
  • 68-62 (L) at UTEP

MTSU statistical leaders

  • Scoring | CJ Jones – 16.4 per game
  • Rebounds | Jayce Johnson – 4.9 per game
  • Assists | Donovan Sims – 3.5 per game
  • Steals | Donovan Sims – 1.6 per game
  • Blocks | Tyson Jackson – 0.7 per game

Rice statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Trey Murphy – 13.2 per game
  • Rebounds | Drew Peterson – 6.5 per game
  • Assists | Drew Peterson – 3.4 per game
  • Steals | Trey Murphy – 1.1 per game
  • Blocks | Trey Murphy – 0.6 per game

Rice keys to victory

When Rice basketball and Middle Tennessee last met the Owls shot the lights out of the Murphy Athletic Center in Murfreesboro. Rice shot 52.8 percent from the field and scored 91 points, the most against any conference opponent this season.

A hot shooting start would be a plus, but it’s the defensive side of the ball which could hold the key. Middle Tennessee is a poor rebounding team that is currently ranked in the top half of Conference USA in turnovers. Rice is going to be able to score against Middle Tennessee’s porous defense. Staying vigilant on the other end of the court should ensure the Owls get a much-needed bounce-back win.

Standings check

Middle Tennessee win against Southern Miss in their previous game puts the burden to win this matchup squarely on Rice. If the Blue Raiders win, they’ll finish above Rice in the final standings with two wins and the tiebreakers over the Owls. If Rice wants to control their own destiny, they have to win this game.

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Rice Women’s Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Owls vs LA Tech

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Rice women’s basketball is back on a winning streak and has their eyes set on C-USA’s top seed. A win over Louisiana Tech would get them one step closer.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 29 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Thomas Assembly Center
TV: CUSATV

LA Tech 13-13 (5-10), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 60-50 (W) vs Marshall
  • 68-44 (W) at FIU
  • 77-75 (L) at FAU
  • 63-61 (L) vs Southern Miss
  • 62-52 (W) vs FIU

Rice 18-8 (13-2), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 77-60 (W) vs MTSU
  • 66-59 OT (L) at Old Dominion
  • 62-51 (L) at Charlotte
  • 69-66 (W) vs North Texas
  • 74-65 (W) at UAB

LA Tech statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Amber Dixon – 12.0 per game
  • Rebounds | Anna Larr Roberson – 5.4 per game
  • Assists | Rzizel Guinto – 2.9 per game
  • Steals | Amber Dixon – 1.7 per game
  • Blocks | Grayson Bright – 0.7 per game

Rice statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Erica Ogwumike – 18.9 per game
  • Rebounds | Erica Ogwumike – 10.3 per game
  • Assists | Jasmine Smith – 3.0 per game
  • Steals | Sydne Wiggins – 1.7 per game
  • Blocks | Nancy Mulkey – 3.3 per game

Rice keys to victory

Rice women’s basketball used their suffocating defense to overcome Louisiana Tech in the first meeting of these two squads this season. That came back in mid-January. Both teams have come a long way since.

Louisiana Tech has won three-of-five games for the first time in conference play. Rice is recovering from their first C-USA losing streak since 2018, winning their last two games.

The Rice offense has been up and down. The defense has remained firm. Rice maintains the second-best field goal defense in Conference USA. Louisiana Tech is 12th in the same metric. The Owls have learned to rely on their depth more often in recent weeks. Combing their tenacity with a few bright spots from their younger playmakers will keep Rice alive in the conference race.

Standings Check

Old Dominion and Rice sit atop the Conference USA standings with three games remaining in the regular season for both squads. The Monarchs hold the tiebreaker — for now. A rematch on March 7 could decide who claims the No. 1 seed between these two 13-2 teams. The Monarchs have additional games remaining between FAU and UAB.

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Rice Baseball 2020: Previewing the Missouri State series

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Rice baseball returns home to face Missouri State. The Owls are seeking their first series win of the season. Here’s how both teams stack up.

Rice baseball knew their nonconference schedule was far from a cakewalk before the 2020 season began. Two weeks into action, the Owls sit at 0-7 with series losses to two good, but maybe not great teams in Texas and UC Irvine. This weekend’s series against a beatable Missouri State squad has become all the more important with Omaha regular Texas Tech still on deck.

Game Notes

Times: Friday 6:30 p.m. | Saturday 2:00 p.m. | Sunday 1:00 p.m.
Venue: Reckling Park
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: CUSATV

How each team fared this week

Rice baseball (0-6) was swept by UC Irvine in a weekend series. The Owls faced Texas State in their midweek game, falling on the road by a score of 9-2.

Missouri State (4-4) went 1-3 in the Turface Classic last weekend. They beat Austin Peay on Thursday. They then lost games to Belmont, Lipscomb and Middle Tennessee to finish the weekend. They beat Oral Roberts on Tuesday by a score of 6-3.

Projected Pitching Matchups

Friday | Roel Garcia (0-0, 0.00) vs Logan Wiley (1-0, 0.00)
Saturday |Blake Brogdon (0-2, 4.22) vs Hayden Minton (1-1, 3.27)
Sunday | Drake Greenwood (0-1, 5.68)  vs Peyton Carson (0-2, 9.00)

Missouri State Pitching

Missouri State has sent 10 different pitchers to the mound over the course of their eight games played in 2020. Eight of them have a season ERA of 3.00 or better. Four of them have perfect ERAs of 0.00 including staff ace Logan Wiley. He’s thrown 15 innings of shutout ball, allowing eight hits and two walks while striking out 14.

From the pen, Forrest Barnes and Trey Ziegenbein have emerged as the go-to guys. Ziegenbein is the only reliever on the squad to throw more than seven innings and owns a K/9 rate of 9.000.

Missouri State Hitting

Grant Wood has been on a tear to start the season. He leads the team with a .367 batting average, including a team-best three extra base hits. His OPS sits at a crisp .962. Greg Ziegler is just behind him with a .300 average.

This lineup as a whole is not geared toward explosiveness. The Bears have hit eight doubles this season in eight games and only have three regulars hitting better than .250.

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Rice Basketball 2020 Game Preview: Men at UTEP | Women at UAB

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There will be no Rice basketball at Tudor Fieldhouse this weekend. Both the men and the women hit the road for games against UTEP and UAB, respectively.

Rice Basketball

Time: Feb. 22 at 6:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Don Haskins Center
Radio: Stretch Internet Portal
TV: CUSATV

UTEP 13-14 (4-10), Last 5 (0-5)

  • 69-55 (L) vs UAB
  • 68-64 (L) at Charlotte
  • 72-53 (L) at Old Dominion
  • 67-62 (L) vs WKU
  • 71-61 (L) vs Marshall

Rice 13-14 (5-9), Last 5 (4-1)

  • 84-75 (W) vs North Texas
  • 86-72 (W) at UAB
  • 91-83 (W) at MTSU
  • 73-70 (L) vs Old Dominion
  • 70-54 (W) vs Charlotte

UTEP statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Bryson Williams – 18.6 per game
  • Rebounds | Bryson Williams- 7.1 per game
  • Assists | Jordan Lathon – 2.8 per game
  • Steals | Nigel Hawkins – 1.0 per game
  • Blocks | Bryson Williams – 0.9 per game

Rice keys to victory

Rice basketball put together a near-perfect gameplan when they squared off with UTEP in Houston earlier this year. The Owls silenced Bryson Williams, holding him to three points before he fouled out. He attempted just two field goals, well under his season average of 13.4 attempts.

The supporting cast didn’t was limited, too. UTEP shot 5-of-28 from three (17.8%). Still, the Miners managed to make a few more shots than Rice down the stretch. If Rice can execute that plan again but bring their recent hot shooting hands, the Owls have all the pieces they need to get their revenge.

Rice Women's Basketball

Time: Feb. 22 at 2:00 p.m. CT
Venue: Bartow Arena
TV: CUSATV

UAB 17-9 (9-5), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 63-51 (W) vs UTEP
  • 64-53 (L) at Rice
  • 51-50 (W) at North Texas
  • 62-52 (L) vs MTSU
  • 61-59 (W) at MTSU

Rice 16-8 (11-2), Last 5 (3-2)

  • 64-53 (W) vs UAB
  • 77-60 (W) vs MTSU
  • 66-59 OT (L) at Old Dominion
  • 62-51 (L) at Charlotte
  • 69-66 (W) vs North Texas

UAB statistical leaders

  • Scoring | Rachael Childress – 16.9 per game
  • Rebounds | Angela Vendrell – 7.7 per game
  • Assists | Angela Vendrell – 4.7 per game
  • Steals | Angela Vendrell – 1.2 per game
  • Blocks | Zakyia Weathersby – 1.1 per game

Rice keys to victory

The Owls cycled through much more of their bench against North Texas than they’ve typically rotated through in previous weeks. As long as Nancy Mulkey is limited or unable to go, finding production from the bench will be hugely important. Alexah Chrisman, Kendall Ellig, Destiny Jackson and others have risen up from time to time. Who will it be on Saturday?

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