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Rice Basketball Falters Late Against Tarleton State

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Rice Basketball led at the break but couldn’t hold off Tarleton State in the second half as the visitors ran away with the game in the second half.

Tarleton State opened the game with the first points, but Rice basketball quickly fired back with a three-pointer from Jalen Smith to jumpstart a back-and-forth contest in the early goings on Thursday night. Tarleton was able to amass a handful of meager leads, but it was Rice who controlled a good portion of the first half, at least until Tarleton guard Dior Johnson started to heat up.

Johnson scored 15 of his 29 points in the first half, nearly erasing a seven-point Rice lead on his own and bringing the game back within one point at halftime. Rice offered up some protest at the beginning of the second frame, only to see Tarleton turn to guard Cam McDowell who picked up the scoring baton from Johnson and kept going.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

McDowell finished with 19 points, all of which came in the second half as the visitors a 21-4 run which turned a slim Rice lead into a massive deficit which would prove to be too much to overcome. Tarleton defeated Rice for the first time in program history.

Rice Basketball falls to 2-4 with the loss. The Owls are 2-2 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Tarleton 90, Rice 74

Key takeaway | Compounding Defensive Woes

Oh how quickly early season losses can quench an off-season’s worth of hope. And while the results have been disappointing for Rice basketball, it’s their defensive stumbles that have to be the most concerning.

It’s more understandable that this team would struggle to shoot well as the new pieces were integrated into the offensive system, but the defense was supposed to be what this team could hang it’s hat on. That hasn’t been the case in the early portions of this non-conference slate.

Tarleton shot 59 percent from the floor in this game, marking the fourth straight opponent to shoot better than 49 percent so far this season. The Owls have played six games. That rate has to come down in a hurry if Rice is going to have the sort of season they were expecting.

Up Next: GEICO Coconut Hoops vs Kennesaw State (Mon, Nov. 24 at 3:30 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Falters Late in Princeton Loss

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Rice Women’s basketball led early but couldn’t close, watching an early fourth quarter lead evaporate in a road loss to Princeton.

Things got off to a strong start for Rice women’s basketball in a pivotal road matchup against a Princeton team that was receiving votes in the most recent AP Poll. The visiting Owls opened the scoring with a three from Victoria Flores, furthering their early edge to eight points midway through the first quarter.

Princeton would not go away that easily, though. The Tigers opened the second quarter on a 15-4 run. No sooner had they taken their first lead of the game than did the Owl volley back, with clutch threes from Louann Battiston and Dominque Ennis to put Rice in front, where they would stay through the end of the half.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

With both sides having thrown punches, it looked as if a narrow back-and-forth would commence. Instead, even though Rice entered the fourth quarter ahead by one point, the the wheels fell off. Princeton outscored Rice 20-6 in the fourth, ending the game on an 11-2 run to turn a close game into a near blowout.

Rice women’s basketball falls to 2-2 on the season and 1-2 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Princeton 69, Rice 56

Key takeaway | Finding a Way to Finish

It’s hard to believe Rice women’s basketball entered the final quarter with the lead given how lopsided the final box score appears. Unfortunately for the Owls, it wasn’t just one thing that went wrong.

In that fateful fourth quarter Rice went 2-for-12 from the floor, was outrebounded 9-to-8, turned over the ball over six times and committed four fouls. The wide array of faults points to a team that wasn’t poised under pressure and collectively failed to execute when the lights shone the brightest.

This had the potential to be a resume building win for Rice. Instead, it’s a loss that looks much more one-sided than it actually was. Great teams finish. This team has talent, but closing out games still remains a key to-do as non-conference play marches on.

Up Next: vs Incarnate Word (Nov. 23 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Basketball Comes Up Short at Tennessee

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Rice basketball kept things competitive in the early goings before faltering in the second half, falling to the No. Tennessee Volunteers on the road.

Tennessee scored first and never trailed in what proved to be a rather comfortable win for the home team. Rice Basketball head coach Rob Lanier, who spent eight seasons as an assistant to Rick Barnes in Knoxville was correct to be warry of returning to town to play against the Vols.

“I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing today if it weren’t for him. I’m so indebted. It’s a place that I look forward to going back to,” Lanier said in the days leading up to the game. “I don’t really want to coach against Rick, but I’m excited to get back there. It’s a great place.”

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Thompson-Boling Arena was indeed rocking on Monday evening, slowed only briefly when Rice cut their deficit to five points near the end of the first half on a three-pointer from Nick Anderson. The Vols answered with a 5-0 run to get back in front by double-digits,

Tennessee would take a 13-point lead into halftime and maintain at least a 10-point advantage through the second half. Rice remained competitive for the first couple of media timeouts before Tennessee began to pull away in the later moments, stretching their advantage to as many as 26 points before closing things out with a 25-point margin of victory.

Rice Basketball falls to 2-3 with the loss. The Owls are 0-2 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Tennessee 91, Rice 66

Key takeaway | Cam Carroll hangs tough

That Nick Anderson led the team in scoring with 19 points on 3-of-7 from deep and a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. He’s been one of the most consistent scorers the Owls have had this season and will be expected to maintain that level of production if Rice is going to get where they want to go.

It’s that next man up that’s the focal point of the Owls’ early stretch of nonconference play and Cam Carroll threw his hat into the ring on Monday. 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting against against a defense as swarming as the Volunteers’ was notable as was the lone turnover in 23 minutes on the court.

Rice basketball has high expectations for the veterans on this roster. Getting a meaningful contribution from Carroll, or others with less proven D1 experience this season, would be massive.

Up Next: vs Tarleton State (Nov. 20 at 7:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball posts team win over MTSU

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Rice Women’s basketball grinded out a four-quarter battle against Middle Tennessee, outscoring the Blue Raiders in the final minutes to clinch the win.

Days removed from a relatively comfortable win over rival Houston, Rice women’s basketball found itself in a dogfight against former C-USA foe Middle Tennessee at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday. The two squads were tied after the first quarter and separated by just two points at the break following six dead even scores in the first half alone.

After falling behind briefly on an MTSU three-pointer to open the third quarter, Rice started to got on the offensive with a thorough 10-0 run made possible by tremendous defense. MTSU would shoot 31 percent in the frame as Rice went inside, dominating the paint with Hailey Adams and Shelby Hayes accounting for 10 of the Owls’ 14 points in that 10-minute period.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Even a nine-point lead wouldn’t prove enough, though. MTSU knotted things back up at 51 all with 4:31 to play in the final quarter. And then, with the game on the line, Rice got a succession of huge shots from Louann Battiston and some clutch free throws from Hailey Adams to salt the game away. The Blue Raiders would make just three shots from the field in the final three minutes, another stout defensive effort.

Rice women’s basketball improved to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 66, Middle Tennessee 59

Key takeaway | Team Mentality

When March comes around, Rice women’s basketball will need to find a player or two they can trust to make the big shot when it counts. As it stands, there hasn’t yet been one dominant player, but with where this team is at, that might not be a problem.

On Saturday, Rice got a team-high 18 points from Aniah Alexis. Her double-double paced the team, but the massive fourth quarter from Battiston and a four-steal, three-assist effort from Victoria Flores were equally vital to pulling out a close win. More often than not, a “team win” is cheesy line from a press conference. This time around, it really was a collective effort that made the difference.

Up Next: at Princeton (Nov. 19 at 6:00 pm)

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Rice Basketball Rallies Past East Texas A&M

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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 Hobbes 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)

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