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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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Rice Basketball Can’t Keep Up with Sharpshooting SFA

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Rice basketball dropped its first home game of the season, falling at home to Stephen F. Austin who took an early and never looked back.

Not far removed from a stout defensive showing against Oregon, Rice basketball found themselves on their heels rather quickly on Tuesday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. Owls’ guard Trae Broadnax scored the first points of the night before SFA took control, racing out to a double-digit first half lead. The Jacks controlled the pace of the game in the early going, keeping the home team off balance.

Trailing by five at the break, the situation worsened when SFA reeled off a 9-0 run in the early minutes of the second half as their red-hot shooting performance refused to slow down. The visitors were still shooting better than 50 percent from the field — they’d finish at 49.1 percent — making it hard for the Owls’ to narrow the deficit even when their shots started to fall later in the half.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

There was less than four minutes on the clock when Rice got deficit back within single digits again. Broadnax did his part, leading the way with 21 points, 17 of which came in the second half. It wouldn’t be enough to overcome the sizable hole as Rice fell at home for the first time this season. The Owls are 1-2 overall.

Final Box | SFA 81, Rice 69

Key takeaway | Out of Sync

At the beginning of the season, Rice basketball head coach Rob Lanier explained that the mantra for the team this season would be being undefeated. No matter what the final box score showed, Lanier wanted this to be a team that was relentless in their effort and never allowed any one game to take steal their focus from the next assignment.

Rice won the rebounding battle 39-36, but did not defend well. Only three times last season did Rice allow its opponents to shoot better than 49 percent from the floor, making this kind of defensive performance among the most disappointing from a Lanier-led squad.

Whether it was the hangover from the near-miss against Oregon or something else, the Owls just didn’t look fully like themselves tonight. Were they defeated? Maybe not, but they weren’t the best version of themselves and SFA took full advantage of that and won the game. All this team can do now is refocus and find a way to get back in the win column on Friday.

Up Next: vs East Texas A&M (Nov. 14 at 7:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball edges Houston on the road

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Rice Women’s basketball secured its first win of the season in a hard-fought defensive struggle against rival Houston on the road.

Looking to rebound from an opening game loss to South Dakota State, Rice women’s basketball came out ready to play in their return to the city, albeit across town against rival Houston. The Owls opened the scoring on a 7-0 burst, taking an immediate lead which they would never relinquish.

Ahead by four points after the first quarter, Hailey Adams gave the team some breathing room with seven consecutive points of her own, part of a 10-0 Rice run that put the visiting Owls ahead by 14. Houston wasn’t going to fade the easily, though. The Cougars muscled themselves to the free throw line, clawing back from their double-digit deficit, entering halftime behind by just five points.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Margins remained tight for a while from that point with Rice women’s basketball never truly being able to take a deep breath until freshman Jordin Blackmon hit one of the team’s few threes to get the Owls back in front by double-digits with under nine minutes to play in regulation. Victoria Flores finished a sterling 16-for-16 from the free throw line, all in the second half, to help Rice secure the win.

Final Box | Rice 70, Houston 56

Key takeaway | Bested on the Boards

Points were at a premium on Tuesday night with neither side shooting the ball effectively. Both squads were below 35 percent shooting from the floor, further emphasizing the importance of each possession. A flurry of turnovers didn’t help, but the biggest pain point was the Owls’ frustrating night on the boards.

Houston out-rebounded Rice 50-39 and racked up a staggering 21 offensive boards. That made it all but impossible for Rice to pull away or give themselves any semblance of breathing room. It was a humbling performance against a program playing in its first games with a new head coach which looked very much so up for the challenge against the Owls, preseason picks to contend for the American Conference Championship.

Up Next: vs MTSU (Nov. 15 at 2:00 pm)

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