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Rice Basketball Comes Up Short vs Charlotte

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Rice Basketball came up one shot short, missing a potential game winner at the buzzer in a narrow home loss to Charlotte.

A layup from Charlotte’s Ben Bradford put the visiting 49ers just ahead of Rice basketball in the opening minutes of their trip to Tudor Fieldhouse on Sunday afternoon. That proved to be representative of how the opening half would go, with Rice spending most of it just a shot or two behind Charlotte, but not much more.

There were five ties and two lead changes in the opening half, with Nick Anderson providing the bulk of the juice on offense for Rice, who would go into the break trailing by just two points. The game would remain close until the middle of the second half when the Owls’ shooting struggles helped contribute to a 10-0 Charlotte run. Rice suddenly found themselves trailing by 15 with the game all but out of reach.

MORE: Rice Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Rice did not go down without a fight, clawing back to within six points on a nine-point run. A late three from Eternity Eguagie got the Owls within two with 36 seconds remaining and Trae Broadnax made it a one point hole with a three-point play.

A heads up defensive play from Broadnax earned the Owls one final shot at the buzzer, but it would not go down. Rice Basketball falls to 7-10 with the loss. The Owls are 5-4 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Charlotte 74, Rice 73

Key takeaway | Defending Not Optional

While there has been no singular thread connecting all of the Owls’ losses this season, the step back in their defensive performance has been a frequent culprit. Now through four games of conference play, Rice ranks near the bottom of the league in opponent field goal percentage, a few ticks shy of 50 percent.

That, combined with a a sub-.400 shooting percentage, makes it hard to win basketball games, something Rice has found out all too often this season. This a team that doesn’t have one defining characteristic to hang their hats on when things get hard, which is quite the departure to the defense-first mantra head coach Rob Lanier preaches.

There are flashes of that top tier defense buried deep. Broadnax had a few plays in the closing minutes that came close to swinging the game, but from top to bottom, this roster doesn’t defend well consistently.

With the calendar approaching mid-January, this is likely what this version of Rice basketball is going to be. How the staff and the roster make the most of it will determine whether or not they can be competitive down the stretch or succumb to their maladies enroute to another disappointing finish.

Up Next: at UTSA (Wed, Jan. 14 at 7:00 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Crushes Charlotte

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Rice women’s basketball completed a sweep in the Sunshine State, taking down Florida Atlantic a few days after knocking off South Florida on the road.

Rice women’s basketball has won a lot of games this year, but few of them were less eventful than the contest they played against Charlotte on Wednesday night. Even though Rice trailed by as many as six points in the early moments of the second quarter the red-hot shooting of Louanne Battiston made it clear the home team wouldn’t be behind for long.

When Rice finally regained the lead midway through the second quarter they were off to the races. An 11-point halftime lead snowballed to 27 as the third quarter began to wind down. By the time the fourth arrived, both sides knew the game way over.

MORE: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Most of the starters were off the floor by the final media timeout, save for Battiston who earned the right to finish the game after her tremendous 20-point outburst, which included four three-pointers plus a block and a steal.

With the victory, Rice women’s basketball improves to 13-3 on the season and 7-0 at Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 84, Charlotte 59

Key takeaway | The Best Kind of Boring

Rice women’s basketball did not win a single game by double digits in their first six games. Granted, there were some tough opponents in that stretch, but even the games the Owls’ controlled were closer calls than they might have liked. That switch flipped in Puerto Rico, though.

Even with a one point loss to UCF accounted for, Rice has won seven of their last 10 games by 16 or more points, leading up to Wednesday’s 25-point blowout. They’ve won nine of 10 and look to be in cruise control for the first time this season.

Good teams find ways to win. Great teams never let the other team have a chance. The Owls are looking to prove they’re in the latter group. More wins like this will help that cause.

Up Next: vs UAB (Wed. Jan. 14 at 7:00 pm)

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Rice Basketball Hangs On to Beat Wichita State

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Rice Basketball never trailed in the second half, fending off a late rally to defeat Wichita State in the Owls’ first true road win of the season.

A flurry of threes put Wichita State in the driver’s seat early on in their game against Rice basketball on Wednesday. The Owls trailed for the first 15 minutes of the contest before they hit their first three of the night from Jalen Smith, tying the game at 19 apiece.

From there, Rice would prove to be the aggressor. The Owls took a three point lead into halftime and grew their advantage in the second half, doing most of their damage in the paint, using the long ball as an occasional exclamation point. Cam Carroll’s three with just over 11 minutes to go stretched the Rice lead to 13, the largest by either team.

MORE: Rice Basketball Midseason State of the Program

As has been the case in so many Rice games this year, the Owls’ opponents had a second half run in them. The Shockers rattled off a 12-2 burst to get right back in the game, eventually leveling the score at 56-all with 4:31 to play.

Even a seven point lead with 41 seconds to play wasn’t safe. Wichita State was able to get back within three, force a turnover and come dangerously close to a foul on a made three point shot. The officials ruled the foul on the court and Rice escaped with the win.

Final Box | Rice 66, Wichita State 64

Key takeaway | Finding a way on the Road

Entering Wednesday, Rice basketball was 1-6 away from Tudor Fieldhouse. It’s not as if they hadn’t played close games, but those games had too often slipped out of reach by the time the final buzzer sounded. Finishing has been a problem for this team all season and one, which made this rigorous 40-minute battle all the more important.

Veteran guard Trae Broadnax, who was limited to four points in the first half, came alive down the stretch, making several key shots late in the game to keep Wichita State at bay. The team was able to overcome Wichita State’s late rally, and while they did briefly lose the lead, Wichita State never led in the second half. Finally, Rice basketball had finished and just as important, proved that they can.

Up Next: vs Charlotte (Sun, Jan. 11 at 1:00 pm)

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Rice Basketball Comes Up Short Against Memphis

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Rice Basketball led Memphis at halftime but couldn’t close things out after the break, falling at home to the Tigers.

Memphis scored first, but it was Rice basketball that proved to be the aggressor in the early portions of the Owls’ showdown with the Tigers at Tudor Fieldhouse on Saturday afternoon. Back-to-back three pointers from Nick Anderson and Jalen Smith put Rice in front with a small lead, which would grow to as many as 13 points following a 15-2 run, roughly halfway through the first half.

Down but not out, Memphis would regroup and battle back, tying the game in the final minute before the break. A Trae Broadnax free throw put Rice in front by one, but the battle was officially on.

MORE: Rice Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Another volley of threes, this time from Smith and Cam Carroll, put Rice in front by seven just after halftime before Memphis surged in front. For the remainder of the contest, it was Rice chipping away at a modest Memphis lead, which never exceeded eight points.

The Owls got back within two with 2:04 to play, but couldn’t close the gap any further, missing out on what would have been a massive upset win for the program. Rice Basketball falls to 6-9 with the loss. The Owls are 5-3 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Memphis 76, Rice 70

Key takeaway | A Seasons Worth of Almosts

Had a few bounces gone another way, Rice basketball very well could have beaten Memphis on Saturday afternoon. They really were that close. Instead, it’s a close loss to a good team, a familiar refrain for a Rice program that has struggled to get over the hump this season.

Rice was not competitive after halftime against Tennessee or Tulsa. Other than that, they’ve been competitive against the best of the best teams on their schedule. They gave Oregon a scare, dropped a pair of overtime contests at Coconut Hoops to Kennesaw State and FGCU and had chances late in losses to SFA and Tarleton State. The common thread in all those games? Losses.

More often than not, this team plays competitive basketball but they haven’t finished against the better teams on their schedule. That’s a learned skill, but time is ticking on the season and there isn’t much more time to figure things out.

Up Next: at Wichita State (Wed, Jan. 7 at 6:30 pm)

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Rice Women’s Basketball Outlasts Florida Atlantic

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Rice women’s basketball completed a sweep in the Sunshine State, taking down Florida Atlantic a few days after knocking off South Florida on the road.

Shots were falling for both teams on Saturday as Rice Women’s Basketball made the trip to Boca Raton for a battle with one of the American Conference’s other Owls. The hosting Florida Atlantic Owls took an early lead, which would last for a matter of minutes before a three-pointer from Dominque Ennis put the visitors in front for the first time. Rice would never trail again.

A 10-0 run in the second quarter looked like it would give Rice the cushion to coast to the finish, but Florida Atlantic began the third quarter with a 7-0 run of their own to get their deficit back to one point. Try as they might, Rice was never able to build a lead that was truly comfortable until the final minutes of the contest.

MORE: Rice Women’s Basketball Midseason State of the Program

Already ahead by nine, Victoria Flores delivered the finishing blow with a layup (and one) and a three to put Rice ahead by 15 with a little less than two minutes to play. Florida Atlantic made one last push, but the home Owls had run out of time and Rice hung on to win.

With the victory, Rice women’s basketball improves to 12-3 on the season and 6-3 away from Tudor Fieldhouse.

Final Box | Rice 83, Florida Atlantic 75

Key takeaway | Taking Care of the Basketball

Both teams shot better than 49 percent from the floor on Saturday and made a combined 19 three-pointers. Scoring was a constant and defensive stops were few and far between. The difference was how well the Owl took care of the ball. Rice turned the rock over 13 times, the majority of which occurred during a sloppy stretch in the second quarter when they gave the ball away seven times.

Florida Atlantic committed 19 turnovers, proving to be a bit more slippery-handed than Rice. That six turnover delta proved significant. Rice outscored Florida Atlantic 21-11 off turnovers. They won the game by eight.

Up Next: vs Charlotte (Wed. Jan. 7 at 7:00 pm)

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