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Early lead fizzles as Rice Basketball falls to USF

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Early lead not enough as Rice Basketball dropped their sixth straight in AAC play, falling to South Florida on the road.

Rice basketball got off to a red-hot start on the road against South Florida, jumping out to an 11-3 lead before the Bulls could settle in. That lead would be short lived — USF rallied to tie the game at 11 shortly thereafter — but the aggressiveness Rice played with led to another big advantage, this time as many as 14 points as the final minutes began to tick away in the first half.

USF would not go away. The home team closed the first half on a 7-0 run and scored 14 of the first 16 points after halftime. All of a sudden it was Rice forced to play from behind. Trae Broadnax rose to the occasion, scoring six of the Owls’ next nine, willing the game into a slugfest, at least for a while.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Rice would get back within a point, but South Florida did not slow down. That small edge gradually grew as the game wore on with the Bulls banking multiple buckets in a row before Rice got a shot to fall. By the time the teams hit the final media timeout, USF led by double-digits and the Owls’ early lead felt like it had been so long ago.

A furious push in the final minutes allowed Rice to get the game back within three, but the rally would prove to be too little, too late as South Florida held on to win. Rice falls to 11-10 with the loss and 2-6 in conference play.

Final Box | USF 69, Rice 64

Key takeaway | Defensive dip

Rice basketball has now lost six AAC games in a row after a 2-0 start in league play. So many of these games have been decided on the margins, but if there is one throughline amongst them all it’s been an dip in defensive performance.

It’s not as if Rice has been a poor defensive team — entering Wednesday the Owls ranked second in the conference in opponent field goal percentage allowed — but the difference in their losing skid has been pronounced.

In their first 15 games, including AAC wins over Tulsa and Charlotte, Rice allowed opponents to shoot 38.5 percent from the floor. In their last six that rate has jumped up to 45.8 percent including a 40 percent shooting performance from USF.

This has still been a formidable defensive unit on most possessions, but ebbs and flows with the offense, turnovers and smaller losses on the margins have put this team into too many tough places. An 0-6 run is the result.

Up Next: vs Memphis (Sun, Feb. 2)

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AAC skid continues as Rice Basketball falls to Tulane

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A tough day from the floor made it impossible for Rice Basketball to keep up against Tulane, which handed the Owls their fifth straight AAC loss.

Rice basketball faced an uphill battle on Saturday afternoon in their quest to snap a four-game losing streak in conference play. Caden Powell opened the scoring but it was the visiting Tulane Green Wave who delivered the first run, rattling off 11 unanswered points.

The Owls wouldn’t be flustered that easily, though. Denver Anglin started the home team rally with a three, one of his four triples in the first half and Jacob Dar quickly came to his aid, leveling the score back at 28 apiece in the final minutes of the half. Seven straight points from Aaron Powell to close the period would send Rice to the break with a one-point advantage.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Tulane would open up a lead early in the second half as Rice struggled from the field. The Owls made six field goals after halftime, seeing a close, physical game get a little bit more out of reach as the Green Wave began to make baskets at better than a 50 percent clip and the Owls just couldn’t keep up.

After taking a modest two-point lead to start the half, Rice would trail for the remainder of the contest. A pair of threes with 20 seconds to play proved too little too late.

Final Box | Tulane 82, Rice 71

Key takeaway | Free Throws Unfullfilled

The free throw issues Rice basketball has experienced this season have been well documented. Rather than rehash that conversation, Saturday’s loss drew attention to a rather unusual statistical line for the team this season. Rice entered this contest fourth in the AAC with 24.5 free throw attempts per game, averaging just shy of one less attempt per game than league-leading Temple (25.9).

It’s not just that Rice is inconsistent from the charity stripe, second worst in the AAC at 68.0 percent. That problem has been exacerbated by the volume of free throws they take. The Owls ran into that problem in this game. They nearly double-up Tulane from the line, taking 33 foul shots to their 17 attempts. That’s almost always a recipe for success, but it wasn’t this time given the number of misses.

Getting to the line is almost always a good thing. For Rice basketball, that general truism might finally be up for debate.

Up Next: at South Florida (Tues, Jan. 28)

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Rice Basketball topped at FAU

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Rice Basketball couldn’t hang on to a 16-point second-half lead, succumbing to Florida Atlantic on the road.

It was an evenly matched game in the early goings of Rice basketball’s road tilt at Florida Atlantic on Sunday. Everything was close until the visiting Owls started to get going offensively, cranking up their effectiveness from three. Five different Owls made a triple in the half as a modest lead began to form.

Jacob Dar led the way, making the most of his first start of the season with a team-high 19 points, including a pair of threes to start the second half which helped Rice establish a double-digit lead and maintain it for the better part of the second half until FAU began to chip away in earnest around the 10 minute mark.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Dar would contribute a couple of threes down the stretch to help fend off the FAU rally, but the Rice shooting began to slump, collectively. FAU would close the game on a 17-5 run, holding Rice to two field goals in the final five minutes of play to pull out the come-from-behind win.

Final Box | FAU 75, Rice 73

Key takeaway | Clutch moments

After starting AAC play 2-0, Rice basketball has lost their last four conference games. Winning out was never a realistic expectation, but given how well this team had played in recent weeks, a prolonged losing streak didn’t seem likely to be in the cards either. A bludgeoning at the hands of a talented North Texas team aside, Rice could have very easily won the rest of these games.

The Owls were in one-possession games late against Temple, UTSA and FAU but weren’t able to close out any of them. It’s clear this team has another step to take when it comes to making plays in the final few minutes that prove differential in winning basketball games. Close games are going to happen in conference play and tend to become hallmarks of which teams are remembered in March.

This team has been remarkably ahead of expectations for much of this season and they’ve managed to play competitive basketball almost every time they’ve taken the court. This is their next test. Can they learn to win on the fly when the schedule starts to get tougher? Because the road doesn’t get easier from here.

Up Next: vs Tulane (Sat, Jan. 25)

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Rice Basketball rally comes up short against Temple

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Rice Basketball rallied late to take a one-point lead, but was unable to complete the comeback, falling at home to Temple.

Three consecutive baskets from the visitors put Rice basketball in an early 6-0 hole on Saturday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse. That deficit proved to be something that would stick around for the better portion of the contest as the hosting Owls played most of the game from behind.

Andrew Akuchie, who finished with his first career double-double, spurred the first Rice rally. He gave Rice its first lead roughly five minutes into the game, adding an emphatic dunk to steal back some early momentum. But as was the case for most of the afternoon, Temple was quick to answer, ripping off a 15-2 run soon afterward only to see Rice bring the game back to even a few minutes later.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

Down by four at the break, the second half transformed into a much more level affair. Neither side led by double digits at any point with the game still hanging in the balance when the final moments arrived. Rice led by 1 with three minutes to play but would be forced to play catch up down the stretch as Temple made its foul shots to hang on for the win.

Final Box | Temple 73, Rice 70

What They’re Saying

“We were guarding (Temple) pretty good in the second half, but we missed maybe 10 layups right at the rim, over the course of the game. Meanwhile, we were working our tail off to stop (Jamal) Mashburn and (Quante) Berry from three. So, we’ve got to make the layups. We had a size advantage for a big portion of the game. We only turned the ball over 10 times. We have 14 offensive rebounds, and in a three-point game, you can’t miss that many layups.” — Rice Basketball head coach Rob Lanier

Key takeaway | Small Margins

Rice basketball came painfully close from winning this basketball game but finished just a play or two short of pulling out the victory. Head coach Rob Lanier lamented the missed layups, a easily identifiable culprit in a game in which Rice did so many things well.

The Owls had more steals and more assists, shot better from the floor and delivered season best totals for field goals made and second-chance points. The only measure Temple cleared outperformed Rice in was rebounds, edging the hosting Owls by 10 in that category.

This was truly the sort of game where one different bounce or one more made basket could have easily swayed the results. Playing competitive basketball game in and game out is an encouraging step for this program. The next plateau is finding ways to consistently when more of these games than not.

Up Next: vs UTSA (Tues, Jan. 14)

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Rice Basketball defeated in Denton

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Rice Basketball came up short in one of their most challenging road tests of the season, becoming one of many teams to fall to North Texas in Denton.

North Texas started the scoring on Wednesday night and never really let up. Early three-pointers from Alem Huseinovic and Jacob Dar helped erase an early eight point deficit to give Rice a one-point lead halfway through the first half. It wouldn’t last long. Consecutive triples from the Mean Green’s Atin Wright quickly thrust the Owls into comeback mode.

Both teams were fairly evenly matched in rebounds, assists and turnovers. North Texas just found the bucket more often than not, shooting an unmatchable 55 percent from the floor. That superb shooting stroke turned a close game into a 14-point edge for the home team at halftime.

More: Rice Basketball 2024-2025 Midseason State of the Program

The game was never back within reach from that point onward. Caden Powell put up 10 points in the second half. Denver Anglin scored eight. North Texas kept up its torrid pace, finishing the game with 11 three-pointers and a near-perfect 16-for-17 outing from the free throw line.

Final Box | North Texas 81, Rice 59

Key takeaway | Moving On

Rice basketball avenged some history earlier this season when they beat Tulsa for the first time since 2005, snapping a streak of 17 consecutive defeats. It hadn’t been quite that long since the Owls had beaten the Mean Green, but winning in Denton was still a rarity. In face, Rice had won twice in Denton all-time against North Texas.

North Texas was undefeated at home so far this season (8-0 entering this game) and is one of the better teams in the AAC. Rice basketball has come a long way from their lowly preseason expectations, but a road loss at the Super Pit to one a good team isn’t the end of the world. Nights like this are going to happen as this team continues to grow. Best to put it in the rear view mirror and keep moving forward.

Up Next: vs Temple (Sat, Jan. 11)

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