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Rice Basketball runs out of steam at UTSA

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Rice Basketball traded punches with UTSA in the first half but couldn’t keep pace with the Roadrunners’ offense which ran away with the game in the second half.

What began as a defensive slugfest on Sunday night between Rice basketball and UTSA at the Convocation Center in San Antonio, TX was a far cry from the offensive firefight between these same teams that happened at Tudor Fieldhouse in mid-January. Both teams were held below 40 percent in the first half this time around, trading meager leads throughout the opening portion of the contest.

UTSA was the first to amass a two-score lead when Marcus Millender hit the fourth three-pointer of the evening with a little less than three minutes remaining before the halftime buzzer. The Roadrunners snagged the first meaningful a few minutes later, scoring 12 of the final 14 points from the field in the first half to take an eight point advantage into halftime.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense

Rice would keep things relatively close for the opening portions of the second half until UTSA started to connect from long range. The Roadrunners’ Primo Spears knocked down a trio of consecutive three pointers to get their advantage to double-digits for the first time. Rice, which had only made 1-of-14 threes to that point, found itself in a sizable hole.

The lead only ballooned from there. Shortly thereafter UTSA took charge in earnest with an emphatic 16-3 run, rendering signs of life from three-point range largely moot. Rice basketball has now lost six of its last seven games.

Final Box | UTSA 84, Rice 56

Key takeaway | Scouting the Standings

March is officially here and the conference tournament is right around the corner. With the shrinking calendar and the mounting losses, Rice basketball is running out of time to avoid a potential first round game pitting the bottom two teams in the conference standings.

Rice (4-13) and Charlotte (3-13) hold those positions at this point. The Owls had been just above the line, but this loss to UTSA, which moves the Roadrunners just above them in the standings. Rice has one game remaining against Wichita State, capping the Owls’ conference win total at a maximum of five.

If Rice win that game and Tulsa loses to Temple and Wichita State, Rice would escape the opening round game, but the Owls have reached the point of the season where they need help after failing to help themselves often enough during the year.

Up Next: vs Wichita State (Thr, Mar. 6)

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Rice Basketball falters late at Memphis

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Rice Basketball battled Memphis to the very end but couldn’t make the key plays down the stretch to shift the result, falling to the Tigers on the road.

The first five shots Rice basketball took Wednesday night against a ranked Memphis squad on the road were off the mark. An early deficit would prove to be the fruit of a slow start with the Owls finding themselves down 10 points before they made their first field goal to cut the Tigers’ lead to 13-5 with nearly six minutes of action in the books.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense

Given time to get their footing and fire back, Rice would mount a counteroffensive midway through the half, ripping off a 12-2 run to get back within two points and force a Memphis timeout. The Tigers would grind out some breathing room before the end of the half, but Rice had managed to turn the would-be rout into a competitive game at the break.

Rice would tie the game up at 46 in the early minutes of the second half and although they would keep the game close from that point onward, any leads proved elusive. The Owls’ final rally tied the game at 70, but free throw woes, turnovers and missed opportunities saw that close game evaporate in a matter of seconds. Memphis closed the game on a 14-2 run to seal the win.

Final Box | Memphis 84, Rice 72

Key takeaway | Make them earn it

Several weeks ago Memphis made 10 three-pointers in a fire fight at Tudor Fieldhouse that ended with Memphis outscoring Rice in a thriller. Memphis has made at least five threes in every game so far this season and averages 8.1 threes per contest. On Wednesday night, Memphis made two.

For the most part, the explosiveness of the Memphis offense was neutralized by a defensive game plan that made the Tigers work for every basket, forcing them to work inside and take contested shots. For 38 minutes, that plan seemed to work. Memphis couldn’t lengthen their lead quickly, allowing the Rice offense to keep pace.

The plan gave the Owls a chance, a one possession game with two minutes left in regulation against a ranked foe on the road is a step forward from where this program has been. But as so many of these close losses leaded up to this, it’s clear there’s more work to be done.

Up Next: at UTSA (Sun, Mar. 2)

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Rice Basketball roll past Tulsa

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Rice Basketball returned to the win column emphatically, maintaining a double-digit lead for most of the game against Tulsa on Saturday.

From the moment Denver Anglin drained the first three of the game to the successive baskets from Trae Broadnax to give Rice basketball a 7-0 lead, Saturday’s game against Tulsa felt different. There was no back-and-forth in this one like so many of the Owls’ other nailbiters of late, no, Rice outscored Tulsa 21-6 in the first 11 minutes and change, setting the tone for what would become a Rice romp.

Tulsa would eventually get things going offensively, but a pair of double-digit scorers from the Golden Hurricane was not nearly enough to overcome such a sizable early deficit.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense

In fact, Tulsa would get back within single digits on the scoreboard just twice. The first time came in the latter portions of the first half to which Rice answered with a 7-0 run. The next was near the midpoint of the second half. Rice ripped off five in a row and that was that.

To eliminate any doubts this game was as one-sided as it felt, Rice would close things out on a 14-5 rally, scoring the final six points of the game and earning a much-needed AAC victory in the process.

Final Box | Rice 71, Tulsa 50

Key takeaway | Past due

Finally getting in the win column after too many painful, last-minute losses to count is a breath of fresh air to a Rice basketball squad that has been struggling to close out games. Head coach Rob Lanier mentioned as much in his comments after the game.

“A great sign of the resilience of the guys, and that’s been a consistent theme,” Lanier remarked. “The expectation is that we’re going to come out and play well and be competitive and we’re going to have to find a way to finish some of the games that we’ve been in. I think the group is getting tougher mentally and the bond is getting stronger through these experiences.”

Lanier could have stopped there, but chose not to. In a response to a later question, Lanier made it clear he viewed even this win as a learning experience for his team.

“My message at halftime and a little bit after the game is that we have a good group of kids. They stick together. There’s some comradery. There’s some positive energy flowing through our locker room,” he said. “But the next step is for us to add to that some bite. And I didn’t feel that tonight, that bite, that aggressiveness.”

Perhaps that killer instinct has kept this squad from a few more wins over the past month. Regardless of the reason, Lanier doesn’t seem content with the status quo and is pushing his team for more. That might be the most encouraging thing that happened for Rice basketball on Saturday, beyond just a win.

Up Next: at Memphis (Wed, Feb. 26)

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Rice Basketball suffers last-second loss to UAB

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Rice Basketball traded blows with UAB for 40 minutes but came up one point short in the final seconds resulting in yet another painful defeat.

There was barely time to exhale at media timeouts given the breakneck speed with which Rice basketball traded blows with UAB at Tudor Fieldhouse on Wednesday evening. The visiting Blazers couldn’t miss in the opening segments of the first half, shooting 69 percent from the floor through the first eight minutes of action. The Owls weren’t far behind, starting 4-of-7 from three to keep pace with the Blazers’ blitz.

The largest lead in the first half was seven points, held by UAB with nine minutes to play. The advantage disappeared almost as quickly as the visitors had amassed it. A quick 7-0 run brought the game back to level before UAB would eventually make it to the halftime buzzer in front by just three points.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense

Jacob Dar would tie the game on his first shot out of the break, contributing to his second consecutive game north of 20 points and his game-leading 24 point outing that put the Owls in the driver’s seat to snap their losing skid.

With 5.7 seconds to play and Rice leading by three, Dar was on the wrong end of a foul that sent UAB to the line to shoot three. The Blazers missed the first, but another whistle on under the basket awarded additional free throws to the Blazers, who snuck ahead by one. Rice would get back to the line with less than two seconds to play, but two missed free throws sent Rice to another crushing defeat.

Final Box | UAB 90, Rice 89

Key takeaway | Unbreakable

After the three at the buzzer at Tulane, it felt as if this Rice basketball team had lost in every single heartbreaking way possible. Add one more to the list. A questionable foul call under the basket and two missed free throws to tie the game in the final seconds is about as aggravating of a gut punch as one could imagine.

But they haven’t given up. Not yet. Wednesday’s down-to-the-wire battle against the Blazers proved as much. Dar, who had every reason to despair along with his teammates, offered this rebuttal post game.

“This loss is tough for sure, but it’s not going to break us at all. We’ve been through this. Last game we went through this and we bounced back,” he said. “Nobody on our team is going to ever give up. We’re always going to give 100 percent. Every game we’re going to come out and compete. Every game we’re going to come out to win. That’s our mindset and it’s never going to drop.”

This squad is out of time to scream up the standings, but they’ve proven there isn’t anyone in this league they can’t go toe-to-toe with on the court. They’ll be the team nobody wants to play in the conference tournament in March. Before they get there, though, it would be nice to win a few basketball games.

Up Next: vs Tulsa (Sat, Feb. 22)

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Buzzer beater dooms Rice basketball at Tulane

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Rice Basketball suffered another last-minute loss in conference play, this time falling to Tulane on a buzzer-beating three.

An early onslaught of three-pointers from Jacob Dar announced Rice basketball’s arrival in New Orleans for a Saturday afternoon battle. Dar’s three consecutive triples gave Rice a seven-point edge and kept the visiting Owls in the driver’s seat of this game until the Green Wave finally got going with an 11-0 run to close the half and take their first lead of the contest.

More: Rice Football: 2025 Recruiting Class Analysis — Offense

Following a Rice-dominated start, Tulane the next chunk of game time but just like the Owls before them, struggled to build meaningful separation between the two teams. Rice would finally break through with six minutes to go on an 8-0 run driven almost entirely by Dar and Caden Powell.

After one lead change in the first 34 minutes, the leading team swapped six times down the stretch. Tied at 78, Rice looked to have the final shot only to have it knocked away with less than three seconds to play. Tulane collected the ball, rifled it up the court and hit a long three at the buzzer to snatch the win, handing the Owls a heartbreaking loss in the final seconds.

Final Box | Tulane 81, Rice 78

Key takeaway | The emergence of Jacob Dar

The continued emergence of Jacob Dar as Rice basketball progresses through conference play has been a sight to behold. The transfer forward registered his first double-digit game in January against North Texas. He’s scored in double-digits seven times in his next 10 games, including a season-best 21 points against Tulane which led all Owls in scoring.

Along the way, Dar tallied a career-best six three-pointers (on 6-for-7 shooting) and six blocks. He’s made eight straight starts and has become more integral to the Owls’ identity on both sides of the court with each passing game. Rice basketball needs gamebreakers to get over the hump and turn some of these close losses into big wins. Dar has that potential.

Up Next: vs UAB (Wed, Feb. 19)

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