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Rice Basketball Rains Threes in Win over UTSA

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Rice Basketball started fast and never slowed down, rolling to a convincing road win over UTSA, courtesy of a blistering performance from deep.

Nick Anderson opened the scoring with a three. Jalen Smith added another. Then Broadnax. Then Smith. The first four field goals Rice basketball knocked down on Wednesday night in San Antonio all came from distance and propelled the Owls to a 12-3 lead, a distance that would linger for quite some time.

After Broadnax broke the three streak with a layup to go up 11, UTSA would be back within double-digits just one more time in the remainder of the first half. Rice led by as many as 19 before the break. The Roadrunners would close the half on a 13-5 run, making it clear the Owls would have to keep up their pace to maintain their lead.

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Keep up, they did. Rice matched every UTSA run of the second half with a volley of their own, never allowing their margin to dip below nine points, a mark the Roadrunners would reach on multiple occasions but never surpass. The Owls knocked down five free throws in the final two minutes, draining the clock before one last triple with 11 seconds to spare.

Rice Basketball improves to 8-10 with the victory. The Owls are 3-6 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Rice 89, UTSA 73

Key takeaway | Making it Rain

There are good shooting nights. There are great shooting nights. And then there’s the kind of performance Rice basketball put on display in San Antonio on Wednesday. The Owls seemingly could not missing, knocking down a season-best 16 three pointers.

Rice was equally dangerous from two, missing just nine field goals from inside the three point arc. When you shoot it at that well, even a solid 43.5 percent shooting night from the other side isn’t enough to slow you down.

That level of offensive success isn’t something that can be replicated on a whim, but it is proof of what’s possible. In a season with defensive struggles, the offense rounding into form was necessary, but few could have imagined the ceiling would be quite this high.

Up Next: vs Temple (Wed, Jan. 21 at 7:00 pm)

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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 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 Outgunned by Tulsa on the road

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Rice Basketball couldn’t keep up with an explosive Tulsa offense, falling behind early during a New Year’s Eve loss to the Golden Hurricane.

Dreams of a Happy New Year’s Eve on the road for Rice basketball turned to nightmares in short order as the Owls were on the wrong end of a 10-0 start to open their game against Tulsa on Wednesday afternoon. The Owls missed their first five shots, falling behind from the first possession.

Rice would cut the deficit down to one on and 11-0 run, spurred by excellent shooting and timely free throws from Nick Anderson, who would go on to paced the team with 17 points on the afternoon. Rice would never lead, though. Tulsa volleyed back, pulling out to a 13-point advantage at the halftime buzzer.

MORE: Rice Basketball Midseason State of the Program

The margin hovered around double-digits for much of the second half until a series of threes from Tulsa’s Jaylen Lawal put the game out of reach, for good. Up by 25 approaching the eight-minute media timeout, the Golden Hurricane would hang on for a comfortable win.

Rice Basketball falls to 6-8 with the loss. The Owls are 1-6 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Tulsa 97, Rice 48

Key takeaway | Stars Silenced

Tulsa entered this contest as the top shooting team in the American Conference. That the Owls would give up points to the Golden Hurricane shouldn’t be that surprising. Rather, their inability to mount an effective counterpunch is the more concerning component of this loss.

The emergence of Cam Carroll and the reliability of Nick Anderson have gone a long way to buttress a Rice offense that has been inconsistent this season. But those two alone can’t support a balanced attack than can challenge the likes of Tulsa.

Veterans Trae Broadnax and Jalen Smith combined for 12 points on 4-for-16 shooting with eight boards. It would be decidedly unfair to saddle them with the blame for this defeat, however, it’s hard to envision Rice basketball winning many games in American Conference play if those two are barely going to crack double digits together.

Up Next: vs Memphis (Sat, Jan. 3 at 2:00 pm)

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Rice Basketball: 2025-2026 Midseason State of the Program

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It’s been a mixed bag for Rice Basketball in their second season under head coach Rob Lanier. Here’s where the Owls stand as American Conference play begins.

Heading into late December, Rice basketball has completed non-conference play with a 6-7 record, with two wins over non-NCAA teams and some narrow misses against a handful of quality clubs away from home. The Owls have had their moments, but consistency remains a focal point as the calendar turns to January.

For those checking in for the first time, or those returning, a quick programming note. Special features like this are reserved for our subscribers. Have questions? You can get those answered in our monthly Q&As and get access to all practice notes, recruiting updates and features like this one when you subscribe on Patreon today.

Can they take the next step? That’s the crucial question facing this squad as they wrap up non-conference play. Here’s where the Owls stand at (roughly) the halfway point, a few important milestones and notes from the journey and a recalibration of expectations for the rest of the way.

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