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Rice Basketball Ambushed by FGCU in OT

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Rice Basketball never trailed in regulation, but found themselves in a double-digit deficit, losing to FGCU in overtime at the Coconut Hoops Tournament.

Points were at a premium in the early goings of the second Rice basketball contest at Coconut Hoops. Jimmy Oladokun opened the scoring against Florida Gulf Coast with a layup more than two minutes into the contest as the Owls slowly began to accumulate a modest advantage.

Rice opened up a 9-2 edge, eventually growing the lead to 13 points on a big three-pointer from Jalen Smith. Florida Gulf Coast would close the half strong, though, knocking down consecutive three pointers to cut the gap to seven at intermission.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

That late push would prove to be the spark Florida Gulf Coast needed from deep. Riding hot three-point shooting from Jordan Ellerbee, the local team would trim the Owls’ advantage to one point midway through the second half. Rice never trailed in regulation, but a missed jumper from Trae Broadnax at the buzzer left the door open for overtime. Florida Gulf Coast capitilized.

The Eagles, who had yet to lead at any point in the first 40 minutes, scored the first 13 points in the extra period, putting the game out of reach before the Owls were able to get their feet underneath them. For a second game in a row, the Owls were bystanders in extra time.

Rice Basketball falls to 2-6 with the loss. The Owls are 0-4 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | FGCU 78, Rice 63

Key takeaway | Deja Vu All Over Again

For those who might have missed this game, the script mirrored the first Rice Basketball contest at Coconut Hoops. Just like they did Tuesday against Florida Gulf Coast, Rice led Kennesaw State for the bulk of regulation but couldn’t find a way to close the door in regulation.

Trae Broadnax fouled out. Kennesaw State outscored Rice 6-1 in overtime.

One day later, Trae Broadnax fouled out against Florida Gulf Coast, who outscored Rice 19-4 in overtime.

Two very winnable games. And Rice basketball had ample opportunities to win in the first 40 minutes but couldn’t close either out. Either would have bee gut-wrenching another, but for these games to occur in succession was particularly cruel. If this team can survive this, it should all be uphill from here, because it’s hard to imagine a more painful way to lose two basketball games in a two day span.

Up Next: GEICO Coconut Hoops vs Oral Roberts (Wed, Nov. 26 at 3:30 pm)

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Rice Basketball Falls in OT to Kennesaw State

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Rice Basketball and Kennesaw State needed more than 40 minutes to resolve their opening matchup at the Coconut Hoops Tournament, with Kennesaw State winning in OT.

Rice Basketball played a nerve-racking opening game to the Coconut Hoops Tournament that was tight throughout. Kennesaw State opened the scoring before Rice quickly answered to produce one of seven first half ties. Kennesaw State led by as many as nine, but it was Rice that took a one point lead into halftime.

A strong start to the second frame by Trae Broadnax looked like it would give Rice some breathing room. It was two successive baskets from Stephen Giwa and another jumper from Broadnax that gave Rice an 11-point edge, the largest by either team in the game to that point. Yet Kennesaw State would not go away.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

Kennesaw quickly whittled the Rice lead from 11 to none, going ahead by a point with 6:33 remaining in the contest and daring Rice to answer. They would, retaking the lead for a brief period before a Kennesaw State jumper with six seconds left forced overtime. Kennesaw outscored Rice 6-1 in the extra period to secure the in.

Rice Basketball falls to 2-5 with the loss. The Owls are 0-3 away from Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Kennesaw State 89, Rice 84

Key takeaway | Learning Resiliency

This was a 45-minute grind that took a lot of effort to get to the finish line. When Rice went up by 11, it looked for a moment like they’d done just enough to put the game out of reach. Instead, that advantage went up in smoke more quickly than it took for Rice to create the lead in the first place.

Less tough teams might have thrown in the proverbial towel at that point. Rice has certainly had some less than resilient showings so far this season. So for the Owls to weather the storm, absorb the rally, and still find a way to regroup and finish was notable. But when Broadnax left the court for overtime, baskets seemed to stop falling.

The first few weeks of the season have shown us this team is going to have its hot and cold stretches. Effort and willpower are controllable things that can steal wins on days when everything isn’t going according to plan or their opponent is making some shots of their own. A win like this would have gone a long way, but the way the loss transpired is further evidence this team has more work to do.

Up Next: GEICO Coconut Hoops vs Florida Gulf Coast (Tues, Nov. 25 at 6:00 pm)

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Rice Basketball Falters Late Against Tarleton State

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Rice Basketball led at the break but couldn’t hold off Tarleton State in the second half as the visitors ran away with the game in the second half.

Tarleton State opened the game with the first points, but Rice basketball quickly fired back with a three-pointer from Jalen Smith to jumpstart a back-and-forth contest in the early goings on Thursday night. Tarleton was able to amass a handful of meager leads, but it was Rice who controlled a good portion of the first half, at least until Tarleton guard Dior Johnson started to heat up.

Johnson scored 15 of his 29 points in the first half, nearly erasing a seven-point Rice lead on his own and bringing the game back within one point at halftime. Rice offered up some protest at the beginning of the second frame, only to see Tarleton turn to guard Cam McDowell who picked up the scoring baton from Johnson and kept going.

NEWS: Rice Launches The Gateway Project, Rice Stadium Renovation

McDowell finished with 19 points, all of which came in the second half as the visitors a 21-4 run which turned a slim Rice lead into a massive deficit which would prove to be too much to overcome. Tarleton defeated Rice for the first time in program history.

Rice Basketball falls to 2-4 with the loss. The Owls are 2-2 at Tudor Fieldhouse this season.

Final Box | Tarleton 90, Rice 74

Key takeaway | Compounding Defensive Woes

Oh how quickly early season losses can quench an off-season’s worth of hope. And while the results have been disappointing for Rice basketball, it’s their defensive stumbles that have to be the most concerning.

It’s more understandable that this team would struggle to shoot well as the new pieces were integrated into the offensive system, but the defense was supposed to be what this team could hang it’s hat on. That hasn’t been the case in the early portions of this non-conference slate.

Tarleton shot 59 percent from the floor in this game, marking the fourth straight opponent to shoot better than 49 percent so far this season. The Owls have played six games. That rate has to come down in a hurry if Rice is going to have the sort of season they were expecting.

Up Next: GEICO Coconut Hoops vs Kennesaw State (Mon, Nov. 24 at 3:30 pm)

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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 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 Hobbs 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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