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MBB: Owls’ hope visit to Charlotte will be first CUSA road win

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Rice basketball has hit a rough patch. If the Owls want to get back on track they must take down Charlotte away from home.

With both programs sitting at 1-4 over their last five games, something’s got to give. Either the Charlotte 49ers three-game skid will snap or Rice will earn their first road victory in conference play. Both programs are teetering on the edge of the bottom spot in the conference standings, making a win on Thursday all the more important.

The game is not scheduled for TV broadcast but will be available on CUSA TV. Radio is available via the Stretch Internet Portal.

Charlotte 5-15 (2-7), Last 5 (1-4)

  • L, 57-53 @ UTEP
  • L, 88-43 @ UTSA
  • L, 76-70 vs Old Dominion
  • W, 55-40 vs Louisiana Tech
  • L, 64-60 vs Southern Miss

Rice 8-13 (3-5), Last 5 (1-4)

  • L, 89-86 vs UAB
  • W, 79-68 vs MTSU
  • L, 76-75 @ North Texas
  • L, 65-64 @ UTEP
  • L, 95-79 @ UTSA

Charlotte players to watch

It’s all senior Jon Davis or bust for the 49ers. His 21 points per game rank second in CUSA. He’s a talented player, but history says Charlotte can’t win very often on his hand alone. Freshman Malik Martin and Brandon Younger have had their moments, but outside of Martin’s 1.4 steals per game and Younger’s 35.6 clip from three, there hasn’t been much assistance for the 49ers’ veteran star.

Rice keys to victory

Making the extra pass has been a philosophy preached by head coach Scott Pera over the past several weeks. Getting his players to pass up the open shot for a more open look has paid dividends, with his team scoring 75 or more points in three straight games including 86 points in their loss to UAB, the second-most points they’ve scored in a conference game this season.

Charlotte owns the worst scoring offense in the conference. At 59.2 points per game the 49ers aren’t likely to outshoot the Owls — they’ve never scored more than 66 points in a victory this season. Continuing to ride the hot hand, whether it be Trey Murphy, Chris Mullins, Jack Williams or someone else should be enough to power Rice past Charlotte.

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MBB: Stock up and stock down

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Rice basketball is nearing the end of a hard-fought month of January. Buy stock in Trey Murphy and sell the Owls’ streak of bad luck.

Stock up – Trey Murphy

Freshman guard Trey Murphy had never scored more than 13 points in his collegiate career prior to the Owls’ Jan. 19 game against North Texas. In fact, he’d scored 10 or more points four times in 18 games. He’s averaging 20 points and 3.3 rebounds per game over the last three games, leading the team in scoring and draining 13 three-point shots. He’s one of the hottest hands on the team right now.

Stock down – unforced errors and turnovers

Rice has averaged 12.3 turnovers per game in conference play, a mark which puts them right in the middle of the pack. Giving away extra possession has been amplified by the Owls’ own inability to take the ball away. Their 3.6 steals per game ranks last in conference play. They’ve won a few in spite of the mistakes, but playing more disciplined basketball will open up more opportunities to win.

Stock up – second half intensity

The first outing against North Texas gave a glimpse of what this team might be capable of doing in CUSA play. After leading by double-digits, a woeful second half performance resulted in a 103-87 defeat. Finishing was a problem against UTEP and North Texas, too. Since then, though, Rice has strung together encouraging second half performances against Middle Tennesee and UAB. This team is learning to finish on the fly.

Stock down – Luck

“I don’t know too many teams in certainly my 28 years of coaching have gone through what we’ve gone through the last two Saturdays”, Scott Pera said almost incredulously following the Owls’ win over Middle Tennesse. Continuing on to Ako Adam’s missed three-point attempt in the final second against UAB or looking back to the unfortunate end sequences against UTEP and North Texas, the ball hasn’t bounced the Owls’ way in recent weeks. Their three most recent losses have come by a combined five points.

Stock up – Tudor Fieldhouse

The road has not been kind to Rice this season. Sitting at 1-8 away from their own gym, a 75-67 win over UTRGV in December is the Owls’ only road victory. That contrasts sharply with the Owls’ 7-5 record at home, including a 3-2 mark against conference opponents. A 3-point loss to UAB and a squandered first half lead against North Texas have been the only blemishes on what has largely been a strong showing at home.

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MBB: Late rally falls short vs UAB

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Rice basketball narrowly missed a homecourt victory as they watched their final shot bounce out, thwarting the Owls upset attempt at UAB.

With less than 10 minutes remaining in the game Rice trailed the visiting UAB Blazers by 13 points. The Owls’ had put together a decent night from the field at that point but turnovers had cost the Owls way too many possessions. Rather than cave, they pressed in.

The resiliency of this team has been tested in recent weeks. They rallied to cut the deficit to one-point, staying within reach for the remainder of the game, right up until an Ako Adams three-point attempt fell short at the buzzer. His shot would have forced overtime, instead, Rice ended up three-points shy on the scoreboard, losing 89-86 to a surging UAB squad who has quietly won four games in a row.

Box

Player PTS FG 3FG FT OR DR REB A PF TO BL ST MIN +/-
ADAMS 12 4-7 4-7 0-0 0 1 1 2 3 3 0 0 21 5
PETERSON 3 1-2 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 3 0 1 0 0 17 5
MULLINS 16 6-11 0-2 4-7 1 4 5 4 3 1 0 0 32 0
WILLIAMS 5 2-10 0-4 1-4 3 5 8 0 2 2 1 0 28 5
MILLORA-BROWN 11 5-7 0-0 1-2 3 5 8 2 2 2 3 0 31 -13
MOORE 0 0-1 0-1 0-2 0 0 0 3 1 1 0 0 11 -8
PARRISH 5 1-2 0-1 3-4 1 0 1 1 5 0 0 0 16 -10
MURPHY III 24 5-8 5-7 9-9 0 6 6 0 1 0 0 0 24 1
MARTIN 10 3-4 2-3 2-2 1 1 2 1 3 3 0 0 20 2

Player of the game – Trey Murphy

Trey Murphy scored 18 points in each of his most recent outings, a career high at the time. On Saturday against UAB he one-upped himself, tallying 24 points with a personal best five made three-point shots. It wasn’t just the distant shooting which paved the way for another big night from Murphy, he also went a perfect 9-for-9 from the line.

Shooting 71 percent from three doesn’t happen very often, but Scott Pera himself has given Murphy free range to take as many open threes as he can. He scored 10 points in two minutes on Saturday. When he’s hot, Rice needs to get him the basketball.

Up Next

A road trip to Charlotte looms next for Rice. The 49’ers are 5-15 on the season and 2-7 in conference play. They’re coming off a four-point loss to UTSA on Saturday.

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MBB: Owls’ seek another streak with home with over UAB

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Two days after ending a three-game losing streak Rice basketball looks to even their conference record at .500 with a win over UAB on Saturday.

Rice entered conference play with a 5-8 record. The Owls had put together some strong performances, but the consistency was lacking. They needed time to regroup and refocus. It’s almost as if a different team showed up after the holiday break. Their win over Middle Tennesse puts them one win away from returning to the middle of the pack in Conference USA.

To get back to .500 Rice will have to dispatch a UAB squad which has won three straight games, all against opponents who beat the Owls this season. Barring additional sets of unforeseen circumstances, the team will be ready for the Blazers on Saturday. A win would give Rice a tw0-game winning streak, their second of the season.

The game is scheduled for broadcast on ESPN+ at 7 p.m. CT. Radio is available via the Stretch Internet Portal.

UAB 13-7 (5-2), Last 5 (3-2)

  • W, 52-49 @ North Texas
  • W, 83-73 vs UTSA
  • W, 76-63 vs UTEP
  • L, 73-68 @ Southern Miss
  • L, 64-53 @ Louisiana Tech

Rice 8-12 (3-4), Last 5 – (2-3)

  • W, 79-68 vs MTSU
  • L, 76-75 vs North Texas
  • L, 65-64 @ UTEP
  • L, 95-79 @ UTSA
  • W, 78-66 vs Louisiana Tech

UAB players to watch

For most of the year, UAB has won basketball games with a suffocating defense. The Blazers rank fourth in CUSA with 65.8 points allowed per game and second in field goal percentage allowed, 40.1 percent. It’s been a complete team effort, sort of how the offense has gone for UAB, too.

Rice will have to keep their focus on the combination of Zach Bryant, Jalen Perry and Lewis Sullivan. The trio leads UAB in minutes played and seem to alternate on the night which of the three will have a big game. Most recently it was Bryant, who knocked down 6-of-13 from the field for 17 points, tied for his most productive shooting night in conference play.

Rice keys to victory

Play all 40 minutes of Saturday’s tilt with UAB with the same intensity of the final eight minutes against Middle Tennessee. After the second to last scheduled media time out the Owls outscored their opponents by 12, seizing control late in the game.

Rice shot 70 percent from the field after the timeout. Middle Tennessee shot 33 percent. A strong defensive performance from the Owls was just as important as their made shots down the stretch. This team has proven when both sides of the ball are operating well, they can beat anyone on their schedule.

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MBB: Strong finish pushes Owls past Middle Tennessee

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Rice basketball avenged a pair of close losses with a big home win, closing strong in the second half to take down Middle Tennessee at Tudor Fieldhouse.

“Tonight they wanted to prove that what happened before was a fluke.” A little bit of angst, tinged with relief, could be heard through head coach Scott Pera following his team’s 79-68 win over Middle Tennessee on Thursday night at Tudor Fieldhouse. This marked the third consecutive game in which Rice had held a double-digit lead in the second half, but this performance was different. Unlike in the final moments against UTEP and North Texas, they finished.

Rice trailed Middle Tennessee (now 5-15) by four points at halftime. The Owls had been out-rebounded 24-17. They’d shot a meager 27.3 percent from three and converted on five of nine free throws. It was a slow start against won of the least successful teams in Conference USA. They needed to kick it into gear, and they did.

Both teams traded blows in the second half. Rice went on a 9-0 run. A few minutes later Middle Tennessee responded with an 8-0 run. Then, in the minutes following the under-8:00 minute media timeout, Rice scored 13 unanswered points, turning a 1-point deficit into a 15-point advantage.

“We showed some maturity. We showed some growth,” Pera remarked knowingly after the game. His confidence shone clear. This team has plenty to work on, but finally healthy in front of their home crowd, they seem to be putting all the pieces together.

The Box

Player PTS FG 3FG FT OR DR REB A PF TO BL ST MIN +/-
ADAMS 9 2-4 0-1 5-5 0 4 4 2 1 3 0 1 31 11
PETERSON 2 1-5 0-2 0-0 1 3 4 3 2 0 0 0 17 8
MULLINS 19 6-11 3-4 4-6 2 2 4 2 2 0 1 3 29 8
WILLIAMS 13 4-11 1-4 4-6 1 3 4 2 4 2 0 1 30 8
MILLORA-BROWN 8 4-6 0-0 0-3 2 6 8 0 4 0 3 1 24 6
MOORE 4 2-3 0-1 0-1 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 1 8 0
PARRISH 3 1-1 0-0 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 11 3
MURPHY III 18 4-8 4-8 6-6 0 1 1 1 1 2 1 0 23 3
MARTIN 3 1-5 0-2 1-3 3 7 10 2 3 1 0 1 27 8

Player of the Game – Trey Murphy

For the second game in a row, Trey Murphy was the catalyst for this young squad. It was his fourth three-pointer of the night which gave Rice their final lead of the game. The deciding shot was also his 18th point of the game, tying a career high set his last time out against North Texas.

“We knew that we had to play harder and give it 40 minutes, not 34 minutes or 36 minutes, an entire 40 minutes,” Murphy said emphatically following the game. It comes as no surprise then, that Murphy’s three-point shot which started the final push fell with just a little after 33 minutes of the game clock had expired.

Murphy’s shooting stroke is starting to settle in. That bodes well for Rice moving forward.

Up Next – UAB

UAB rallied from a half time deficit to knock out North Texas in Denton on Thursday night. The Blazers move to 13-7 on the season and 5-2 in Conference USA, locking themselves into a four-way tie for second place in the conference. If Rice wants to make a push up the ranks, they’ll need to get past UAB on Saturday.

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