Rice Travels to Texas State
12/4/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2007
Coming off a two-game split at the Hawkeye Challenge over the weekend, Rice travels to Texas State to face a Bobcat team which has won its last three, including a pair on the road. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. in Strahan Coliseum.
The Owls, 1-5, picked up their first win of the season last Friday, defeating Eastern Illinois 55-49 to advance to the championship game of the University of Iowa-hosted tournament.
Texas State is 5-1 with its lone loss being an 83-77 setback to Colgate in the opening round of the Kennnesaw State 100 Club Classic last month. The Bobcats defeated Prairie View A&M 79-78 on the road last week.
Bobcat junior guard Brandon Bush, who was a high school teammate of Rice guard Rodney Foster at Mayde Creek High School, is averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds to lead Texas State. Junior college transfer Brent Benson is averaging 14.8 points and has knocked down 18-of-39 three-pointers in six games.
Texas State has committed 120 turnovers this season but has forced 129. The Bobcats are outscoring opponents by 10 points an outing and outrebounding the competition by 5.7 boards.
Rice will be making its second all-time trek to San Marcos to play Texas State. The last time came Dec. 22, 1990 when the Owls posted a 78-69 win over the Bobcats. Rice is 7-3 all-time against Texas State.
Freshman point guard Jasen Williams is currently averaging 11.3 points to lead the Owls in scoring. Senior forward Paulius Packevicius is coming off his third double-double of the season against Louisiana-Monroe last week and is averaging 11 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.
Following Wednesday's game, the Owls return home and take on Texas Saturday night in the Toyota Center before a two-week break for final exams.
