Men's Hoops Hosts Annual School House Mania
12/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By: Tim Andrzejewski (tim.andrzejewski@rice.edu)
Game Notes 
| ESPN3 | Listen | HOUSTON — Rice will host the fifth annual School House Mania game this Thursday, Dec. 14, when it welcomes St. Edward's to Tudor Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by ESPN3.
Scouting Rice
• Rice is 2-7 and has dropped its last three games after falling to Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches last Saturday, 81-62.
• Junior guard Connor Cashaw leads the team with 14.8 points while placing second with 6.0 rebounds. He is also averaging 2.8 assists.
• Graduate guard A.J. Lapray is second on the team with 11.1 points. He is also fourth in C-USA in three-pointers per game (2.9) and is connecting on 44.4% from beyond the arc.
• Sophomore guard Ako Adams is averaging 10.2 points and 3.6 boards. He is also eighth in the league in free throw percentage (.853) and 10th in assists (3.8).
• The Owls are averaging 65.7 points per game while allowing 73.9.
• Rice is connecting on just 37.2% from the floor and 29.0% from three. Its opponents are shooting just 43.0% from the field but are being held to 31.1% from beyond the arc, which is second in Conference USA.
• The Owls are grabbing 39.1 rebounds per game while allowing 37.8.
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his first season leading the Rice men's basketball program after serving its last three years as its Associate Head Coach.
Scouting St. Edward's
• St. Edward's is 9-2 on the season and 1-1 in the Heartland Conference. The Hilltoppers have won three straight games and five of the last six after defeating Central Baptist College, 88-66, last Saturday.
• Junior guard Landon Goesling leads the Heartland Conference in scoring with 21.5 points per game and free throw percentage, connecting on 86.7% from the line. He is also eighth in the league in field goal percentage (.493) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4) and ninth in assists (3.5).
• Sophomore forward Dorian Lopez is ninth in the conference in scoring (13.9). He is also second in the league in field goal percentage (.577) and third in rebounds (8.2).
• Junior forward James Taylor is scoring 13.1 points per game and 4.7 rebounds. He is also third in the Heartland in field goal percentage, connecting on 57.3% from the floor.
• Senior guard Sean Watkins is scoring 10.2 points per game. He leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.2), is third in assists (5.0) and is fourth in steals (1.9).
• St. Edward's is scoring a league-best 94.0 points per game while allowing 79.1.
• The Hilltoppers lead the conference in field goal percentage, connecting on 50.8% from the field while also hitting on 38.0% from three. Their opponents are connecting on 44.3% from the floor and 34.4% from beyond the arc.
• SEU is pulling down 37.0 rebounds per game but allowing a league-low 39.5.
• St. Edward's also leads the Heartland Conference in assists (18.8) and is second in three-pointers made per game (9.2) and steals (9.8).
• Head coach Andre Cook is in his ninth season at the helm of the St. Edward's men's basketball program where he owns a 126-114 (.525) record. In 12 years as a head coach, Cook is 245-154 (.614).
Series History
• Rice and St. Edward's will meet for the fourth straight year and just the sixth time overall.
• Rice is undefeated in the series, winning the previous five meetings.
• All five meetings have taken place at Tudor Fieldhouse.
• The Owls have won the previous five games by an average of 25.0 points.
Next Up
• Rice begins a stretch of four of the next five games on the road this Saturday, Dec. 16 when it travels to Lubbock to face Texas Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
