Rice Opens Home Portion of C-USA Bonus Play against Middle Tennessee

HOUSTON — Rice will host its first game of Bonus Play this Sunday, Mar. 3, when it welcomes Middle Tennessee back to Tudor Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed live on CUSAtv.

Scouting Rice
• Rice is 11-17 overall and 6-9 in Conference USA. The Owls are looking for their second straight victory after defeating UTEP last Saturday, 85-81, in double overtime.
• Rice has four players averaging at least nine points, led by freshman guard Chris Mullins with 12.5 points. He also leads the team in steals with 1.3 per game while tying for the lead with 2.6 assists.
• Junior forward Robert Martin is second on the team with 12.0 points and 6.5 rebounds, which is ninth in Conference USA. He is connecting on 45.6% from the field and fifth in the league in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 41.6% from behind the arc.
• Junior guard Ako Adams is third on the team with 11.4 points per game. He is connecting on 39.8% from three, good for 10th in the league while tying for the team lead with 2.6 assists per game. He also leads Conference USA in free throw percentage, connecting on 89.9% from the line.
• Graduate student Jack Williams is scoring 9.4 points while leading the squad with 7.7 rebounds, which is fifth in the league.
• Freshman guard Trey Murphy III is scoring 8.4 points per game and is fourth in C-USA in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 41.9%.
• The Owls are scoring 74.5 points but are allowing 78.2.
• Rice is connecting on 42.8% from the field and 34.8% from three. It is allowing its opponents to connect on 44.9% from the floor and 34.7% from three.
• The Owls are outrebounding their opponents, 38.4-to-36.6. However, in conference play, Rice is leading the league in rebounding with 40.3 boards per game.
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his second season leading the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting Middle Tennessee
• Middle Tennessee enters tonight's game with a 9-19 record overall and 6-9 in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders snapped a three-game losing streak last Saturday, defeating Charlotte, 86-67.
• MT is led by redshirt junior guard Antonio Green with 18.4 points, which is fifth in C-USA. He is also second in the league in free throw percentage (.872), third in three-pointers made per game (3.5) and sixth in minutes played (35.1).
• Junior forward Reggie Scurry is scoring 11.6 points. He's tied for the team lead in rebounding, pulling down 6.0 boards per game while placing sixth in the league in field goal percentage (.582).
• Sophomore guard Donovan Sims is averaging 11.6 points while senior forward Karl Gamble is tied for the team lead with 6.0 rebounds.
• The Blue Raiders are scoring just 67.9 points per game while allowing 74.1.
• Middle Tennessee is connecting on 42.3% from the floor and 33.4% from three while is opponents are hitting 44.1% from the field and 35.7% from three.
• MT is outrebounding its opponents, 37.9-to-34.8.
• Head coach Nick McDevitt is in his first season at the helm of the Middle Tennessee men's basketball program where he owns a 9-19 (.321) record. In six seasons as a head coach, McDevitt is 106-85 (.555).

Series History
• Rice and Middle Tennessee will meet for the second time this year and the 10th time overall.
• MT holds a 6-3 record in the series but Rice leads 3-2 in games played in Houston.
• Rice defeated the Blue Raiders, 79-68, on Jan. 24, snapping a three-game losing streak.
• Rice is looking for its first two-game winning streak in the series.
• The teams are currently tied for 11th place in Conference USA with Rice holding the tiebreaker due to its victory earlier this year.

Next Up
• Rice will play the first of two straight games against Charlotte to close the regular season when it goes on the road for the final time this year to face the 49ers this Wednesday, Mar. 6. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. and the game will be streamed live by CUSAtv.

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