Men’s Hoops Begins Homestand against UTEP

HOUSTON — Coming off a three-game, five-day road trip, Rice returns to the friendly confines of Tudor Fieldhouse this Thursday, Jan. 23, when it begins a three-game homestand against UTEP. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by the ESPN+.

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Thursday night's contest with a 9-11 record, including 1-6 in Conference USA. The Owls are looking for their second straight home victory after falling at North Texas, 79-59, Monday night.
• Sophomore Trey Murphy III leads the Owls with 13.9 points per game and a 37.2% three-point field goal percentage, while placing third in rebounds (5.6). He is also third in the league in three-pointers made per game (2.6).
• Senior Robert Martin is second on the team with 11.5 points per game and 5.9 rebounds per game.
• Senior Ako Adams is third on the team with 10.0 points per game and is second with 2.2 assists per game. He is also second in Conference USA in free throw percentage (89.6%) and ninth in three-pointers made per game (2.2).
• Sophomore Drew Peterson is fourth on the team in scoring (10.0) and leads the team and is seventh in C-USA with 6.6 rebounds per game. He is also eighth in the league in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.3) and 10th in assists (3.2).
• Redshirt junior Josh Parrish is averaging 6.0 points on the year, but 9.3 points per game in conference play. He is also third in the league in conference play in field goal percentage, connecting on 69.2% from the field.
• Rice is averaging 72.6 points while allowing 75.2.
• The Owls are connecting on 42.3% from the floor and 32.8% from three while allowing their opponents to connect on 45.6% from the field but just 31.3% from three.
• Rice's opponents are outrebounding the Owls, 37.8-to-36.4 but the Owls are third in the conference in three-pointers made per game (9.4).
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his third season leading the Rice men's basketball program. He holds a record of 29-54.

Scouting UTEP
• UTEP enters tonight's contest with an 11-8 record, including 2-4 in Conference USA. The Miners have lost seven of their last 10 games after falling to UTSA, 86-70, last Saturday.
• Redshirt forward Bryson Williams leads UTEP and is second in the league in scoring, averaging 19.4 points per game. He is also third in the league in three-point field goal percentage (44.0%), sixth in rebounds (6.9), seventh in field goal percentage (55.6%) and tied for eighth in free throw percentage (85.1%).
• Redshirt sophomore guard Souley Boum is second on the team with 11.4 points per game. He also leads Conference USA in free throw percentage, connecting on 90.8% from the charity stripe.
• Graduate transfer guard Daryl Edwards is third on the team with 9.7 points per game.
• UTEP is scoring 68.8 points per game while allowing just 65.3.
• The Miners are connecting on 43.2% from the floor but just 29.0% from three. Their opponents are being held to just 40.8% from the field and 29.6% from three, which is second in C-USA.
• UTEP is outrebounding its opponents, 35.0-to-34.7 and is second in the league in free throw percentage, connecting on 76.6%.
• Head coach Rodney Terry is in his second season at the helm of the UTEP men's basketball program where he owns a 19-29 (.396) record. In nine seasons as a head coach, Terry is 145-137 (.514).

Rice-UTEP Series History
• Rice and UTEP will meet for 38th time overall.
• UTEP holds a 24-13 record in the series but Rice leads 8-7 in games played in Houston.
• Rice has won two of the last three games and will be looking to win two straight games in the series for the first time since sweeping the season series in 2012.
• Last year, the teams split the season series with both games taking place in El Paso. The Miners won the first game, 65-64, on Jan. 12. Rice got revenge in the second game, coming back from a 20-point second half deficit to earn an 85-81 double-overtime victory.
• From 1997-2006, the teams met as members of the Western Athletic Conference. Both teams have been a part of Conference USA since 2005.

Next Up
• Rice continues its three-game homestand this Saturday, Jan. 25, when it hosts UTSA. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and the game will be livestreamed by the ESPN+.

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