Men’s Basketball Hosts UTSA in Conference USA Opening Series

HOUSTON — Rice will open its Conference USA schedule this weekend, Jan. 1 and 2, with a two-game series against UTSA. Tip-off for both games is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the games will be streamed by ESPN+.

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters this weekend's Conference USA series with a 6-2 record after defeating New Orleans in its non-conference finale, 73-62, on Dec. 21.
• Sophomore Quincy Olivari leads the Owls with 18.0 points per game, which is fifth in Conference USA. He is tied for the league lead in three-point field goals made per game (3.5), is second in three-point field goal percentage (51.9%) and is sixth in field goal percentage (50.5%).
• Sophomore guard Travis Evee is second on the team with 12.6 points per game and leads the team in steals (1.6 spg). He is also tied for fifth in C-USA in three-point field goals made per game (2.6) and is eighth in three-point field goal percentage (33.9%).
• Sophomore forward Max Fiedler is averaging nearly a double-double, scoring 9.9 points per game while pulling down 10.0 rebounds per game, good for second in the conference. He also leads the team in field goal percentage (58.5%) and assists per game (3.5).
• Junior guard Chris Mullins is scoring 10.9 points per game while graduate forward Tre Clark is adding 5.4 rebounds per game.
• Rice is averaging 80.5 points per game while allowing 68.8.
• The Owls are connecting on 43.8% from the floor and 34.5% from three while holding their opponents to 42.4% from the field and 32.8% from three.
• Rice is also outrebounding its opponents, 42.9-to-35.9 while placing third in the league with 16.4 assists per game.
• Head coach Scott Pera begins his fourth season leading the Rice men's basketball program. He holds a record of 41-62.

Scouting UTSA
• UTSA enters Conference USA play with a 4-3 record. The Roadrunners have won two straight after defeating Lamar on Dec. 22, 88-66.
• Senior guard Jhivvan Jackson is seventh in Conference USA in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game. He is also seventh in the league in free throw percentage, connecting on 76.2% from the line.
• Senior guard Keaton Wallace is second on the team with 11.9 points per game and leads the team with 3.4 assists per game.
• Sophomore center Jacob Germany is averaging 9.3 points per game and leads the team with 6.6 rebounds per game. He is also tied for seventh in the conference with 1.0 blocks per game.
• UTSA is averaging 81.3 points per game while allowing 75.4.
• The Roadrunners are connecting on 43.5% from the field but just 27.7% from three. Their opponents are making 39.9% from the floor and 34.3% from behind the arc.
• UTSA leads the league in rebounding, pulling down 44.3 boards per game while allowing 38.0.
• Head coach Steve Henson is in his fifth season at the helm of the UTSA men's basketball program where he owns a 68-71 (.489) record.

Rice-UTSA Series History
• Rice and UTSA will meet for 16th time overall.
• UTSA holds a 10-5 record in the series and has won five of the last six meetings.
• In games played in Houston, the series is tied at four.
• Last year, Rice fell to UTSA in Houston, 90-88, on a last second layup.
• The first six meetings came as non-conference foes. Since 2014, the teams have competed as conference foes when UTSA joined Conference USA. The Roadrunners lead the series, 6-3, as conference opponents.

Rice in Conference Openers
• Rice is 43-56 all-time in conference openers and 53-50 in home openers.
• Rice is opening its conference season for just the second time in the last six years but just the fifth time since joining Conference USA in 2005-06.
• This is the third time that Rice will open conference play against UTSA. It also did so in 2014-15 and 2017-18. The Owls are looking to win their C-USA opener for the first time since 2014-15, having lost their last five.

Next Up
• Rice will travel to El Paso for a pair of games at UTEP on Jan 8 and 9. Both games will tip-off at 8 p.m. CT. Friday's game will be livestreamed at CUSAtv while Saturday's will be livestreamed at ESPN+.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results