Men’s Basketball to Face Crosstown Rival, No. 15/14 Houston

Friday, November 12

Houston, TX

7 p.m.

Rice University

Houston

NCAA Men’s Basketball 2021: NSt. Edwards Hilltoppers at Rice Owls Nov 04

Photo by: Maria Lysaker

Men’s Basketball to Face Crosstown Rival, No. 15/14 Houston

11/11/2021 4:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes (PDF)Watch Listen Live Stats

By: By: Tim Andrzejewski (tim.andrzejewski@rice.edu)

HOUSTON — Rice will go on the road for the first time this season when it faces crosstown rival and No. 15/14-ranked Houston. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be livestreamed at ESPN+.

Game 2
What: Rice at No. 15/14 Houston
When: Friday, November 12 at 7 p.m.
Where: Houston, Texas
Arena: Fertitta Center (7,035)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Houston leads 64-18 (Houston leads 32-7 at Houston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Friday night's matchup with a 1-0 record after defeating Pepperdine, 82-63, in its season opener.
• Guard Travis Evee led the Owls with 24 points behind 6-of-10 from three.
• Guard Carl Pierre scored 13 points and had three assists and forward Mylyjael Poteat scored 10 points and grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
• Forward Max Fiedler added nine points and a game-high 13 rebounds.
• The Owls return 10 letterwinners and all five starters from last year's squad that finished 15-13 overall and 6-10 in Conference USA.
• Rice brings back its top five scorers and top six rebounders from last year.
• Preseason All-Conference USA honoree Quincy Olivari returns after earning Third Team All-CUSA last year. He led the Owls with 16.3 points per game, good for eighth in Conference USA. He led the league in three-point field goal percentage (40.9%) and three-point field goals made per game (3.1) and is second on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.
• Evee was named Conference USA Newcomer of the Year last year after placing second on the team with 13.7 points per game. He finished second in C-USA in three-point field goals made per game (2.9) and three-point field goal percentage (39.6%). He also led the team with 1.2 steals per game.
• Fiedler averaged nearly a double-double, scoring 11.2 points per game while pulling down 8.8 rebounds per game, good for second in the conference. He set a school single-season record for field goal percentage, connecting on 67.5% from the field while placing third in Conference USA in double-doubles (8), eighth in assists per game (3.6) and 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.4).
• Junior guard Chris Mullins averaged 10.4 points per game while redshirt sophomore forward Riley Abercrombie added 7.5 points per game and was third on the team with 3.8 rebounds per game.
• Head coach Scott Pera begins his fifth season leading the Rice men's basketball program. He holds a record of 51-73.
• Rice added five newcomers to this year's team, which include three freshmen and two graduate transfers.
• The three freshmen include guard Jaden Geron (Fresno, Calif.), guard Jackson Peakes (Houston, Texas) and forward Damion McDowell, Jr. (Inglewood, Calif.). Also joining the team are graduate transfer guards Terrance McBride (Lynwood, Calif./Cornell) and Carl Pierre (Boston, Mass./Massachusetts).

Scouting Houston
• Houston enters Friday night's contest with a 1-0 record after defeating Hofstra in overtime, 83-75, in its season-opener.
• The Cougars are ranked 14th in the preseason Coaches poll and 15th in the Associated Press poll.
• Houston was voted the preseason favorite in the American Athletic Conference.
• UH brings back seven letterwinners and two starters from last year's squad that reached the Final Four, led by junior guard Marcus Sasser, who was picked Preseason All-AAC. He's their leading returning scorer, averaging 13.7 points while grabbing 2.6 rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Tramon Mark is their second leading returning scorer, posting 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds.
• Graduate student forward Fabian White, Jr., is the Cougars leading returning rebounder, pulling down 4.1 boards per game last year while adding 6.2 points.
• Head coach Kelvin Sampson begins his seventh season leading the Houston men's basketball program, where he holds a 168-64 (.724) record. In 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach, he holds a record of 668-334 (.667).

Rice-Houston Series History
• This will be the 83rd meeting between Rice and Houston with the Cougars holding a 64-18 advantage.
• It will also be just the 11th meeting as non-conference opponents. The series is tied at five when played as non-conference opponents.
• This is the ninth time Rice will face a ranked-Houston squad and the first since 1984.
• Houston has won the last six meetings and seven of the last eight.
• In games held at Houston, UH holds a 32-7 lead.
• This is the first meeting at Houston's Fertitta Center.
• Last year's scheduled meeting was canceled due to COVID-19.

Rice vs. the American Athletic Conference
• When the Owls face Houston, it will be just the seventh meeting against the American Athletic Conference.
• Rice is 1-5 against the AAC but will be looking for its second straight victory.
• Four of the previous six meetings have come against Houston. Rice also faced Wichita State in 2018.
• Rice defeated East Carolina, 77-69, in the third-place game of the 2019 Islands of the Bahamas Showcase.

Next Up
• Rice returns to Tudor Fieldhouse next Tuesday, Nov. 16, when it hosts Southern. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be livestreamed at CUSAtv.