Men’s Hoops Takes to the Road to Face West Co-Leader Louisiana Tech

HOUSTON — Rice begins a two-game road trip this Thursday, January 27, when it travels to Ruston, La., to face Conference USA West Division co-leader Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed by ESPN+.

Game 19
What: Rice at Louisiana Tech
When: Thursday, January 27 at 6:30 p.m. CT
Where: Ruston, La.
Arena: Thomas Assembly Center (8,000)
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Louisiana Tech leads 18-7 (Louisiana Tech leads 9-3 in Ruston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Thursday night's contest with an 11-7 record. The Owls are 4-3 in Conference USA after falling to Charlotte last Saturday, 67-64.
• Guard Carl Pierre leads the team and is seventh in the conference with 15.4 points per game while pulling down 4.5 rebounds per game. He leads C-USA in both three-pointers made per game (3.3) and three-point field goal percentage (45.4%) and is fourth in field goal percentage (48.7%).
• Guard Travis Evee is second on the team and eighth in C-USA with 15.1 points per game while adding 3.5 rebounds per game and 3.0 assists per game. Evee is second in the league in three-point field goal percentage (43.6%), third in three-pointers made per game (2.8,) and fifth in free throw percentage (86.8%). He's also connecting on 48.9% from the field.
• Guard Chris Mullins is scoring 9.6 points per game while placing third on the team with 2.3 assists per game.
• Sophomore Quincy Olivari is averaging 8.9 points per game and is second on the team with 4.9 rebounds per game.
• Forward Max Fiedler is averaging 8.7 points per game and is third in the conference with 7.9 rebounds per game. He leads the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 57.7% from the field and assists per game (3.2). He's also fourth in the conference with four double-doubles.
• Rice is averaging 76.5 points per game, which is third in Conference USA while allowing 73.7.
• The Owls are connecting on 46.2% from the field and 39.1% from three, which leads the league. They are allowing 43.5% from the floor and 30.8% from beyond the arc.
• Rice is outrebounding the opposition, 36.8-to-34.9.
• Rice leads the league in assists with 16.1 while placing second in three-pointers per game with 10.1.
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his fifth season leading the Rice men's basketball program. He holds a record of 61-80.

Scouting Louisiana Tech
• Louisiana Tech enters Thursday night's tilt with a 15-4 record. The Bulldogs dropped their first conference game after falling to UAB last Saturday, 83-76.
• Forward Kenneth Lofton, Jr. is the only player in Conference USA averaging a double-double, placing fifth in the league with 16.9 points while leading C-USA with 1.06 rebounds. He also leads the league in field goal percentage, connecting on 56.7%.
• Guard Amorie Archibald is second on the team with 14.1 points per game. He's averaging 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists while placing sixth in the league in free throw percentage (86.3%).
• Guard Keaston Willis is third on the team with 11.2 points. He is fifth in the conference in both three-point field goal percentage (36.6%) and three-pointers made per game (2.6).
• Guard Cobe Williams is averaging 9.9 points per game while placing 10th in the league in assists with 3.7.
• Louisiana Tech is second in Conference USA in scoring, averaging 78.7 points per game while allowing just 68.0.
• The Bulldogs are connecting on 46.5% from the field and 33.5% from three. They are allowing just 40.4% from the floor and 33.9% from beyond the arc.
• La Tech is outrebounding the opposition, 37.9-to-36.1 while placing third in the league in assists per game with 15.4.
• Head coach Erik Konkol is in his seventh season at the helm of the Louisiana Tech men's basketball program where he owns a 144-69 record.

Rice-Louisiana Tech Series History
• Louisiana Tech holds an 18-7 record in the series.
• The Bulldogs have won three straight and 11 of the last 13.
• Rice is 3-9 in games played in Ruston. The Owls are looking for their first win in Ruston since 2005, having lost the last seven meetings.
• Nineteen of the 23 games have come as conference opponents. From 2002-05, the teams met eight times as members of the Western Athletic Conference. The teams have met 10 times since 2014 as members of Conference USA.
• Last year, the Owls were swept in the season series in Ruston.

Next Up
• Rice closes its road trip this Saturday, Jan. 29 when it travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., to face Southern Miss. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and it will be streamed by ESPN+.

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