Men’s Basketball Continues Homestand against Middle Tennessee

HOUSTON — Rice will continue its homestand this Wednesday, Jan. 11, when it hosts Middle Tennessee. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and it will be streamed by ESPN+.

Game 16
What: Rice (11-4, 2-2) vs. Middle Tennessee (9-7, 2-3)
When: Wednesday, January 11 at 7 p.m.
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Series tied 7-7 (Rice leads 6-2 in Houston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Wednesday's game with an 11-4 record and 2-2 in Conference USA. The Owls have won five of six games and 10 of their last 12 after falling to Louisiana Tech in overtime last Thursday, 88-82.
• Junior guard and Preseason All-Conference USA honoree Quincy Olivari leads the team and is third in C-USA with 18.0 points per game. He's also third on the team in rebounds per game (4.9) while placing third in the league in three-pointers made per game (2.7), sixth in three-point field goal percentage (.357) and free throw percentage (.805), and seventh in field goal percentage (.406).
• Junior guard Travis Evee is seventh in the league with 16.1 points per game. He's also third in three-pointers made per game (2.7) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.400) and free throw percentage (.841).
• Junior forward Max Fiedler is scoring 10.3 points per game while leading the conference with 8.6 rebounds per game, 5.0 assists per game and four double-doubles. He's also connecting on a team-high 74.7% from the field.
• Freshman guard Mekhi Mason is fourth on team with 10.0 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game and 2.5 assists per game.
• Sophomore guard Cameron Sheffield is scoring 8.1 points per game while placing second on the team and seventh in C-USA with 6.5 rebounds per game.
• Rice is scoring 82.5 points per game, which is second in Conference USA and 17th in the country, while allowing 72.6.
• The Owls are connecting on a league-best 48.4% from the field, including 36.1% from three. Their opponents are hitting 44.9% from the floor and 33.5% from behind the arc.
• Rice is also outrebounding its opponents, 38.3-to-33.0.
• Rice leads the conference in assists per game (18.1), which is also 10th in the country, and is second in three-pointers made per game (9.5).
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his sixth season leading the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting Middle Tennessee
• Middle Tennessee enters Wednesday night's game with a 9-7 record and 2-3 in Conference USA. The Blue Raiders have lost two straight and three of four games after falling to North Texas on Saturday, 56-51.
• Redshirt senior DeAndre Dishman leads the Middle Tennessee in both scoring and rebounds with 12.1 points and 5.4 boards per game. He's also leads the league in field goal percentage (.547) and is eighth in blocks per game (0.9).
• Junior guard Eli Lawrence is second on the team with 11.8 points per game while pulling down 4.3 rebounds per game.
• Junior guard Camryn Weston is averaging 9.4 points per game and is second on the team with 5.0 rebounds. He also leads the team with 2.8 assists and is 10th in Conference USA with 1.6 steals per game.
• Junior guard Elias King is scoring 8.9 points per game and leads the team in three-point field goal percentage (.373).
• Middle Tennessee is scoring just 69.9 points per game while allowing 65.7.
• The Blue Raiders are connecting on 45.7% from the field but just 31.6% from three. Their opponents are hitting 44.6% from the floor and 35.6% from behind the arc.
• MT is pulling down 33.8 rebounds per game while allowing just 29.3, tied for the fewest in Conference USA.
• Middle Tennessee is also third in the conference in blocks per game with 4.6.
• Head coach Nick McDevitt is in his fifth season at the helm of the Middle Tennessee men's basketball program where he owns a 59-80 record. In 10 seasons as a head coach, McDevitt is 157-146.

Rice-Middle Tennessee Series History
• Rice and Middle Tennessee will meet for the second time this year and the 15th time overall.
• The series is tied at seven, but Rice has won five of the last six meetings.
• Rice holds a 6-2 advantage in Houston, including having won the last four.
• The teams also met on Nov. 15 in Murfreesboro with the Blue Raiders taking an 81-46 victory.
• This will be the last game as Conference USA opponents as Rice moves to the American Athletic Conference next year.

Next Up
• Rice closes its homestand this Saturday, January 14, when it hosts UTEP. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. and the game will be streamed by CUSAtv.

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