Men’s Basketball Goes for Season Sweep of UTEP

HOUSTON — Rice will close out its homestand this Saturday, Jan. 14, when it goes for the season sweep of UTEP. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and it will be streamed by CUSAtv.

Game 17
What: Rice (11-5, 2-3) vs. UTEP (9-7, 2-3)
When: Saturday, January 14 at 2 p.m.
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208)
Stream: CUSAtv
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: UTEP leads 30-15 (10-8 in Houston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Saturday's game with an 11-5 record and 2-3 in Conference USA. The Owls are looking to snap a two-game losing streak after falling to Middle Tennessee on Wednesday, 71-68.
• Junior guard and Preseason All-Conference USA honoree Quincy Olivari leads the team and is third in C-USA with 18.1 points per game. He's also third on the team in rebounds per game (4.8) while placing seventh in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.342) and three-pointers made per game (2.5), and eighth in free throw percentage (.791).
• Junior guard Travis Evee is seventh in the league with 16.2 points per game. He's also fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.406) and three-pointers made per game (2.7), fifth free in throw percentage (.831), and sixth in field goal percentage (420).
• Junior forward Max Fiedler is scoring 10.1 points per game while leading the conference with 8.5 rebounds per game, 5.2 assists per game and four double-doubles. He's also connecting on a team-high 75.5% from the field.
• Freshman guard Mekhi Mason is fourth on team with 10.0 points per game, 3.3 rebounds per game and 2.4 assists per game.
• Sophomore guard Cameron Sheffield is scoring 7.9 points per game while placing second on the team and seventh in C-USA with 6.5 rebounds per game.
• Rice is scoring 81.6 points per game, which is second in Conference USA and 23rd in the country, while allowing 73.5.
• The Owls are connecting on a league-best 48.4% from the field, including 36.0% from three. Their opponents are hitting 45.2% from the floor and 33.7% from behind the arc.
• Rice is also outrebounding its opponents, 38.0-to-33.0.
• Rice leads the conference in assists per game (17.8), which is also 14th in the country, and is second in three-pointers made per game (9.1).
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his sixth season leading the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting UTEP
• UTEP enters Saturday's game with a 9-7 record and 2-3 in Conference USA. The Miners snapped a four-game losing streak on Wednesday with a 69-57 victory over UTSA.
• Junior guard Tae Hardy leads the Miners in scoring, averaging 12.4 points. He's also second on the team in assists with 2.1 per game.
• Senior guard Shamar Givance is second on the team with 10.0 points per game. He's third in the league in assists with 4.4 per game and seventh in steals with 1.8 per game.
• Junior guard Mario McKinney, Jr., is averaging 9.8 points and junior forward Calvin Solomon leads the team with 6.1 rebounds, good for ninth in C-USA.
• UTEP is scoring just 69.4 points per game while allowing 66.1.
• The Miners are connecting on 45.1% from the field but just 27.4% from three. Their opponents are hitting just 40.8% from the floor and a league-low 29.3% from behind the arc.
• UTEP is also outrebounding its opponents, 37.0-to-34.7.
• The Miners also lead the league with 9.1 steals per game.
• Head coach Joe Golding is in his second season at the helm of the UTEP men's basketball program where he owns a 29-21 record. In 12 seasons as a head coach, Golding is 187-165.

Rice-UTEP Series History
• Rice and UTEP will meet for second time this year and the 46th time overall.
• UTEP holds a 30-15 record in the series, but is just 10-8 in Houston.
• The Miners have won 21 of the last 27 in the series.
• Rice won the first meeting of the year, 72-67, in overtime in El Paso.
• From 1997-2006, the teams met as members of the Western Athletic Conference. Both teams have been a part of Conference USA since 2005.
• This will be the last game as Conference USA opponents as Rice moves to the American Athletic Conference next year.

Next Up
• Rice begins a two-game road trip this Monday, January 16, when it travels to San Antonio to face UTSA. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.

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