Men’s Basketball Closes Non-Conference Slate against Louisiana

HOUSTON — Rice closes its non-conference slate this Friday, Dec. 22, when it hosts Louisiana. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and it will be streamed by ESPN+.

Game 13
What: Rice (6-6) vs. Louisiana (6-5)
When: Friday, December 22 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208)
Tickets: RiceOwls.com
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Rice leads 7-4 (4-1 in Houston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Friday night's game with a 6-6 record. The Owls have won three straight and five of their last six games after defeating Prairie View A&M on Wednesday, 82-56.
• The Owls are led by fifth-year senior guard Travis Evee, who is scoring 17.0 points per game, good for fifth in the American Athletic Conference. He's adding 3.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals while placing eighth in the league in free throw percentage, connecting on 84.8% from the charity stripe.
• Sophomore guard Mekhi Mason is second on the team with 12.8 points and 2.3 assists and third with 4.3 rebounds.
• Fifth-year senior forward Max Fiedler is averaging 9.4 points while leading the team with 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists, which are second and third in the AAC, respectively. He's also connecting on 66.7% from the floor, which is third in the conference. Fiedler also leads the American in offensive rebounds with 3.7 per game.
• Graduate student guard Anthony Selden is scoring 7.4 points per game. He's pulling down 3.0 rebounds and is connecting on 47.2% from the field.
• The Owls are scoring 74.4 points pe game while allowing 72.9.
• Rice is connecting on 44.9% from the field and 29.9% from three. Its opponents are connecting on 44.0% from the field and 33.6% from beyond the arc.
• The Owls are outrebounding their opponents, 38.1-to-35.3.
• Rice is also third in the league in defensive rebounds per game, pulling down 27.2.
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his seventh season leading the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting Louisiana
• Louisiana enters Friday's game with a 6-5 record. The Ragin Cajuns have dropped three of their last four games after falling at McNeese State on Sunday, 74-72.
• Redshirt junior forward Kobe Julien leads the team and the Sun Belt Conference with 19.3 points per game. He is pulling down 4.3 rebounds per game and is second in the league in free throw percentage (.854), eighth in steals (1.6) and ninth in field goal percentage (.474).
• Redshirt junior guard Themus Fulks is second on the team with 12.1 points per game. He also leads the team and is third in the conference with 4.7 assists per game.
• Junior forward Joe Charles is averaging 11.2 points and leads the team and is fifth in the Sun Belt with 8.2 rebounds per game.
• Junior guard Kentrell Garnett is scoring 10.3 points per game while connecting on 47.6% from the field.
• Louisiana is scoring 77.9 points per game and is allowing 71.6.
• The Ragin Cajuns are connecting on 47.1% from the field and lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 38.2%. Their opponents are hitting 40.7% from the field and 28.1% from three, which are both third in the Sun Belt.
• UL is being outrebounded by the opposition, 35.0-to-32.3.
• Louisiana is also third in the league in steals (9.3) and blocks (4.5).
• Head coach Bob Marlin is in his 14th season leading the Louisiana men's basketball program, where he holds a 253-180 record. In 31 years as a head coach, Marlin is 601-346.

Rice-Louisiana Series History
• Rice and Louisiana will meet for the 12th time overall and the first time since 2012.
• The Owls lead the series, 7-4.
• When played in Houston, Rice leads 4-1.
• The teams last met in the first round of the 2012 CollegeInsider.com Tournament with Rice earning a 68-63 victory.
• This is the first regular season meeting since Nov. 27, 2004 and the first in Houston since Feb. 21, 2004.

Next Up
• Rice will play its inaugural American Athletic Conference game on Wednesday, Jan. 3, when it travels to New Orleans, La., to face Tulane. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by ESPNU.

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