Men’s Basketball Takes Road Winning Streak to La Tech

HOUSTON — Rice puts its road winning streak on the line this Thursday, Feb. 2, when it travels to Ruston, La., to face Louisiana Tech. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and it will be streamed by ESPN+.

Game 22
What: Rice (15-6, 6-4) at Louisiana Tech (12-10, 5-6)
When: Thursday, February 2 at 6 p.m.
Where: Ruston, La.
Stadium: Thomas Assembly Center (8,000)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Louisiana Tech leads 21-7 (10-3 in Ruston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Thursday's game with a 15-6 record and 6-4 in Conference USA. The Owls saw their four-game winning streak snapped last Saturday, falling to UAB, 70-52.
• Junior guard and Preseason All-Conference USA honoree Quincy Olivari leads C-USA with 19.5 points per game. He's also third on the team in rebounds per game (5.6) while placing second in the league in three-pointers made per game (2.7), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.368), fifth in field goal percentage (. 436) and sixth in free throw percentage (.809).
• Junior guard Travis Evee is sixth in the league with 15.4 points per game. He's also third in free throw percentage (.841) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.4), while connecting on 36.5% from three.
• Junior forward Max Fiedler is scoring 10.7 points per game while leading the team in field goal percentage, connecting on 74.3% from the field. He's also leading C-USA with 5.3 assists per game, is second with 8.2 rebounds per game, third with five double-doubles, and seventh in blocks per game (1.2).
• Freshman guard Mekhi Mason is fourth on team with 9.6 points per game, 3.1 rebounds per game and 2.1 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 6.3 rebounds per game. He's also connecting on 41.9% from three.
• Rice is scoring 79.3 points per game, which is second in Conference USA and 29th in the country, while allowing 73.0.
• The Owls are connecting on 48.1% from the field, which is second in the league and 29th in the nation, including 35.9% from three. Their opponents are hitting 45.0% from the floor and 33.8% from behind the arc.
• Rice is also outrebounding its opponents, 36.6-to-33.5.
• Rice leads the conference in assists per game (16.7), which is also 16th in the country, and is third in three-pointers made per game (8.7).
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his sixth season leading the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting Louisiana Tech
• Louisiana Tech enters Thursday night's contest with a 12-10 record and 5-6 in Conference USA. The Bulldogs are coming off a 66-55 victory at UTSA last Saturday, but have lost four of their last six games.
• Junior guard Cobe Williams is third in the conference in scoring with 18.8 points. He's also second in the league in field goal percentage (.461) and steals (2.2), fourth in assists (4.1), seventh in free throw percentage (.784), and ninth in three-pointers made per game (1.9).
• Junior forward Isaiah Crawford is second on the team with 12.5 points per game while leading the team with 5.0 rebounds per game. He's also fourth in the league in steals with 2.0 per game.
• Junior guard Keaston Willis is averaging 12.2 points and is third in the conference in both three-point field goal percentage (.375) and three-pointers made per game (2.6).
• Freshman guard Jordan Crawford is sixth in Conference USA with 3.7 assists per game.
• Louisiana Tech is scoring 74.4 points per game while allowing just 68.4.
• The Bulldogs are connecting on 45.5% from the field and 34.9% from three. Their opponents are hitting just 42.8% from the floor but 36.2% from behind the arc.
• La Tech is also outrebounding its opponents, 34.8-to-32.6.
• Louisiana Tech is second in the league in three-pointers made per game with 8.8.
• Head coach Talvin Hester is in his first season at the helm of the Louisiana Tech men's basketball program where he owns an 12-10 record.

Rice-Louisiana Tech Series History
• Rice and Louisiana Tech will meet for second time this year and the 29th time overall.
• La Tech holds a 21-7 record in the series.
• Rice is 3-10 in games played in Ruston and has lost the last eight. The Owls are looking for their first road victory in the series since 2005.
• The Bulldogs have won six straight in the series and 14 of the last 16.
• Twenty-two of the 26 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 13 times since 2014 as members of Conference USA.
• La Tech took the first meeting this year, an 88-82 overtime victory in Houston.
• This will be the last game as conference opponents as Rice moves to the American Athletic Conference next season.

Next Up
• Rice returns home for one game this Saturday, Feb. 4, when it hosts North Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.

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