Men’s Basketball Closes Homestand against WKU

HOUSTON — Rice closes its homestand this Saturday, Feb. 18, when it hosts WKU. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and it will be streamed by ESPN+.

Game 27
What: Rice (16-10, 7-8) vs. WKU (14-12, 6-9)
When: Saturday, February 18 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: WKU leads 8-3 (3-1 in Houston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Thursday's game with a 16-9 record and 7-7 in Conference USA. The Owls are coming off an 85-78 victory at FIU.
• Junior guard and Preseason All-Conference USA honoree Quincy Olivari is third in C-USA with 19.6 points per game. He's also third on the team in rebounds per game (5.6) while placing third in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.391) and three-pointers made per game (2.9), fifth in field goal percentage (.438), and eighth in free throw percentage (.789).
• Junior guard Travis Evee is seventh in the league with 16.0 points per game. He's also sixth in free throw percentage (.833) and seventh in three-pointers made per game (2.4) while also leading the team with 1.3 steals per game.
• Junior forward Max Fiedler is scoring 11.3 points per game while leading the country in field goal percentage, connecting on 72.7% from the field. He's also leading C-USA with 8.1 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game, is third with six double-doubles, and seventh in blocks per game (1.1).
• Freshman guard Mekhi Mason is fourth on team with 9.8 points per game, 3.4 rebounds per game and 1.9 assists per game.
• Sophomore guard Cameron Sheffield is scoring 7.6 points per game while placing second on the team and seventh in C-USA with 6.4 rebounds per game. He's also connecting on 41.7% from three.
• Rice is scoring 78.7 points per game, which is second in Conference USA, while allowing 74.5.
• The Owls are connecting on a league-leading 47.6% from the field, including 36.5% from three. Their opponents are hitting 46.0% from the floor and 34.4% from behind the arc.
• Rice is also outrebounding its opponents, 35.9-to-33.3.
• Rice leads the conference in assists per game (15.7) and is tied for second in three-pointers made per game (9.0).
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his sixth season leading the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting WKU
• WKU enters Saturday night's contest with a 14-12 record, including 6-9 in Conference USA. The Hilltoppers had their three-game winning streak snapped on Thursday, falling at Charlotte in overtime, 68-64.
• Junior guard Dayvion McKnight leads the team and is sixth in the conference with 17.0 points per game. He is also fourth in the league in field goal percentage (.448) and free throw percentage (.841), sixth in assists (3.9), and eighth in steals (1.7).
• Sixth year guard Emmanuel Akot is second on the team with 10.6 points per game and third with 2.5 assists per game.
• Fifth year forward Jairus Hamilton is averaging 10.0 points and 5.5 rebounds and senior center Jamarion Sharp is fourth in the league with 7.4 rebounds and leads the NCAA in blocks (106) and blocks per game (4.2).
• WKU is scoring 73.5 points per game while allowing just 70.5.
• The Hilltoppers are connecting on 44.7% from the field and 36.9% from three, which leads C-USA. Their opponents are hitting just 41.2% from the floor and 36.1% from behind the arc.
• WKU is also being outrebounding by its opponents, 37.3-to-35.0.
• The Hilltoppers also lead the league and are sixth in the nation with 5.6 blocks per game.
• Head coach Rick Stansbury is in his seventh season at the helm of the WKU men's basketball program where he owns a 136-85 record. In 21 seasons as a head coach, Stansbury is 429-251.

Rice-WKU Series History
• Rice and WKU will meet for the second time this year and the 12th time overall.
• The Owls are 3-8 in the series and 1-3 in Houston.
• This is the first meeting in Houston since 2019.
• The Owls are looking to win consecutive games in the series for the second time in the series.
• Rice defeated WKU on Dec. 29, 81-78, in Bowling Green.

Next Up
• Rice begins its final regular season road trip next Thursday, Feb. 23, when it travels to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and will be streamed by ESPN+.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results