Men’s Basketball Begins Final Regular Season Road Trip at UAB

HOUSTON — Rice begins its final regular season road trip this 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+.

Game 28
What: Rice (17-10, 8-8) at UAB (20-8, 11-6)
When: Thursday, February 23 at 6:30 p.m. CT
Where: Birmingham, Ala.
Stadium: Bartow Arena (8,500)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: UAB leads 19-3 (10-1 in Birmingham)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Thursday's game with a 17-10 record and 8-8 in Conference USA. The Owls are coming off an 83-77 victory over WKU.
• Junior guard and Preseason All-Conference USA honoree Quincy Olivari is second in C-USA with 19.9 points per game. He's also third on the team in rebounds per game (5.8) while placing third in the league in three-pointers made per game (2.9), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.376), fifth in field goal percentage (.430), and seventh in free throw percentage (.801).
• Junior guard Travis Evee is seventh in the league with 15.4 points per game. He's also fifth in free throw percentage (.833) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.3) 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 72.0% from the field. He's also leading C-USA with 8.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists per game and seven double-doubles, and is sixth in blocks per game (1.2).
• Freshman guard Mekhi Mason is fourth on team with 10.4 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game and 1.9 assists per game and is connecting on 39.5% from three.
• Sophomore guard Cameron Sheffield is scoring 7.6 points per game while placing second on the team and seventh in C-USA with 6.5 rebounds per game. He's also connecting on 38.6% from three.
• Rice is scoring 78.9 points per game, which is second in Conference USA, while allowing 74.6.
• The Owls are connecting on a league-leading 47.5% from the field, including 36.5% from three. Their opponents are hitting 45.9% from the floor and 34.4% from behind the arc.
• Rice is also outrebounding its opponents, 36.0-to-33.4.
• Rice leads the conference in assists per game (15.7) 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 UAB
• UAB enters Thursday night's contest with a 20-8 record, including 11-6 in Conference USA. The Blazers have won three straight games and seven of eight after defeating UTSA last Saturday, 83-78.
• Senior guard Jordan Walker is the fourth leading scorer in the country, averaging 22.6 points per game. He's also third in the nation in three-pointers per game (4.2) while placing second in league in three-point percentage (.392), fourth in assists per game (4.0), and sixth in free throw percentage (.833) and field goal percentage (.420).
• Sophomore guard Eric Gaines is second on the team with 12.3 points per game. He also leads the team and is second in the league with 4.9 assists per game while placing ninth in free throw percentage (.780).
• Senior forward KJ Buffen is third on the team with 10.5 points and is fifth in the league with 6.9 rebounds per game.
• Senior center Trey Jemison is scoring 9.0 points per game while placing second in C-USA with 8.1 rebounds per game.
• UAB leads the league in scoring with 82.1 points per game while allowing 71.2.
• The Blazers are connecting on 45.9% from the field and 37.1% from three, which is second in the league. Their opponents are hitting just 41.5% from the floor and 32.9% from behind the arc.
• UAB leads the league and is third in the nation in rebounds per game with 40.9, while its opponents are pulling down 34.6.
• The Blazers are also second in the conference in assists (15.0) and third in steals (8.2) and blocks (4.5).
• Head coach Andy Kennedy is in his third season at the helm of the UAB men's basketball program where he owns a 69-23 record. In 16 seasons as a head coach, Kennedy is 335-192.

Rice-UAB Series History
• Rice and UAB will meet for the second time this year and the 23rd time overall.
• Rice is looking for just its fourth victory in the series, as UAB holds a 19-3 advantage.
• The Owls are trying for their second victory in Birmingham. UAB holds a 10-1 record with Rice's only win coming Feb. 6, 2020, an 86-72 victory.
• The Blazers won the first meeting of the year in Houston, 70-52, on Jan. 28.
• This will be the last meeting as members of Conference USA. Both programs will move to the American Athletic Conference next year.

Next Up
• Rice will play its final road game of the regular season this Saturday, Feb. 25, when it travels to Charlotte. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT and will be streamed by ESPN+.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results