Men’s Basketball Begins Final Homestand against Regular Season Champ Florida Atlantic

HOUSTON — Rice begins its final homestand this Thursday, Mar. 2, when it hosts regular season champion Florida Atlantic. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT and will be streamed by ESPN+.

Game 30
What: Rice (17-12, 8-10) vs. RV/RV Florida Atlantic (26-3, 16-2)
When: Thursday, March 2 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Florida Atlantic leads 5-4 (3-1 in Houston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Thursday's game with a 17-12 record, including an 8-10 mark in Conference USA. The Owls are coming off a loss at Charlotte.
• Junior guard and Preseason All-Conference USA honoree Quincy Olivari is third in C-USA with 19.3 points per game. He's also third in the league in three-pointers made per game (2.8), fourth in field goal percentage (.421), fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.370), sixth in free throw percentage (.799) and ninth in rebounds per game (6.1).
• Junior guard Travis Evee is seventh in the league with 15.2 points per game. He's also fifth in free throw percentage (.821) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.3) while also leading the team with 1.2 steals per game.
• Junior forward Max Fiedler is scoring 10.9 points per game. He's connecting on 71.6% from the field while leading C-USA with 5.0 assists per game and seven double-doubles. He's also third in rebounds with 7.9 and is seventh in blocks per game (1.1).
• Freshman guard Mekhi Mason is fourth on team with 10.1 points per game and 3.4 rebounds per game and is connecting on 38.5% from three.
• Sophomore guard Cameron Sheffield is scoring 7.8 points per game while placing second on the team and eighth in C-USA with 6.4 rebounds per game. He's also connecting on 37.4% from three.
• Rice is scoring 77.3 points per game, which is third in Conference USA, while allowing 74.8.
• The Owls are connecting on 46.6% from the field, including 35.5% from three. Their opponents are hitting 46.2% from the floor and 35.0% from behind the arc.
• Rice is also outrebounding its opponents, 35.6-to-34.2.
• Rice leads the conference in assists per game (15.4) and is second in three-pointers made per game (8.9).
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his sixth season leading the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting Florida Atlantic
• Florida Atlantic enters Thursday's game with a 26-3 record and are 16-2 in Conference USA. The Owls, who clinched the regular season championship and are receiving votes in both the Associated Press and Coaches polls, have won five of their last six games after defeating UTEP last Saturday, 75-49.
• Sophomore guard Alijah Martin leads the team and is ninth in C-USA with 13.1 points per game and is third on the team with 5.0 rebounds per game. He's also seventh in the league with 2.0 threes per game.
• Sophomore guard Johnell Davis is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.0 points and 5.2 rebounds.
• Sophomore center Vladimir Goldin is averaging 10.8 points while placing sixth in the conference with 6.6 rebounds.
• Senior guard Michael Forrest is averaging 9.7 points and redshirt freshman guard Nick Boyd is scoring 8.9 points and leads the team in assists with 2.6 per game.
• Florida Atlantic is scoring 78.6 points per game and are allowing 65.2, which are second and third in the league, respectively.
• The Owls are connecting on 46.9% from the field and 37.4% from three, which are both second in C-USA. Their opponents are hitting 40.8% from the floor, which is second in the conference, and 32.9% from behind the arc, good for third.
• FAU is pulling down 38.6 rebounds per game, which is second in the league, while allowing just 32.9.
• Florida Atlantic is also connecting on a conference-best 9.9 three-pointers per game.
• Head coach Dusty May is in his fifth season at the helm of the Florida Atlantic men's basketball program where he owns an 92-59 record.

Rice-Florida Atlantic Series History
• Rice and Florida Atlantic will meet for the second time this year and just the 10th time overall.
• FAU holds a 5-4 lead in the series and is 3-1 in Houston.
• Florida Atlantic has won four of the last five meetings.
• This is the first meeting in Houston since 2020.

Next Up
• Rice closes the regular season this Saturday, Mar. 4, when it hosts Senior Day against FIU. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and will be streamed by CUSAtv.

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