Men’s Basketball Faces Duquesne in First Round of Discount Tire CBI

HOUSTON — The 12^th-seeded Rice men's basketball team begins the Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational this Sunday, Mar. 19, against fifth-seed Duquesne. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed by FloHoops.

Game 34
What: Rice (18-15) vs. Duquesne (20-12)
When: Sunday, March 19 at 12 p.m. CT
Where: Daytona Beach, Fla.
Stadium: Daytona Beach Ocean Center (7,010)
Stream: FloHoops
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Duquesne leads 5-2 (1-0 on neutral court)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters the College Basketball Invitational with an 18-15 record. The Owls advanced to the quarterfinals of the Conference USA Tournament.
• Junior guard and Second Team All-Conference USA honoree Quincy Olivari is third in C-USA with 18.8 points per game. He's also third in the league in three-pointers made per game (2.7), fourth in field goal percentage (.422), fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.372), and seventh in free throw percentage (.796) while placing third on the team with 5.9 rebounds per game.
• Junior guard and All-CUSA Honorable Mention member Travis Evee is sixth in the league with 15.3 points per game. He's also sixth in free throw percentage (.829) and three-pointers made per game (2.3) while leading the team with 1.1 steals per game.
• Junior forward and Second Team All-Conference USA honoree Max Fiedler is scoring 10.7 points per game. He's connecting on 72.8% from the field while leading C-USA with 5.1 assists per game. He's also third in double-doubles (7), fourth in rebounds (7.4), and eighth in blocks per game (1.1).
• Freshman guard Mekhi Mason is fourth on team with 10.1 points per game and 3.2 rebounds per game and is connecting on 37.4% from three.
• Sophomore guard Cameron Sheffield is scoring 7.7 points per game while placing second on the team and eighth in C-USA with 6.2 rebounds per game. He's also connecting on 37.8% from three.
• Rice is scoring 76.7 points per game, which is third in Conference USA, while allowing 76.4.
• The Owls are connecting on 46.8% from the field, which is third in the league, and 35.7% from three. Their opponents are hitting 46.5% from the floor and 36.1% from behind the arc.
• Rice is also outrebounding its opponents, 34.7-to-34.5.
• Rice leads the conference in assists per game (15.4), is second in three-pointers made per game (9.0) and third in free throw percentage (.738).
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his sixth season leading the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting Duquesne
• Duquesne enters the CBI as the fifth seed. The Dukes are 20-12 and advanced to the second round of the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament.
• Junior guard and Second Team All-Atlantic 10 member Dae Dae Grant leads the squad with 15.1 points per game. He's second in the league in three-pointers per game (2.8), third in free throw percentage (.867) and seventh in three-point percentage (.398).
• Junior guard Jimmy Clark III is second on the team with 12.2 points per game. He's also second in the league and 12^th in the nation in steals per game with 2.4.
• Senior forward Joe Reece is averaging 9.7 points per game and graduate student guard Tevin Brewer is adding 7.4 points while leading the A-10 in three-point field goal percentage (.441).
• Duquesne is averaging 74.8 points per game, good for third in the Atlantic 10, while allowing 70.9.
• The Dukes are connecting on 43.8% from the field and 36.5% from three, which leads the league. Their opponents are hitting on 44.2% from the floor and 35.3% from behind the arc.
• Duquesne is being outrebounded on average, 36.4-to-35.8.
• The Dukes lead the A-10 in three-pointers per game (9.0) while placing second in assists (15.3) and steals (8.3).
• Head coach Keith Dambrot is in his sixth season at the helm of the Duquesne men's basketball program where he owns a 91-83 record. In 25 seasons as a head coach, Dambrot is 504-292.

Rice-Duquesne Series History
• Rice and Duquesne will meet for the eighth time overall and the first time since 2008.
• The Dukes hold a 5-2 record in the series.
• Rice is looking for its first victory in the series since 2000.
• This will be the second meeting on a neutral court. Rice fell to Duquesne, 43-39, in the 1936 Madison Square Garden Tournament in New York City.

Rice in the Postseason Play
• This will be Rice's 13th postseason appearance.
• The Owls have made four NCAA appearances, five NIT appearances, three CBI appearance's and one CIT appearance.
• Rice is 6-14 all-time in postseason play. Rice is 2-1 at home, 2-6 on the road and 2-6 on a neutral court.
• Rice is participating in the CBI for the second straight year and the third time overall. The Owls advanced to the quarterfinals in 2017 before falling in the first round last year.

Next Up
• With a victory in the first round of the Discount Tire College Basketball Invitational, Rice would face the winner of fourth-seed Southern Utah and 13th-seed North Alabama this Monday, Mar. 20. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be streamed by FloHoops.

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