Men’s Basketball Opens C-USA Tournament Against UTSA

HOUSTON — The sixth-seeded Rice men's basketball team opens the 2023 Conference USA Tournament presented by TotalCare against 11th-seed UTSA this Wednesday, Mar. 8, in the first round. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.

Game 32
What: Rice (17-14) vs. UTSA (10-21)
When: Wednesday, March 8 at 8:30 p.m. CT
Where: Frisco, Texas
Stadium: Ford Center at the Star
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: UTSA leads 12-9 (First meeting on neutral court)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters the Conference USA Tournament with a 17-14 record. The Owls are coming off a loss against FIU, 90-83.
• Junior guard and Second Team 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 (2.9), fourth in three-point field goal percentage (.379), fifth in field goal percentage (.423) and sixth in free throw percentage (.803) 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 15.4 points per game. He's also fifth in free throw percentage (.824) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.3) while leading the team with 1.2 steals per game.
• Junior forward and Second Team All-Conference USA honoree Max Fiedler is scoring 10.6 points per game. He's connecting on 72.2% from the field while leading C-USA with 5.0 assists per game. He's also third in rebounds (7.7) and double-doubles (7), and is seventh in blocks per game (1.1).
• Freshman guard Mekhi Mason is fourth on team with 10.1 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game and is connecting on 38.1% 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 6.1 rebounds per game. He's also connecting on 38.2% from three.
• Rice is scoring 77.4 points per game, which is third in Conference USA, while allowing 76.2.
• The Owls are connecting on 46.7% from the field, including 35.9% from three. Their opponents are hitting 46.5% from the floor and 35.7% from behind the arc.
• Rice is also outrebounding its opponents, 35.0-to-34.3.
• Rice leads the conference in assists per game (15.4) 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 UTSA
• UTSA enters the C-USA Tournament with a 10-21 record. The Roadrunners have two straight games and three of their last five after defeating Charlotte last Thursday, 78-73.
• Senior guard and Conference USA Honorable Mention honoree Japhet Medor leads the Roadrunners in scoring and is ninth in the conference, averaging 13.4 points. He's also fifth in the league in assists with 3.8 per game and ninth in steals with 1.5.
• C-USA Honorable Mention member and senior center Jacob Germany is second on the team with 12.4 points per game. He leads the league in rebounds with 8.3 per game while connecting on 46.2% from the floor.
• Redshirt sophomore guard John Buggs III is averaging 11.0 points. He's second in C-USA in three-point field goal percentage (.401) and fifth in three-pointers per game (2.5).
• Freshman guard DJ Richards is adding 10.4 points and 4.6 rebounds and is eighth in the league with 1.9 three-pointers made per game.
• UTSA is scoring just 69.2 points per game while allowing 76.7.
• The Roadrunners are connecting on just 41.0% from the field but 33.4% from three. Their opponents are hitting 44.9% from the floor and 35.0% from behind the arc.
• UTSA is also being outrebounded by its opponents, 37.0-to-35.2.
• The Roadrunners are third in the league in free throw percentage, connecting on 73.9% from the charity stripe.
• Head coach Steve Henson is in his seventh season at the helm of the UTSA men's basketball program where he owns a 99-122 record.

Rice-UTSA Series History
• Rice and UTSA will meet for third time this year and the 22nd time overall.
• UTSA holds a 12-9 record in the series, but this is the first meeting on a neutral court.
• The teams will meet for the first time in the Conference USA Tournament.
• The Owls have won four of the last six meetings.
• Rice won the first meeting on Jan. 16, coming back from 17 points down to win in overtime, 88-81. UTSA returned the favor in Houston on Feb. 16, earning an 84-79 victory.
• The first six meetings came as non-conference foes. Since 2014, the teams have competed as conference foes when UTSA joined Conference USA. UTSA leads 8-7 as conference opponents.

Rice in the Conference USA Tournament
• Rice owns an all-time record of 9-16 in the C-USA Tournament since joining Conference USA prior to the 2005-06 season.
• The Owls made their only semifinals appearance in 2007.
• Rice will enter the tournament as the sixth seed.

Next Up
• With a victory in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament presented by TotalCare, Rice would face third seed UAB this Thursday, Mar. 9, in Frisco, Texas. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. and will be streamed by ESPN+.

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