Men’s Basketball Hosts UTSA in First AAC Home Game

HOUSTON — Rice will play its first-ever American Athletic Conference home game this Saturday, Jan. 6, when it hosts UTSA. The game will be played at the Jerabeck Activity and Athletic Center on the campus of St. Thomas. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.

Due to limited seating capacity, only those who already have tickets will be admitted into the arena. Parking will be free in the Moran Center across from Jerabeck Activity & Athletic Center starting at 12:30 p.m.

Game 15
What: Rice (6-8, 0-1) vs. UTSA (6-8, 0-1)
When: Saturday, January 6 at 2 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Jerabeck Activity and Athletic Center (1,500)
Stream: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: UTSA leads 12-10 (Rice leads 7-5 in Houston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters American Athletic Conference play with a 6-8 record, and 0-1 in the American Athletic Conference. The Owls fell, 84-59, at Tulane in its AAC opener on Wednesday.
• The Owls are led by fifth-year senior guard Travis Evee, who is scoring 16.4 points per game, tied for seventh in the American Athletic Conference. He's adding 3.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.4 steals while placing sixth in the league in free throw percentage (.851) and 10th in three-pointers made per game (2.1).
• Sophomore guard Mekhi Mason is second on the team with 12.2 points and third with 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
• Fifth-year senior forward Max Fiedler is averaging 9.4 points while leading the team with 8.5 rebounds and 4.7 assists, which are both fourth in the AAC. He's also connecting on 63.0% from the floor, which is also fourth in the conference. Fiedler is also second in the American in offensive rebounds with 3.5 per game.
• Freshman Keanu Dawes is scoring 6.8 points per game and is second on the team with 4.8 rebounds and graduate student guard Anthony Selden is recording 6.3 points per game and 2.9 rebounds and is connecting on 44.1% from the field.
• The Owls are scoring 72.8 points pe game while allowing 74.5.
• Rice is connecting on 43.5% from the field and 30.4% from three. Its opponents are connecting on 45.2% from the field and 35.3% from beyond the arc.
• The Owls are outrebounding their opponents, 37.0-to-35.9.
• Head coach Scott Pera is in his seventh season leading the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting UTSA
• UTSA enters Saturday's game with a 6-8 record and 0-1 in the American Athletic Conference. The Roadrunners have lost four of their last five games after falling to UAB in their conference opener, 78-76, on Tuesday.
• Junior guard Christian Tucker leads the team with 13.4 points per game and 5.1 assists per game, which is tied for second in the league. He's also second in free throw percentage, connecting on 87.3% from the charity stripe.
• Graduate student guard Dre Fuller, Jr. is second on the team with 10.6 points and is third with 6.1 rebounds per game.
• Redshirt junior guard/forward Isaiah Wyatt is averaging 10.1 points and is sixth in the AAC with 2.2 three-pointers per game.
• Redshirt senior center Carlton Linguard, Jr., is scoring 9.9 points per game and leads the team with 6.3 rebounds and junior forward Trey Edmonds is averaging 8.1 points and 6.2 rebounds.
• UTSA is scoring 78.5 points per game but is allowing 79.1.
• The Roadrunners are connecting on 41.6% from the field and 34.5% from three. Their opponents are hitting 43.0% from the field and 34.5% from three.
• UTSA is third in the league in rebounding, pulling down 40.2 boards per game, but are allowing 40.3.
• The Roadrunners lead the league with 9.7 three-pointers per game and 5.2 blocks per game and is second with 15.5 assists per game.
• Head coach Steve Henson is in his eighth season leading the UTSA men's basketball program, where he holds a 105-131 record.

Rice-UTSA Series History
• Rice and UTSA will meet for first time this year and the 23rd time overall.
• UTSA holds a 12-10 record in the series, but the Owls lead 7-5 in Houston.
• The teams will also meet on Feb. 3 in San Antonio.
• The Owls have won five of the last seven meetings.
• The first six meetings came as non-conference foes. Since 2014, the teams have competed as conference foes when UTSA joined Conference USA. The series is tied at eight as conference opponents.

Next Up
• Rice goes on the road next Friday, Jan. 12, when it travels to Tampa, Fla., to face South Florida. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and the game will be televised by ESPNU.

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