Men’s Basketball Opens Nassau Championship against Hofstra

HOUSTON — Rice will make its first international trip since 2019 when it travels to Nassau, Bahamas, for the Nassau Championship. The Owls will play three games in three days against Hofstra, Arkansas State, and Iona, Nov. 29-Dec. 1. All games will be streamed at FloCollege.

Game 7
What: Rice (5-1) vs. Hofstra (4-2)
When: Friday, November 29 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Nassau, Bahamas
Stadium: Baha Mar Convention Center
Stream: FloCollege
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: First Meeting

Game 8
What: Rice (5-1) vs. Arkansas State (4-1)
When: Saturday, November 30 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Nassau, Bahamas
Stadium: Baha Mar Convention Center
Stream: FloCollege
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Arkansas State leads, 2-0 (First Meeting at Neutral Site)

Game 9
What: Rice (5-1) vs. Iona (1-5)
When: Sunday, December 1 at 1 p.m. CT
Where: Nassau, Bahamas
Stadium: Baha Mar Convention Center
Stream: FloCollege
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: Rice leads, 1-0 (1-0 at Neutral Site)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Friday night's contest with a 5-1 record. The Owls have won four straight after defeating Houston Christian on the road last Friday, 61-58.
• The Owls are led by graduate guard Trae Broadnax, the reigning American Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Broadnax leads the team with 13.8 points per game and 4.3 assists, which is fourth in the American. He's also second on the team with 5.7 rebounds while connecting on 50.9% from the field and 58.3% from three.
• Graduate student guard/forward Kellen Amos is averaging 10.8 points and is second on the team with 3.7 assists.
• Junior forward Caden Powell is scoring 10.0 points per game and leads the team with 8.2 rebounds, tied for second in the league. He's also third in the AAC in field goal percentage, connecting on 75.0% from the floor, and is sixth in blocks (1.3).
• Junior Denver Anglin is scoring 10.0 points. He leads the league in free throw percentage (100.0%), is eighth in three-pointers made per game (2.3), and 10th in three-point field goal percentage (40.0%).
• Fifth-year senior guard Alem Huseinovic is scoring 9.3 points. He's connecting on 43.2% from three and hitting 2.2 three-pointers made per game.
• Graduate student Trey Patterson is third on the team with 5.3 rebounds per game.
• The Owls are scoring 71.5 points per game while allowing just 64.5, good for third in the American.
• Rice is connecting on 42.9% from the field and 33.3% from three. It is holding its opponents to just 37.8% from the field and 27.8% from three, which are both second in the league.
• The Owls are outrebounding their opponents, 42.2-to-33.8, which are second and third in the AAC respectively.
• Head coach Rob Lanier is in his first season at the helm of the Rice men's basketball program. In nine years as a head coach, Lanier is 146-137.

Scouting Hofstra
• Hofstra enters Friday night's game with a 4-2 record after falling at No. 7 Houston last Friday.
• Sophomore guard Cruz Davis leads the team with 15.2 points per game and is connecting on 47.6% from three. He's seventh in the Colonial Athletic Association in assists (4.0) and eighth in free throw percentage (.871).
• Sophomore guard Jean Aranguren is scoring 15.0 points and leads the team and is 10th in the league with 6.2 rebounds. He's also tied for fifth in the league in assists with 4.2 per game.
• Junior guard Jaquan Sanders is averaging 13.5 points and is sixth in the CAA in three-point field goal percentage, connecting on 41.3%.
• Hofstra is averaging 68.0 points per game while allowing 69.3.
• The Pride are connecting on 43.2% from the field and 34.7% from three. Its opponents are connecting on 40.1% from the floor, good for second in the league, and 38.1% from behind the arc.
• The Pride are outrebounding the opposition, 36.3-to-36.2.
• Head coach Speedy Claxton is in his fourth season at the helm of the Hofstra men's basketball program, where he has a 70-36 record.

Rice-Hofstra Series History
• This is the first-ever meeting between Rice and Hofstra.

Scouting Arkansas State
• Arkansas State enters the Nassau Championship with a 4-1 record after defeating Lane College last Friday, 103-60.
• The Red Wolves are the preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt Conference.
• Senior guard Taryn Todd leads ASU in scoring with 15.0 points per game, which is eighth in the Sun Belt. He's also tied for fifth in the league in assists with 4.2 per game. He's also fifth in fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.478), sixth in blocks (1.2), eighth in field goal percentage (.429) and 10th in three-pointers made per game (2.2).
• Redshirt senior forward Kobe Julien is second on the team with 13.4 points and 5.6 rebounds, and is sixth in the conference with 1.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.
• Junior guard Joseph Pinion is averaging 9.6 points and connecting on 50.0% from the floor.
• Sophomore forward Rashaud Marshall is third in the Sun Belt with 8.4 rebounds per game and fifth with 1.4 blocks per game.
• Arkansas State is averaging 80.2 points per game while allowing just 67.0, which are both second in the league.
• The Red Wolves are connecting on 41.4% from the field and 31.9% from three, while leading the league in both field goal percentage defense (37.1%) and three-point field goal percentage defense (24.8%).
• ASU is pulling down 44.6 rebounds per game, which is the best in the SBC, while allowing 43.4.
• Arkansas State also leads the Sun Belt in three-pointers made per game (10.8), blocks (5.8), and is tied for third in assists (15.0).
• Head coach Bryan Hodgson is in his second season at the helm of the Arkansas State men's basketball program, where he has a 24-18 record.

Rice-Arkansas State Series History
• This is just the third meeting between Rice and Arkansas State.
• Rice is looking for its first win, as ASU took the first two meetings.
• This is the first game between the schools since the first round of the 1991 NIT, a 78-71 ASU victory.
• It's also the first meeting outside of Jonesboro.
• The first game came on Dec. 29, 1965, in the Arkansas State Tournament.

Scouting Iona
• Iona enters the Nassau Championship with a 1-5 record after falling to Cornell, 84-68, on Monday.
• Senior guard Dejour Reaves leads the team with 13.5 points per game and is pulling down 5.2 rebounds. He's third in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in free throw percentage (89.5%) and four in steals (2.0).
• Junior guard/forward James Patterson and freshman guard Adam Njie, Jr. are both averaging 9.5 points per game. Njie is also third in the league with 4.0 assists per game.
• Junior forward Yaphet Moundi is averaging 7.8 points and leads the team and is sixth in the MAAC with 7.2 rebounds. He's also seventh in the conference with 1.8 steals.
• Iona is averaging 64.5 points per game while allowing 77.0.
• The Gaels are connecting on just 36.9% from the field and 27,1% from three. Their opponents are connecting on 48.8% from the floor and 39.4% from behind the arc.
• IC is leading the MAAC in rebounding with 40.5 per game, while allowing 33.3.
• Iona is also second in the league with 8.8 steals per game.
• Head coach Tobin Anderson is in his second season at the helm of the Iona men's basketball program, where he has a 17-22 record. In 24 seasons as a head coach, Anderson is 432-228.

Rice-Iona Series History
• This is just the second meeting between Rice and Iona.
• Rice won the only other meeting, a 61-60 decision in the 1967 Queens City Tournament in Buffalo, N.Y.

Next Up
• Following the Nassau Championship, the Owls will close its six-game road trip on Sunday, Dec. 8, when it travels to San Marcos to face Texas State. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results