Men’s Basketball Set to Host Conference Leader South Florida

HOUSTON — Rice welcomes conference leader South Florida this Wednesday, Feb. 25. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.

Game 28
What: Rice (11-16, 5-9) vs. South Florida (19-8, 11-3)
When: Wednesday, February 25 at 7 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208)
Tickets: RiceOwls.com
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: South Florida leads 4-0 (Leads 1-0 in Houston)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Wednesday's game with an 11-16 record and is 5-9 in the American. The Owls fell at Tulane on Sunday, 81-75.
• Graduate guard Trae Broadnax leads the team with 16.2 points (7th in American), 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists (10th in American), and 1.3 steals. He's also connecting on 79.8% from the free throw line and 32.1% from three.
• Senior guard/forward Nick Anderson is second on the team with 15.4 points per game while adding 4.2 rebounds. He is fourth in the league in three-point percentage (40.7%) and fifth in three-pointers made per game (2.7), while placing eighth in free throw percentage (84.2%).
• Redshirt senior guard Jalen Smith is scoring 11.9 points per game and is second on the team with 2.4 assists. He is also 10th in the league in three-point field goal percentage (37.5%) and seventh with 2.3 three-pointers per game.
• Junior forward Jimmy Oladokun, Jr., is second on the team with 5.2 rebounds, and redshirt senior center Stephen Giwa is pulling down 4.6 boards and places 10th in the league with 1.0 blocks.
• Rice is averaging 74.7 points per game while allowing 75.2.
• The Owls are connecting on 42.2% from the field and 35.4% from beyond the arc, which is third in the conference. Their opponents are connecting on 44.3% from the floor and 34.1% from three.
• Rice is outrebounding its opponents, 37.8-to-36.6.
• The Owls are third in the league in three-pointers, making 9.2 per game, while placing 10th in the nation with 13.9 offensive rebounds per game.
• Head coach Rob Lanier is in his second season at the helm of the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting South Florida
• South Florida enters Wednesday's game with a 19-8 record, and sits atop the American standings with an 11-3 mark. The Bulls have won five straight games and eight of their last nine after defeating Memphis last Thursday, 87-66.
• Junior guard Wes Enis leads a group of five players averaging double-figures, scoring 16.0 points (eighth in American). He's pulling down 3.5 rebounds and leads the league with 3.5 three-pointers made per game.
• Senior forward Izaiyah Nelson is ninth in the conference with 16.0 points while leading the league with 10.0 rebounds. He's second in the American in field goal percentage (58.6%), sixth in steals (1.6), and tied for seventh in blocks (1.6).
• Senior guard Joseph Pinion is averaging 14.5 points and 3.7 rebounds. He leads the team and is seventh in the league in three-point field goal percentage (39.1%), and is second in the conference with 3.3 threes per game.
• Sophomore guard CJ Brown is averaging 12.2 points and leads the American with 5.2 assists per game.
• Senior guard Josh Omojafo is scoring 11.4 points and is second on the team with 5.0 rebounds.
• South Florida is scoring a conference-best 88.7 points per game while allowing 78.0.
• The Bulls are connecting on 44.1% from the floor and 33.2% from three. Their opponents are connecting on just 41.8% from the field, good for second in the league, but 35.2% from three.
• USF leads the league pulling down 43.0 rebounds per game, and is allowing 38.0.
• South Florida leads the American in assists (17.1), is second in three-pointers made per game (9.7), and is third in steals (8.8) and blocks (4.5)
• Head coach Bryan Hodgson is in his first season at the helm of the South Florida men's basketball program. In three years as a head coach, Hodgson is 64-36.

Rice-South Florida Series History
• Rice and South Florida will meet for the only time this year and just the fifth time overall.
• The Owls are looking for their first victory in the series, as USF has won the previous four meetings.
• Last year, the Bulls won the only meeting, a 69-64 victory in Tampa.
• This is just the second meeting in Houston.
• The first game came in the third-place game of the 1997 San Juan Shootout, with the Bulls taking a 49-46 victory.

Next Up
• Rice begins a two-game road trip this Sunday, Mar. 1, when it travels to Philadelphia, Pa., to face Temple. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT, and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.

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