Smith misses 2 free throws. WKU gets the ball back but misses the shot. Rice wins.

Rice wins it 77-74 despite Smith missing 3-4 FTs in the final seconds.

Gutty win against a quality WKU club. Need to play better, but given the rust and all, we'll take it.

Crosthwait saved the day with 8 4Q points, and 3-4 from deep. 14 points, 5 boards
Mulkey 16 points, but only 4 in second half. And only 4 boards, 2 blocks
Smith: 8 points (all in 1st half), but 9 assists and 4 boards
Wiggins: 12 points, 4 assists, 4 boards

Finally played some D at the end and got a couple of key rebounds.

Clutch 3s down the stretch! WTG, ladies!

(I was surprised that Abdelgawad's forearm punch under the basket to Mulkey's gut -- which floored her -- was not called a foul ... with ~3:45 left in the game.)

I just noticed our real time RPI rating is 14 according to a couple of sites (realtime RPI and warren nolan). I wouldn't put too much stock in those RPI ratings though. Bucknell is #1 and Lehigh is #10. But I guess our win over Louisiana earlier in the year is an okay win since they're atop the Sun Belt with a 11-1 conference record.

(02-13-2021 08:59 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I just noticed our real time RPI rating is 14 according to a couple of sites (realtime RPI and warren nolan). I wouldn't put too much stock in those RPI ratings though. Bucknell is #1 and Lehigh is #10. But I guess our win over Louisiana earlier in the year is an okay win since they're atop the Sun Belt with a 11-1 conference record.

UALR and ULL were both nice wins. The team looked good against Tech and A&M as well.

Some of the mediocre-ish play in conference might be familiarity. Rice takes everyone's best shot and these teams know how to play them. WKU's ball pressure was outstanding in both games. Rice cannot win in the NCAA tournament playing like this, but I'm confident they will look better against teams not used to playing against Mulkey, etc even as the quality of competition goes up.

(02-13-2021 09:28 PM)uconnbaseball Wrote:  

(02-13-2021 08:59 PM)Fort Bend Owl Wrote:  I just noticed our real time RPI rating is 14 according to a couple of sites (realtime RPI and warren nolan). I wouldn't put too much stock in those RPI ratings though. Bucknell is #1 and Lehigh is #10. But I guess our win over Louisiana earlier in the year is an okay win since they're atop the Sun Belt with a 11-1 conference record.

UALR and ULL were both nice wins. The team looked good against Tech and A&M as well.

Some of the mediocre-ish play in conference might be familiarity. Rice takes everyone's best shot and these teams know how to play them. WKU's ball pressure was outstanding in both games. Rice cannot win in the NCAA tournament playing like this, but I'm confident they will look better against teams not used to playing against Mulkey, etc even as the quality of competition goes up.

I'll write this weekend off to rust, but will be disappointed if we don't dominate Marshall next weekend on the road.

My summary of reading Rice message boards, other than the WBB Board:

grouse, grouse, grouse...win more conference championships...complain, complain, complain...fire the athletic director; fire the coaches; grouse, grouse; grouse

My summary of reading the 2 time defending conference champion and this year 8-0 in conference Rice WBB board (40-2 in our last 42 conference games):

grouse; grouse; grouse...oh yeah we won...sloppy, sloppy, sloppy...woe is us, next year, grouse, grouse, grouse.

Sports isn't a prison sentence; it is totally voluntary and meant to bring happiness and joy.

40-2 in our last 42 conference games.

Just repeating for emphasis

Volleyball (and Soccer for the most part) have also been a joy for the last few years. If you want to watch Rice win (live or streaming), there are options available.

(02-16-2021 09:38 AM)temchugh Wrote:  Volleyball (and Soccer for the most part) have also been a joy for the last few years. If you want to watch Rice win (live or streaming), there are options available.

Reminder that the Rice Women's Track and Field team are the defending C-USA Indoor Track and Field champions.

This year's indoor championships take place this coming Saturday and Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama.