A conference win. I’ll take it!

(01-06-2022 09:50 PM)Frizzy Owl Wrote:  A conference win. I’ll take it!

Not only that… but up to .500 in CUSA

Can’t wait to rub it in with that guy on the conference board who had us ranked 14/14!!!!

65-61 Rice final. Good job bouncing back. Not sure MTSU is a good team, but I'd rather win these games than lose them. Just 5-24 from 3. Missed some good looks, but we're also getting fewer good looks because teams are content with us trying to beat them inside. Improved defensive effort. Not sure I'd be thrilled about the refs if I were MTSU - 24 FTs for Rice, just 5 for them.

Looked like a pretty ugly game but we took care of business - well done Owls!

Congrats on the win Owls! Build on it.

(01-06-2022 08:03 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  6 people at the game (for understandable reasons). Rice up 4-0 early.

Oh, come on-- it was nowhere near that bad. I'd say there were a couple hundred in attendance.

(01-06-2022 09:53 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  65-61 Rice final. Good job bouncing back. Not sure MTSU is a good team, but I'd rather win these games than lose them. Just 5-24 from 3. Missed some good looks, but we're also getting fewer good looks because teams are content with us trying to beat them inside. Improved defensive effort. Not sure I'd be thrilled about the refs if I were MTSU - 24 FTs for Rice, just 5 for them.

Yes, it was ugly at times, but the team really played hard throughout. MTSU much, much more athletic than us, and they had a couple good outside shooters (#5, #11). We couldn't hit from outside until Pierre heated up late-- at one point we were 2-18 from downtown. The offensive strategy from the get-go appeared to be to take the ball hard to the basket, and we got MTSU in foul trouble doing so, which really helped us late in the 2H. IMO, Mullins had a really strong game, despite have a large flint on a finger on his shooting hand. When our offense stagnated a couple points in the second half, it was because we stopped taking the ball to the basket.

Keep in mind, the team had one practice over a 2 week period prior to the UNT debacle, and the team was still recovering from COVID. 15 of the 16 players on the roster tested positive, and several were quite sick. According to the coaching staff, they had no legs (or overall conditioning) for that game. Pera did not want to play, but was overruled by the conference and forced to either play or forfeit. Certainly explains why the performance was so bad, and why we were outrebounded by a 2:1 margin.

Post-game comment from Pera...

Quote: “We talked about driving the ball. We had them in foul trouble and that was the key, to get the ball in the paint,” Pera said adding with a laugh, “We had to adjust. It’s rare that I say to them ‘don’t shoot threes’.”

“Just a tremendous gut-check win by our kids, there’s no other way to put it. Exhausted, running on fumes and refusing to give in, making a comeback and when they got the lead early in the second half, fighting back.”

Walt, with that background info for context, tonight’s win is definitely impressive.

Should be a confidence builder for sure…

Agree -- thanks for that added context.

It was nice to see 4 players in double figures scoring and Fielder and Poteat combine for 8 points in the 2nd half. All 8 of those points came at critical times. Max had trouble again in the first half with turnovers in the paint but made a difference down low when it counted. This was a game that the Owls could have easily lost but they kept their composure and closed well. (except the one foul with about 14 seconds left where Middle Tennessee got 3 FT attempts (missed two of them!).

It was also great to see Chris Mullins hit his free throws in crunch time. The team played much better defensively, although there were still lapses.

You could literally see Carl Pierre take over as a leader on the court for Rice during the last 11 minutes of the game when he subbed back in. He added energy, a confident shooting touch (on a night that the Owls shot poorly from behind the arc), and worked hard on both ends of the court. The rest of the team responded to his energy and leadership, which helped build the 13-0 run that allowed the Owls to hang on at the end of the game. He was not going to let the game slip away. That was Senior leadership and I hope that Evee and Q continue to learn from Pierre's actions on the court so they can develop similar leadership abilities in the future.

I think Saturday's game will be tough against UAB but this team is improving. I hope they will be more competitive than they were at UH and N Texas. I wish there were more people in the stands. I get why there were no students, but the community is missing a fun team to watch.

(01-07-2022 08:23 AM)Kayjay Wrote:  It was nice to see 4 players in double figures scoring and Fielder and Poteat combine for 8 points in the 2nd half. All 8 of those points came at critical times. Max had trouble again in the first half with turnovers in the paint but made a difference down low when it counted. This was a game that the Owls could have easily lost but they kept their composure and closed well. (except the one foul with about 14 seconds left where Middle Tennessee got 3 FT attempts (missed two of them!).

It was also great to see Chris Mullins hit his free throws in crunch time. The team played much better defensively, although there were still lapses.

You could literally see Carl Pierre take over as a leader on the court for Rice during the last 11 minutes of the game when he subbed back in. He added energy, a confident shooting touch (on a night that the Owls shot poorly from behind the arc), and worked hard on both ends of the court. The rest of the team responded to his energy and leadership, which helped build the 13-0 run that allowed the Owls to hang on at the end of the game. He was not going to let the game slip away. That was Senior leadership and I hope that Evee and Q continue to learn from Pierre's actions on the court so they can develop similar leadership abilities in the future.

I think Saturday's game will be tough against UAB but this team is improving. I hope they will be more competitive than they were at UH and N Texas. I wish there were more people in the stands. I get why there were no students, but the community is missing a fun team to watch.

Not that it would make that much difference, but at the moment the community is barred from attending. Family and season ticket holders only.

(01-06-2022 10:31 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Keep in mind, the team had one practice over a 2 week period prior to the UNT debacle, and the team was still recovering from COVID. 15 of the 16 players on the roster tested positive, and several were quite sick. According to the coaching staff, they had no legs (or overall conditioning) for that game. Pera did not want to play, but was overruled by the conference and forced to either play or forfeit. Certainly explains why the performance was so bad, and why we were outrebounded by a 2:1 margin.

15 of 16! Dang. Who was the one guy that didn't get it? That's some immunity, and how did he avoid it? The Rice biology/biomed folks ought to be all over this.

good article in the Chronicle about the game.

(01-07-2022 12:15 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(01-06-2022 10:31 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Keep in mind, the team had one practice over a 2 week period prior to the UNT debacle, and the team was still recovering from COVID. 15 of the 16 players on the roster tested positive, and several were quite sick. According to the coaching staff, they had no legs (or overall conditioning) for that game. Pera did not want to play, but was overruled by the conference and forced to either play or forfeit. Certainly explains why the performance was so bad, and why we were outrebounded by a 2:1 margin.

15 of 16! Dang. Who was the one guy that didn't get it? That's some immunity, and how did he avoid it? The Rice biology/biomed folks ought to be all over this.

Pera, as well, and two of the guys are still out. Given he didn't play last night (and we certainly could have used his height), I'm assuming Abercrombie is one of them.

(01-07-2022 08:15 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 12:15 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(01-06-2022 10:31 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Keep in mind, the team had one practice over a 2 week period prior to the UNT debacle, and the team was still recovering from COVID. 15 of the 16 players on the roster tested positive, and several were quite sick. According to the coaching staff, they had no legs (or overall conditioning) for that game. Pera did not want to play, but was overruled by the conference and forced to either play or forfeit. Certainly explains why the performance was so bad, and why we were outrebounded by a 2:1 margin.

15 of 16! Dang. Who was the one guy that didn't get it? That's some immunity, and how did he avoid it? The Rice biology/biomed folks ought to be all over this.

Pera, as well, and two of the guys are still out. Given he didn't play last night (and we certainly could have used his height), I'm assuming Abercrombie is one of them.

Abercrombie played against UNT, didn’t he?

(01-08-2022 08:30 AM)ExcitedOwl18 Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 08:15 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  

(01-07-2022 12:15 PM)Tomball Owl Wrote:  

(01-06-2022 10:31 PM)waltgreenberg Wrote:  Keep in mind, the team had one practice over a 2 week period prior to the UNT debacle, and the team was still recovering from COVID. 15 of the 16 players on the roster tested positive, and several were quite sick. According to the coaching staff, they had no legs (or overall conditioning) for that game. Pera did not want to play, but was overruled by the conference and forced to either play or forfeit. Certainly explains why the performance was so bad, and why we were outrebounded by a 2:1 margin.

15 of 16! Dang. Who was the one guy that didn't get it? That's some immunity, and how did he avoid it? The Rice biology/biomed folks ought to be all over this.

Pera, as well, and two of the guys are still out. Given he didn't play last night (and we certainly could have used his height), I'm assuming Abercrombie is one of them.

Abercrombie played against UNT, didn’t he?

Yes, he played 8 minutes against UNT last week, but did not play against MTSU on Thursday.