First round game is against Marshall. Wednesday at 11:00 AM. We lost by 13 to Marshall in our only matchup, but that was pretty early on in conference play. They're playing pretty decent basketball. Beat ODU on the road by 16, WKU on the road by 18, and WKU at home by 7. Winner gets Charlotte.

UTSA 58, UTEP 57
FIU 68, FAU 60

Of possible note for both the men and women: https://twitter.com/sjdoughton/status/15...0801743872

I do think playing in a football facility has a negative statistical impact on shooting percentages, though I don't know to what degree. Could be a tiny advantage for teams that advanced today and advance tomorrow.

I'm nervous about this game. I think on talent and recent form, Marshall is more like a 3 seed. And I'm not sure they're a good matchup for us. They shoot the 3 well and I've remarked a lot about the vulnerabilities I see in our zone (I think this is a case where the statistics aren't telling the whole story). Plus, there's optimism around the team and if there's one thing I know it's that hope and Rice athletics do not have good interplay.

I’m personally nervous.
The spirit groups’ bus broke down before it got to Tudor.

I am soloing for the BOB.
I’ll yell.
Not gonna dance.

The teams are getting a shoot-around this morning.

Starting 5 is what you'd expect. Jackson-Austin-Bokunewicz-Fisher-Gooden.

Most important thing in the first 5 minutes: no cheap fouls (Jackson and Fisher). Make it so that if we do lose, it's with our best 5+2 playing all the minutes they can.

1-3-1 zone to start for Rice.

(03-09-2022 12:01 PM)elw4796 Wrote:  Most important thing in the first 5 minutes: no cheap fouls (Jackson and Fisher). Make it so that if we do lose, it's with our best 5+2 playing all the minutes they can.

Agree 100%. Also, need to find a way to at least contain Wheeler and keep her from getting more than 20 points.

Shoddy start. Went under a screen on Wheeler, lazy pass leading to a transition layup, and then got away with one leaving Wheeler wide open. Need to tighten things up. 5-4 Marshall early.

Rice up 12-10 at 4:47 media time out. Both sides shooting mostly 3s.

12-10 Rice. Again, it's not a bad start. But this isn't sustainable on the defensive end. That's 3-4 very open looks that Wheeler has gotten. She's missed 2 of them, but she'll make them eventually. On the other side, good to see our confidence is still there shooting the ball. Even on misses, we look like we expect to make them. Nothing tentative about the way we're running our sets.

Rice 17-10 @ 3:39

17-15 after back-to-back-to-back turnovers. Marshall is shooting only from deep, and they're getting wide open looks. Luckily for us, so far they're only 3-10

Up 17-10 and two bad post entry passes. That's the kind of stuff that hurts you. Chance to extend the lead and instead it's 17-15.

Now 4 consecutive turnovers. This is not sustainable.

Four straight TOs. All of the "awful" variety. Swayze into the game for her first minutes.

20-17 Rice. Really good effort play by Fisher to make sure Marshall didn't get a good look at the end of the quarter. I think Marshall has been the better team, so being up 3 will play. Marshall isn't going to miss these open shots for the entire game. Most of their looks from 3 have been wide open. Need some more outside shooting from Gooden, Bokunewicz, and Swayze (who didn't take a shot to be fair to her).

Rice 20-17 after 1Q.

The turnovers are killing us, but that's somewhat offset by our domination on the boards. Only one personal each on Gooden and Swayze. Fisher and Wheeler each of have 7 points to lead the way for their respective teams.