Game 15
What: Rice (6-8, 0-1) vs. Memphis (6-7, 1-0)
When: Saturday, January 3 at 2 p.m. CT
Where: Houston, Texas
Stadium: Tudor Fieldhouse (5,204)
Tickets: RiceOwls.com
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Info: Memphis leads 11-2 (Memphis leads 6-1 in Houston)
Gratitude Rice
• Rice enters Saturday’s game with a 6-8 record. The Owls have lost two in a row after dropping their Conference USA opener at Tulsa on Wednesday.
• Senior guard/forward Nick Anderson leads the team with 13.9 points per game while adding 3.5 rebounds. He leads the league in free throw percentage (91.8%) and is sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.4), while ranking second on the team in three-point field goal percentage (39.3%).
• Qualified guard Trae Broadnax is second on the team in scoring with 13.5 points and has a team-high 5.4 rebounds. He’s also second with 2.6 assists and is connecting at 83.0 percent from the free throw line, good for seventh in the conference, and 36.2 percent from three.
• Redshirted senior guard Jalen Smith scores 11.9 points per game and leads the team with 2.9 assists. He also connects on a team-leading 40.8 percent from three and is 10th in the conference making 2.2 three-pointers per game.
• Junior forward Jimmy Oladokun, Jr.is second on the team with 5.1 rebounds and a senior forward Andrew Akuchie fells 4.2 boards.
• Rice is averaging 74.1 points per game while allowing 74.0.
• The Owls are connecting 41.5% from the field and 36.0% from beyond the arc. Their opponents are connecting at 44.1% from the field and 34.9% from three.
• Rice outscores opponents, 38.4 to 37.1.
• The Owls are also fourth in the conference in three-point average per game (8.7).
• Head coach Rob Lanier is in his second season at the helm of the Rice men’s basketball program.
Scouting Memphis
• Memphis enters Saturday’s game with a 6-7 record. The Tigers, however, have won two in a row after posting a 57-48 victory over North Texas in their Conference USA opener.
• Senior guard Dug McDaniel is the only Tiger averaging double figures, scoring 14.2 points per game. He also leads the team and is second in the nation in steals per game (2.2), while ranking third in assists (5.1) and free throw percentage (0.897).
• Sophomore guard Curtis Givens III is second on the team with 9.8 points, and senior guard Sincere Parker adds 9.0 points.
• Sophomore guard Julius Thedford scores 7.9 points and grabs a team-high 5.6 rebounds.
• Junior guard Miles Rigsby scores 10.0 points. He is also fifth in the league in steals (1.8) and sixth in free throw percentage (87.0%).
• Memphis scores 74.0 points per game, while allowing just 73.5.
• The Tigers are connecting 42.8% from the field and 31.8% from three. Their opponents are connecting on just 41.0% from the field, the second-lowest percentage in the league, and 30.7% from three.
• UM outscores the opposition, 37.9 against 36.5.
• The Tigers are third in the conference in steals per game (9.1) and forced turnovers (13.7).
• Head coach Penny Hardaway is in her eighth season at the helm of the Memphis men’s basketball program, where he has a 161-75 record.
Rice-Memphis History of the series
• Rice and Memphis will meet for the only time this year and for the 14th time overall.
• The Tigers have won 11 of the previous 13 meetings and are 6-1 in Houston.
• Rice’s only victory in Houston came in 2011, a 67-52 decision.
• Last year, the Owls lost both games, 86-83 at Houston and 84-72 at Memphis.
• The first two meetings were non-conference games while the next eight meetings were played as members of Conference USA (2006-13).
Following
• Rice hits the road again next Wednesday, Jan. 7, when it travels to Wichita, Kansas, to take on Wichita State. The announcement is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT and the game will be streamed by ESPN+.
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