Finding ways to win

[randy]

Feb 3, 2011: Tulsa (8-12, 3-8) @ #5 Rice (22-0, 11-0)


Tip off

A poor shooting start again, going missing 10 of our 1st 12 FG attempts. We had to rely on SG David Williams who scored 16 of our 1st 21 pts of the game. Eventually we got some scoring support from the bench (15 pts) and started pulling away. Williams finished the 1st half with 24 pts (5 triples)


Halftime, Up 45-27


Start of 2nd half

SG David Williams scored 9 pts on our 1st 3 plays of the 2nd half (a 3pt pla, and 2 triples), in a span of less than 2 mins. We led by 25 at that point, and practically this game is over. Williams got himself a career high, 2 pts shy of 50.


Final Score: Tulsa - 51, Rice - 97


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 48, 3, 3, 5 stls, 10-19 3PT (*)
Brown 12, 6, 2
McFadden 7, 4, 1
Harper 6, 10, 2, 3 blks
Fountain 6, 4, 0
Piatowski 6, 3, 1
Barker 5, 1, 5
Johnson 3, 1, 1
Evans 2, 0, 1, 3 tos
Phillips 2, 0, 0
Tiggs 0, 4, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 48-31%
REB: +10
TO: -10 (TULSA: 20)
Pts in paint: +26
2nd chance: +3
Fast break: +6
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 12-0 (W12)
2. Memphis, 8-4 (W2)
3. Central Florida, 8-4 (L2)
4. Marshall, 7-5 (W2)
5. Southern Miss, 7-5 (L1)
6. East Carolina, 6-6 (W1)
7. Houston, 6-6 (L1)
8. Southern Methodist, 6-6 (W2)
9. Texas-El Paso, 4-8 (L2)
10. Tulsa 3-9 (L4)
11. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-9 (W1)
12. Tulane, 2-10 (L2)

[randy]

Feb 7, 2011: Alabama-Birmingham (8-13, 3-9) @ #4 Rice (23-0, 12-0)


Tip off

A 17-0 start. Took more than 6 mins before UAB scored. SG David Williams had to sit early because of foul trouble, but still managed to contribute 10 pts. C Curtis Harper had 11 pts


Halftime, Up 46-22


Start of 2nd half

SF Andre McFadden was on fire at the start of the 2nd half, scoring 11 of our 1st 15 pts. Lead ballooned to 32 with 13 mins remaining, and we coasted the rest of the way


Final Score: Alabama-Birmingham - 56, Rice - 77


Box Scores
[INDENT]McFadden 24, 7, 1, 4-8 3PT (*)
Harper 15, 8, 1, 3 blks
Williams 14, 3, 1
Brown 11, 9, 3, 2 stls, 3 blks
Tiggs 6, 5, 1
Young 3, 0, 1
Piatowski 2, 1, 0
Barker 2, 0, 1
Fountain 0, 5, 0
Evans 0, 2, 7
Phillips 0, 1, 0
Johnson 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 45-39%
REB: +7
TO: -5
Pts in paint: +14
2nd chance: +2
Fast break: +10
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 13-0 (W13)
2. Central Florida, 9-4 (W1)
3. Marshall, 8-5 (W3)
4. Memphis, 8-5 (L1)
5. Southern Miss, 7-6 (L2)
6. East Carolina, 7-6 (W2)
7. Houston, 7-6 (W1)
8. Southern Methodist, 6-7 (L1)
9. Texas-El Paso, 4-9 (L3)
10. Tulsa 3-10 (L5)
11. Tulane, 3-10 (W1)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-10 (L1)

[randy]

Feb 10, 2011: #4 Rice (24-0, 13-0) @ Texas-El Paso (9-13, 4-9)


Tip off

Stats are even in most categories, including shooting where both teams shot below 40% FG.


Halftime, Up 29-28


Start of 2nd half

I had to call a very early timeout, as UTEP with a 7-0 start to take a 6 pt lead. Plus, we already have 4 team fouls. This is not looking good. We settled down and came back. SG David Williams scoring 7 more pts. I instructed the team to press all the time, so we can generate easy pts
12:46, Down 41-42

The constant pressure must now be wearing down UTEP as they begin to miss many shots. On the other side, we continuously attack the basket. SG David Williams and SF Andre McFadden also added a 3PT shot each, and we retake control of the game
8:08, up 54-45

We can't relax though. After extending our lead to 12, UTEP is beginning to make their own comeback.
4:08, Up 64-57

We went with a smaller, but even quicker lineup, making our pressure defense more effective. UTEP had all sort of difficulty on offense, committing a number of turn overs to falter in the end game. Having SG David Williams, SF Ross Brown, and SF Andre McFadden (those 3 usually rotate on 2/3 spots) on the floor at the same time provided an intriguing option, that we would certainly consider using again


Final Score: Rice - 75, UTEP - 59


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 27, 3, 7, 3 tos (*)
McFadden 13, 5, 3
Brown 10, 4, 3, 5 tos
Harper 7, 10, 1, 3 blks
Tiggs 4, 1, 0
Evans 4, 0, 3
Fountain 4, 0, 0
Piatowski 2, 4, 0
Phillips 2, 3, 0
Barker 2, 1, 4
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 44-35%
REB: Even
TO: -7
Pts in paint: +10
2nd chance: Even
Fast break: -3
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 14-0 (W14)
2. Memphis, 9-5 (W1)
3. Central Florida, 9-5 (L1)
4. East Carolina, 8-6 (W2)
5. Houston, 8-6 (W2)
6. Marshall, 8-6 (L1)
7. Southern Methodist, 7-7 (W1)
8. Southern Miss, 7-7 (L3)
9. Texas-El Paso, 4-10 (L4)
10. Tulane, 4-10 (W2)
11. Tulsa 3-11 (L6)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-11 (L2)

[randy]

Feb 14, 2011: #2 Rice (25-0, 14-0) @ Tulane (10-13, 4-10)


Tip off

Similar to the 1st half of our last game, both teams were struggling to make shots. Both teams also like to press. It will be a test of which team have better conditioned athletes in the 2nd half. SG David Williams leads scorers with 14 pts, plus 4 stls


Halftime, Up 33-26


Start of 2nd half

We stepped on the gas just when TUL's starters begin to tire out. The result was TUL having difficulty just bring the ball up. We had a total of 16 steals, with SG David Williams accounting for 10 of them. Oh and also, Williams scored 33 pts on the offensive end


Final Score: Rice - 79, Tulane - 50


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 33, 1, 1, 10 stls, 6 tos (*)
Harper 10, 14, 2, 3 blks
Fountain 9, 7, 0
McFadden 8, 3, 3
Tiggs 7, 5, 0
Barker 5, 0, 0
Brown 4, 7, 2, 3 stls, 2 blks
Evans 2, 1, 6
Phillips 1, 3, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 48-29%
REB: +13
TO: -7
Pts in paint: +36
2nd chance: +11
Fast break: +21 (26-5)
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 15-0 (W15)
2. Memphis, 10-5 (W2)
3. Central Florida, 10-5 (W1)
4. Marshall, 9-6 (W1)
5. East Carolina, 8-7 (L1)
6. Houston, 8-7 (L1)
7. Southern Methodist, 7-8 (L1)
8. Southern Miss, 7-8 (L4)
9. Texas-El Paso, 5-10 (W1)
10. Tulsa 4-11 (W1)
11. Tulane, 4-11 (L1)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-12 (L3)

[randy]

Feb 14, 2011: Marshall (15-10, 9-6) @ #2 Rice (26-0, 15-0)


Tip off

We established a 21 pt lead midway of the 1st half. SG David Williams already with 21 pts (6 3s). C Curtis Harper has been very efficient also, making a lot of power moves inside the paint, en route to 12 pts. As a team, we shot 62% FG


Halftime, Up 49-30


Start of 2nd half

Very good ball movement throughout the game, 25 assists in 37 made FGs


Final Score: Marshall - 61, Rice - 89


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 31, 5, 4, 3 stls, 8-16 3PT (*)
Harper 18, 10, 4, 3 blks
Brown 11, 1, 3, 2 stls, 3 blks
Fountain 8, 4, 0
McFadden 7, 5, 2
Tiggs 6, 6, 1
Piatowski 6, 5, 2
Evans 2, 1, 5
Barker 0, 1, 4
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 54-42%
REB: +14
TO: -5
Pts in paint: +30
2nd chance: +2
Fast break: +6
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 16-0 (W16)
2. Memphis, 11-5 (W3)
3. Central Florida, 10-6 (L1)
4. East Carolina, 9-7 (W1)
5. Houston, 9-7 (W1)
6. Marshall, 9-7 (L1)
7. Southern Methodist, 7-9 (L2)
8. Southern Miss, 7-9 (L5)
9. Texas-El Paso, 5-11 (L1)
10. Tulane, 5-11 (W1)
11. Tulsa 4-12 (L1)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 4-12 (W1)

[randy]

Feb 19, 2011: Wagner (17-9, 12-3) vs #2 Rice (27-0, 16-0)


Tip off

I felt WAG played with more energy, attacking with impunity which got us to early penalty. Score was tied at 28, before we closed teh 1st half with a small 7-1 run to account for the difference in score.


Halftime, Up 35-29
We have to take advantage of our athleticism and not let ourselves be pushed around


Start of 2nd half

We got 5 steals in WAG's back court during the 1st 3 mins of the 2nd half. SG David Williams also drained some 3s. All of a sudden, we're up 21. Williams still on fire. Williams had 10 pts in the 1st half, and has exploded for 21 pts in just over 5 mins into the 2nd half - 4 pts per min average!

WAG had a short rally, reducing our gap to 13. But Williams can't be stopped; he has 40 pts already with still more than 9 mins left, as we hiked our lead back to 20
8:44, Up 70-50

WAG never threatened after that. We finished the game with 17 steals


Final Score: Wagner - 63, Rice - 87


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 43, 3, 1, 7 stls, 3 tos, 9-15 FG (*)
Brown 17, 5, 1, 2 stls, 3 blks
Harper 8, 7, 1, 2 stls
McFadden 6, 1, 3, 2 stls, 2 blks
Fountain 5, 1, 0
Tiggs 4, 3, 0
Phillips 2, 5, 0
Piatowski 2, 0, 0
Evans 0, 1, 4, 2 stls
Barker 0, 0, 2
Johnson 0, 0, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 51-45%
REB: -7
TO: -17 (WAG: 27)
Pts in paint: +22
2nd chance: -8
Fast break: +14
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 16-0 (W16)
2. Memphis, 11-5 (W3)
3. Central Florida, 10-6 (L1)
4. East Carolina, 9-7 (W1)
5. Houston, 9-7 (W1)
6. Marshall, 9-7 (L1)
7. Southern Methodist, 7-9 (L2)
8. Southern Miss, 7-9 (L5)
9. Texas-El Paso, 5-11 (L1)
10. Tulane, 5-11 (W1)
11. Tulsa 4-12 (L1)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 4-12 (W1)

[randy]

Feb 21, 2011: #2 Rice (28-0, 16-0) @ Southern Methodist (11-14, 7-9)


Tip off

Defense wasn't good midway into the 1st half, with SMU shooting 9-13 FG. We switched to using m2m defense exclusively, and SMU shot 3-13 FG since then. SG David Williams leads all scorers with 17 pts (3 triples)


Halftime, Up 44-36


Start of 2nd half

SG David Williams scored 8 pts on a 17-4 run to start the 2nd half, enough o give us a 21 pt margin
13:04, Up 61-40

SMU came back to pull to within 10. SG David Williams, who just recently returned to the floor, scored 10 unanswered pts, and order was quickly restored. A 20 pt cushion with 5 mins left is enough insurance already.


Final Score: Rice - 92, Southern Methodist - 66


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 40, 3, 0, 4 stls, 8-12 3PT (*)
Harper 11, 5, 0, 2 blks
Brown 8, 7, 1
McFadden 7, 4, 1
Evans 5, 2, 5, 3 tos
Tiggs 4, 5, 0
Piatowski 4, 1, 0
Barker 4, 0, 1
Fountain 3, 4, 0
Johnson 3, 0, 1
Young 2, 1, 0
Phillips 1, 1, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 51-43%
REB: +9
TO: -5
Pts in paint: +8
2nd chance: +4
Fast break: +10
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 17-0 (W17)
2. Memphis, 12-5 (W4)
3. Central Florida, 10-7 (L2)
4. Houston, 10-7 (W2)
5. Marshall, 10-7 (W1)
6. East Carolina, 9-8 (L1)
7. Southern Methodist, 7-10 (L3)
8. Southern Miss, 7-10 (L6)
9. Texas-El Paso, 6-11 (W1)
10. Tulsa 5-12 (W1)
11. Tulane, 5-12 (L1)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 4-13 (L1)

[randy]

Feb 24, 2011: Southern Miss (10-16, 7-10) @ #2 Rice (29-0, 17-0)


Tip off

We decided to rest out SG David Williams after playing only a few minutes. It didn't matter as our ability to put pts on the board remains the same. We controlled the game with our defense, and got a lot of pts on transition (22). SF Ross Brown the leading scorer with 13 pts


Halftime, Up 45-26


Start of 2nd half

Last year, we squandered a 22 pt lead and allowed SMISS to come back and even tie the game. We escaped that game with a win in the endgame. No such meltdown today though, despite limiting the minutes of our key players


Final Score: Southern Miss - 60, Rice - 78


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 24, 6, 1
Harper 12, 9, 0, 3 blks
McFadden 9, 7, 1
Tiggs 6, 6, 1
Fountain 6, 3, 0, 3 tos
Johnson 6, 0, 2
Evans 5, 6, 4
Piatowski 4, 5, 0
Young 3, 1, 1
Williams 2, 0, 0
Phillips 1, 1, 0
Barker 0, 0, 4
Richard 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 43-43%
REB: +23 (+14 off)
TO: -2
Pts in paint: +28
2nd chance: +22 (25-3)
Fast break: +24 (30-6)
[/INDENT]


CUSA Final Standings

1. Rice, 18-0 (W18)
2. Memphis, 13-5 (W5)
3. Central Florida, 11-7 (W1)
4. Houston, 10-8 (L1)
5. Marshall, 10-8 (L1)
6. East Carolina, 10-8 (W1)
7. Southern Methodist, 7-11 (L4)
8. Southern Miss, 7-11 (L7)
9. Texas-El Paso, 7-11 (W2)
10. Tulsa 6-12 (W2)
11. Tulane, 5-13 (L2)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 4-14 (L2)

[randy]

Mar 7, 2011: (9) Texas-El Paso (13-15, 7-11) vs (1) #1 Rice (30-0, 18-0)


Tip off

Up 18-0, on the heels of SG David Williams 3 early triples. Williams put up a shooting clinic during the 1st half, finishing with 26 pts, 8-12 3PT


Halftime, Up 58-27


Start of 2nd half

I pulled out my entire starting unit with 14 mins remaining, leading by 41. Another "platoon" substitution happened later for practically our 3rd unit, including the 2 walk ons. UTEP shaved 25 pts of our lead, to make the final score more respectable for them


Final Score: Texas-El Paso - 62, Rice - 78


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 31, 3, 1, 2 stls, 9-16 3PT (*)
Brown 8, 8, 0
Piatowski 8, 3, 1
McFadden 7, 5, 0
Tiggs 5, 3, 1
Fast 5, 1, 0
Harper 4, 8, 0, 2 stls, 3 blks
Fountain 4, 6, 0
Evans 4, 1, 5, 3 tos
Young 2, 1, 0
Phillips 0, 5, 0
Barker 0, 0, 5
Johnson 0, 0, 1
Richard 0, 0, 0
Boone 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 42-44%
REB: +18 (+11 off)
TO: -1
Pts in paint: +8
2nd chance: +9
Fast break: +10
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Mar 8, 2011: (5) Marshall (19-12, 10-8) vs (1) #1 Rice (31-0, 18-0)


Tip off

MARS was shooting reasonably well at the start of the game and keep the score close. Until SG David Williams got off to a scoring rampage, finishing the 1st half with 20 pts (6 3s). Those long bombs by Williams not only shifted momentum to our favor, but it has a way of destroying morale of the opposing teams. MARS shooting dropped to 27% FG


Halftime, Up 40-18


Start of 2nd half

Our starters got plenty of rest in the 2nd half. After previous years of close and tough games against MARS, we had 3 blowout wins over them this season.


Final Score: Marshall - 50, Rice - 75


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 25, 3, 0, 2 stls, 7-14 3PT (*)
McFadden 12, 4, 2
Harper 7, 9, 1, 2 blks
Tiggs 6, 6, 1
Piatowski 6, 4, 0
Brown 5, 2, 1, 3 tos
Phillips 4, 2, 0
Fountain 2, 6, 1
Fast 2, 2, 1
Barker 2, 0, 4
Evans 2, 0, 3
Richard 2, 0, 0
Young 0, 0, 2
Johnson 0, 0, 0
Boone 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 48-38%
REB: +13
TO: -5
Pts in paint: +16
2nd chance: +5
Fast break: +5
[/INDENT]