Finding ways to win

[randy]

Feb 16, 2012: #3 Rice (26-0, 15-0)@ Marshall (17-7, 10-5)


Tip off

MARS with a good start, 6-7 FG, and we got down early 2-12. MARS doing a better job in controlling the slow pace of the game. We climbed back slowly, by playing good defense, and finally got the leat 17-16 with 7 mins remaining. There were at least 6 lead canges after that. MARS giving us a hard time once again. Both teams not good in handling the ball; MARS with 11 turn overs, while we had 9.


Halftime, Up 28-25


Start of 2nd half

We went exclusively m2m on defense, hoping it might force MARS to play a little faster. It did somehow, but MARS able to score enough pts and not allowing us to establish a big lead.
12:56, Up 41-36

The lead hasn't moved that much
5:54, Up 52-47

We made back-to-back turn overs, and just got into penalty. MARS 2 FTs puts them to within 3. Timeout
3:29, Up 56-53

PG Brent Evans has 6 turn overs. I just replaced him with PG Jovan Barker who has 4 errors. Barker made 2 consecutive turn overs, and MARS scored both time in transition. We're now down. Another timeout. I will put in 3rd string PG Hayletts Johnson
2:52, Down 56-57

RICE: SG David Williams missed a 3
MARS: Bad pass. Both teams with 20 turn overs
RICE: Williams from the same spot earlier. This time he drains the 3! Williams with 27 pts, 7 3s
1:57, Up 59-57

MARS: Foul on SF Andre McFadden. 1-and-1 for MARS. They hit both
1:41, Tied at 59

RICE: Bad pass by Williams. Turn over #21 for us
MARS: Shot missed. Timeout
0:53, Tied at 59

RICE: Williams from thetop of the key. Williams hesitates. Passed the ball to PG Hayletts Johnson. Johnson drives. Missed. Loose ball, belongs to MARS
MARS: SF Andre McFadden gets a block. But MARS recovers the ball. We almost got a steal. Ball still with MARS. They reset their play. Foul called on C Scott Fountain. 1-and-1 for MARS' C Treva Mouton who is currently 1-2 FT today. Mouton splits. I call my last timeout
0:15, Down 59-60

Williams missed his jumper. We tried the foul, but MARS able to waste some clock, and even made a 3 at the buzzer.

65 game winning streak is over. It's been almost 23 months we last tasted defeat. Oh well, it has to end sometime; I would rather have it ended today, than during the tournament. In 6 seasons that I have been with Rice, this is the 7th time we lost to MARS.

SF Tim Mason is injured, and will most likely to come back before conference tournament starts


Final Score: Rice - 59, Marshall - 63


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 27, 4, 1, 5 stls, 7 3s (*)
Piatowski 8, 4, 0
McFadden 8, 1, 1, 2 stls, 2 blks
Fountain 6, 4, 1
Phillips 6, 2, 0
Mason 2, 2, 0, 3 stls, 3 tos
Barker 2, 1, 3, 6 tos
Brown 0, 2, 1
johnson 0, 0, 3
Evans 0, 0, 1, 5 tos
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 47-52%
REB: -3
TO: +1
Pts in paint: -8
2nd chance: +2
Fast break: +3
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 15-1 (L1)
2. Marshall, 11-5 (W3)
3. Memphis, 10-6 (W2)
4. Southern Miss, 9-7 (L1)
5. Tulane, 9-7 (L2)
6. Houston, 8-8 (W3)
7. Central Florida, 8-8 (W1)
8. East Carolina, 8-8 (L3)
9. Texas-El Paso, 6-10 (W1)
10. Tulsa, 6-10 (L2)
11. Southern Methodist, 4-12 (L1)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 2-14 (W1)

[randy]

Feb 19, 2012: #6 Toledo (22-6, 13-1) vs #3 Rice (26-1, 15-1)


Tip off

The thing about win streaks is that the longer they get, the more added pressure it brings to the team. This must be what we have felt lately prior to our last game (a loss to MARS, snapping our 65-game win streak).

Now that the streak is over, the players we're very loose, have more confidence in their shots, and better ball movement (only 5 turn overs). We limited TOL to 39% FG.


Halftime, Up 46-30


Start of 2nd half

Lead was 20 midway in the 2nd half. SG David Williams, who took only 7 shots in the 1st half, demanded the ball more during the 2nd half. We got surprise performance off the bench from PG Hayletts Johnson and PF Tony Brown. Williams sat out the last 7 mins of the game


Final Score: Toledo - 63, Rice - 81


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 32, 1, 0, 2 stls, 4 tos 7 3s (*)
Piatowski 12, 2, 1, 2 stls
McFadden 7, 9, 2
Fountain 7, 7, 1
Brown 7, 4, 1
johnson 7, 0, 3
Evans 6, 4, 4
Young 3, 1, 1
Barker 0, 3, 3
Phillips 0, 3, 1
Thomas 0, 1, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 46-37%
REB: +1
TO: -5
Pts in paint: +6
2nd chance: -3
Fast break: +4
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 15-1 (L1)
2. Marshall, 11-5 (W3)
3. Memphis, 10-6 (W2)
4. Southern Miss, 9-7 (L1)
5. Tulane, 9-7 (L2)
6. Houston, 8-8 (W3)
7. Central Florida, 8-8 (W1)
8. East Carolina, 8-8 (L3)
9. Texas-El Paso, 6-10 (W1)
10. Tulsa, 6-10 (L2)
11. Southern Methodist, 4-12 (L1)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 2-14 (W1)

[randy]

Feb 20, 2012: Southern Methodist (8-17, 4-12) @ #3 Rice (27-1, 15-1)


Tip off

Very good ball movement on our offense, resulting in lots of open looks (64% FG). SG David Williams with 15 pts. The surprise contributions came from PG Jovan Barker and SG JimmyYoung, who combined for 13 pts off the bench.


Halftime, Up 47-22


Start of 2nd half

It was a shootout in the beginning of the 2nd half, which means SMU didn't made any progress in cutting our lead. SG David Williams scored 17 pts in less than 10 minutes, for a game-high 32 pts. Early rest for Williams and the rest of our key players.


Final Score: Southern Methodist - 47, Rice - 83


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 32, 1, 1, 4 stls, 8 3s (*)
Barker 14, 0, 2
McFadden 10, 0, 1
Young 8, 2, 1, 2 stls, 3 tos
Fountain 7, 9, 0
Evans 4, 2, 6
Piatowski 4, 2, 1, 2 stls
Phillips 2, 4, 1, 2 stls
Brown 2, 2, 0
Thomas 0, 2, 1
Richard 0, 2, 0
Johnson 0, 1, 3
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 54-40%
REB: -1
TO: -13 (SMU: 23)
Pts in paint: +22
2nd chance: Even
Fast break: +12
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 16-1 (W1)
2. Marshall, 12-5 (W4)
3. Memphis, 11-6 (W3)
4. Houston, 9-8 (W4)
5. Southern Miss, 9-8 (L2)
6. Tulane, 9-8 (L3)
7. Central Florida, 8-9 (L1)
8. East Carolina, 8-9 (L4)
9. Tulsa, 7-10 (W1)
10. Texas-El Paso, 6-11 (L1)
11. Southern Methodist, 4-13 (L2)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-14 (W2)

[randy]

Feb 23, 2012: #3 Rice (28-1, 16-1) @ Southern Miss (16-11, 9-8)


Tip off

SMISS showing their athleticism early in the game. Score was tied at 12, before we went on a 14-0 run. Despite the big lead, I pointed to the team during half time that SMISS 10 offensive rebounds, and it's something that we must correct. SG David Williams with 21 pts (4 3s)


Halftime, Up 44-25


Start of 2nd half

Bench played majority of the 2nd half, including our 2 walk ons seeing action for the 1st time this season. We led by as many as 27. 2 years ago in this same building, we were enjoying a 29 pt lead, and all of a sudden SMISS had a big rally to tie the game (we won that game in the end). Almost a deja vu in this game, as SMISS able to cut our lead to 13 with 4 mins remaining. But not quite, as we connected on 2 triples after that


Final Score: Rice - 81, Southern Miss - 65


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 31, 6, 3, 2 stls, 6 3s (*)
Fountain 8, 7, 0
Phillips 8, 7, 0
Brown 7, 1, 0
Thomas 5, 3, 1
McFadden 4, 5, 0
Evans 4, 4, 5
Barker 4, 2, 3
Piatowski 3, 2, 0, 3 blks
Johnson 3, 1, 4
Richard 3, 1, 0
Young 1, 1, 1
Platts 0, 1, 0
Jones 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 41-37%
REB: Even
TO: -5
Pts in paint: +14
2nd chance: +3
Fast break: +9
[/INDENT]


CUSA Final Standings

1. Rice, 17-1 (W2)
2. Memphis, 12-6 (W4)
3. Marshall, 12-6 (L1)
4. Houston, 10-8 (W5)
5. Southern Miss, 9-9 (L3)
6. Tulane, 9-9 (L4)
7. Central Florida, 9-9 (W1)
8. East Carolina, 8-10 (L5)
9. Tulsa, 7-11 (L1)
10. Texas-El Paso, 6-12 (L2)
11. Southern Methodist, 5-13 (W1)
12. Alabama-Birmingham, 4-14 (W3)

[randy]

Mar 7, 2012: (8) East Carolina (14-14, 8-10) vs (1) #2 Rice (29-1, 17-1)


Tip off

ECAR's 1-15 FG start allowed us to jump ahead, 24-4. We got sloppy for a moment, and our lead was cut to 14. But a strong finish gave us a comfortable elad at the break. SG David Williams with 21 pts, 3 stls.


Halftime, Up 49-24


Start of 2nd half

We are slowly giving away our lead because of our turn overs. Lead was down to 12 with 11 mins to go. We got it back up to 16 on SG David Williams' consecutive steals and layups. But ECAR showing more tenacity in grabbing offensive rebounds, clawed their way back, and their last 3 puts them within single digits of our lead. I had to call a timeout
5:44, Up 60-52

We made a series of good stops, and come up with a small 10-2 run. Up 16 with 2:30 left. We slowed down the game and hang on.


Final Score: East Carolina - 57, Rice - 77


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 39, 6, 1, 6 stls, 3 tos, 9 3s (*)
McFadden 17, 6, 0, 3 tos
Piatowski 9, 6, 0
Phillips 4, 6, 0, 2 blks
Mason 3, 3, 1
Evans 3, 1, 4
Fountain 2, 9, 1
Barker 0, 4, 3 tos
Brown 0, 2, 0
Thomas 0, 0, 0
Johnson 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 44-33%
REB: +5
TO: -2
Pts in paint: +8
2nd chance: +4
Fast break: +5
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Mar 8, 2012: (4) East Carolina (16-12, 10-8) vs (1) #2 Rice (30-1, 17-1)


Tip off

Got up to an early 17-0 lead. HOU shot 37% FG alon with 9 turn overs. SG David Williams with 14 pts, and SF Tim Mason adding 10 pts off the bench.


Halftime, Up 39-26


Start of 2nd half

HOU's defense tightened up at the start of the 2nd half, and they were able to cut our lead down to 7. Two consecutive inside baskets by C Scott Fountain started a 9-0 run to bring our lead back up to 16. We were able to maintain a safe distance from HOU the rest of the game, partly because of our running game (22 fast break pts)


Final Score: Houston - 55, Rice - 74


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 23, 8, 3, 3 stls, 4 tos, 5 3s (*)
Mason 17, 6, 3, 3 stls
Fountain 10, 9, 0, 2 stls, 2 blks
Piatowski 6, 2, 1
McFadden 5, 3, 2, 2 stls
Evans 5, 3, 2, 4 tos
Phillips 4, 5, 0
Brown 2, 2, 0
Barker 2, 1, 2, 4 tos
Johnson 0, 1, 2
Young 0, 0, 0
Thomas 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 42-40%
REB: +10 (+9 off)
TO: -5 (HOU: 22)
Pts in paint: +6
2nd chance: +8
Fast break: +8
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Mar 9, 2012: (3) Marshall (22-8, 12-6) vs (1) #2 Rice (31-1, 17-1)


Tip off

Our lone defeat this season was against MARS

We started out well, controlling the tempo and forcing turn overs on the side of MARS. We were leading 28-14, and then disaster happened. It was our turn to throws the ball away, and we couldn't defend on transition. MARS unleashed a 24-2 run to finish the 1st half. We were being beaten on our own game, with MARS having 15 fast break pts in the 1st half


Halftime, Down 30-38


Start of 2nd half

It has to start on the defensive end, and that's what we did, forcing MARS to 4 early turn overs in the 2nd half. The last 3 by SG David Williams capped a 12-2 run that got us ahead
15:26, Up 42-40

MARS with 12 2nd half turn overs, but we're not able to take advantage because of our poor shooting. The rest of the team outside of SG David Williams has only shot 12-35 FG. We are also in the penalty
6:58, Down 51-52

Teams traded baskets. We reclaim the lead after C Scott Fountain scored inside; Fountain just his 2nd FG, 4 pts. After another turn over by MARS, SG David Williams connects on a 3; Williams with 27 pts, 7 3s.
4:20, Up 58-54

Both teams had a series of unproductive possessions, before MARS scored a FG to cut our lead to 2. SG David Williams answered back with his 8th triple of the game. Up 5. MARS scored again on their next possession. Timeout
1:55, Up 61-58

RICE: Williams missed a 3. C Scott Fountain got fouled on his offensive rebound put back. Fountain splits.
1:41, Up 62-58

MARS: SF McFadden gets a steal on MARS' back court
RICE: Fountain has the ball again on the low post. Fountain spins, and scores!
1:20, Up 64-58

We get a block and recovered the ball. I signaled instructions to slow down. MARS opting to give up fouls. We were steady at the line during the last minute of the game, 7-8 FT, to hold on. As always, MARS gave us a tough time.

5 consecutive CUSA Tournament Champs!


Final Score: Marshall - 63, Rice - 71


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 31, 3, 3, 6 stls, 4 tos, 8 3s (*)
McFadden 12, 5, 0, 2 stls, 2 blks
Fountain 7, 6, 1
Mason 7, 4, 1, 2 stls, 3 tos
Evans 6, 1, 7, 4 tos
Piatowski 4, 3, 0
Phillips 2, 1, 1, 2 stls
Barker 2, 0, 2, 3 tos
Brown 0, 6, 0
Johnson 0, 0, 1
Thomas 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 43-50%
REB: Even
TO: -7 (MARS: 23)
Pts in paint: -4
2nd chance: -2
Fast break: -11
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Our RPI is 1, and ranked #1

We're in the East Regionals (Greensboro)
#1 and #2 ranked teams in the same regionals?!


1st round matchup:
(1) Rice vs (16) Missouri St

Teams in the East Regionals

• (1) #1 Rice, 1 Natl Title, 1 Final Four
• (2) #2 St John's, 6 Final Fours
• (3) #20 Michigan St, 1 Natl Title, 6 Final Fours
• (4) #12 Georgia Tech, 3 Natl Titles, 13 Final Fours
• (5) #16 Southern Illinois, 4 Final Fours
• (6) Auburn, 2 Final Fours
• (7) #25 Marshall, 2 Final Fours
• (8) Brigham Young, 1 Natl Title, 2 Final Fours
• (9) New Mexico, 1 Natl Title, 10 Final Fours
• (10) UCLA, 3 Final Fours
• (11) Ohio St
• (12) Buffalo
• (13) Nicholls St, 1 Final Four
• (14) Murray St
• (15) Western Kentucky
• (16) Missouri St

Other Ranked Teams

Midwest

• (1) #3 Oklahoma St
• (2) #14 LSU
• (3) #9 Oklahoma
• (4) #13 North Carolina St
• (5) #19 Stanford
• (5) #15 Toledo
• (7) #23 Memphis

South

• (1) #4 Pittsburgh
• (2) #8 Minnesota
• (3) #17 Indiana
• (4) #18 Massachusetts
• (5) #10 Xavier

West

• (1) #5 Iowa
• (2) #6 Arizona
• (3) #7 Gonzaga
• (4) #21 Maryland
• (5) #11 UNLV
• (6) #24 Butler

On Probation

• #22 Kansas St

[randy]

Mar 16, 2012: (16) Missouri St (15-17, 5-11) vs (1) #1 Rice (32-1, 17-1)

Pregame Notes

• Key Players
  
  1. Sr SG Dan Dorsett (13.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
  2. Jr C Dave Fuller (12.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
• How they got here
  
  1. Finished 11th MVC; Champion MVC Tournament
  2. (Play In) Def Fresno, 83-72 (Dorsett 17 pts, 6 rebs)
• Strengths
  
  1. Offense: 81.6 ppg in their current 5-game win streak (MVC tournament + NCAA play in)
• Weaknesses
  
  1. Defense: 72.7 opp ppg (#326 Nat'l)
• Strategies
  
  1. MOST not a good defensive team, but they have the capability put a lot of pts on the board. We need to watch out

Tip off

Got off to a good start defensively, and led 24-3. MOST shot decently afterwards, but we are finding it easy to score against their defense. We shot 58% FG, and have 3 players already in double figures


Halftime, Up 55-22


Start of 2nd half

The starting unit didn't played in the 2nd half. Tougher games ahead


Final Score: Missouri St - 46, Rice - 101


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 18, 1, 1, 4 stls, 4 3s (*)
Mason 16, 4, 2, 2 stls
McFadden 13, 0, 1
Barker 9, 3, 3
Richard 9, 1, 1, 3 3s
Fountain 8, 9, 0
Brown 6, 5, 2, 2 stls
Young 6, 2, 1
Phillips 4, 7, 0
Piatowski 4, 6, 1
Thomas 4, 1, 0
Johnson 2, 2, 2
Platts 2, 0, 0
Jones 0, 3, 0
Evans 0, 0, 6
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 57-33%
REB: +19 (+6 off)
TO: -10
Pts in paint: +36
2nd chance: +2
Fast break: +14
[/INDENT]

[randy]

Mar 18, 2012: (9) New Mexico (19-12, 9-7) vs (1) #1 Rice (33-1, 17-1)

Pregame Notes

• Key Players
  
  1. Sr SG Rayford Mosley (19.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg)
  2. Jr C Cary Hawkins (7.6 ppg, 7.3 rpg)
• How they got here
  
  1. Finished 4th WCC; Champion WCC Tournament
  2. (Rd 64) Def Brigham Young, 71-63 (Mosley 18 pts, 5 rebs)
• Strengths
  
  1. Fast tempo: 72.1 tempo
• Weaknesses
  
  1. Shooting: 39.8% FG (#348), 28.6% 3PT (#341)
• Strategies
  
  1. We'll mix in zone defenses, and test them to shoot from the outside. NM had 22 fast break pts in their last win (vs BYU), so we want to limit their opportunities to run

Tip off

Surprising turn of events, as NM are on fire just about from everywhere on the court. Part of the reason why they got themselves a big lead is because of their rebounding advantage, 15 to 4 right now. We are in a deep hole right now
10:07, Down 12-28

We switched to m2m exclusively. Max out on pressure defense. Got down by as many as 20. And then our defense noticeably improving, but offense is still cold, shooting just 35% FG, 3-14 3PT. On the other hand, NM has been surprisingly hot from the outside, 7-14 3PT in the 1st half.


Halftime, Down 29-42
Still has lots of work to do if we want to turn this game around


Start of 2nd half

Our shots still not falling. 3-19 3PT. SG David Williams just 4-21 FG. We have 4 team fouls
15:15, Down 33-46

We just need to be patient. Following an inside basket by C Brent Phillipsm we got a rare 3 from PG Brent Evans. SG David Williams getting a steal an easy 2; hopefully that will keep him going. 7-0 run. Down by just 6
14:17, Down 40-46

After NM scored a basket, PG Brent Evans hits another 3. Later on, SG David Williams gets a 3 also. We're back in this game, but its still a long way to go
12:53, Down 46-48

We missed at least 5 chances to retake the lead. And finally, SF Andre McFadden's last drive put us in the driver's seat
7:02, Up 55-54

We scored 4 more pts to lead by 5. But NM not yet done, as they came up with an 8-0 run. Timeout
3:01, Down 59-62

A big 3 by SG David Williams to tie the game! SF Andre McFadden a block on the other end. We recover the ball. Williams has the ball again. Williams is feeling it. Puts up another 3. Williams's shot hits nothing but the bottom of the net!
2:20, Up 65-62

NM missing a 3. After shooting 7-14 3PT in the 1st half, NM is just 1-9 3PT in the 2nd half. But we turn the ball over. NM gets 2 pts on transition. Damn! Timeout.
1:24, Up 65-64

Williams from top of the arc. Missed this time. Timeout NM
0:57, Up 65-64

NM's Rayford gets a tough shot to go in, despite a double team. Mosley has played well today, 18 pts. Timeout
0:43, Down 65-66

SF Andre McFadden drives. Travelling! 0:34 left. Let's see if we can get a steal. We're not fouling yet. NM puts up an early shot. Miss. We get the rebound. Final timeout.
0:19, Down 65-66

We waited. SG David Williams puts up a 3 for the win. Missed. NM rebounds. We can't catch them to give up a foul. Game over! We rallied from 20 pts down. Almost pulled it off, but fell short. Reign as defending champs now over. Speculations now begin if this was my last game at Rice.


Final Score: New Mexico - 66, Rice - 65


Box Scores
[INDENT]Williams 24, 6, 4, 5 stls, 6 3s
McFadden 12, 5, 1, 2 blks, 3 tos
Evans 9, 2, 5
Phillips 8, 3, 0
Fountain 6, 8, 0
Piatowski 2, 6, 0
Thomas 2, 1, 0
Barker 2, 0, 1, 4 tos
Mason 0, 1, 3, 2 stls
Brown 0, 1, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 36-40%
REB: -7
TO: -7
Pts in paint: +6
2nd chance: -1
Fast break: +2
[/INDENT]