Finding ways to win

[randy]

Jan 27, 2009: #23 Rice (16-4, 8-1) @ East Carolina (6-12)


Tip off

We get C Curtis Harper back, after missing the last 3 games, and 5 of our last 6. Decent return game by Harper finishing the 1st half with 7 pts, 3 stls despite picking up 2 quick fouls early. SF Ross Brown was consistent right from the start, leading all scorers with 15 pts. But it was the surprising performance of backup C Scott Fountain (who also played well in our last game) which tilted the game in our favor, coming up with 12 pts on 5-6 FG.


Halftime, Up 48-29


Start of 2nd half

Just like in the 1st half, SF Ross Brown took over our offense at the start of the 2nd. SG Jon Betts hit a couple of 3s, and we quickly increased our lead to 24. ECAR had a mild rally, reducing their deficit to 16 with 7 mins left, but our next 10-2 run was enough to put the results of this game beyond doubt, and let our bench warmers finish the game for us


Final Score: Rice - 86, East Carolina - 68


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 27, 5, 1, 3 blks (*)
Fountain 16, 8, 1, 7-9 FG
Harper 9, 5, 2, 3 stls, fouled out
Betts 9, 1, 3, 3-4 3PT
Lewis 8, 5, 0
McFadden 6, 2, 2, 3 tos
Tiggs 5, 3, 0
Piatowski 2, 2, 0
Evans 2, 1, 3, 3 tos
Ramsey 2, 0, 0
Barker 0, 2, 6, 3 tos
Mason 0, 1, 0
Young 0, 0, 3
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 54-46%
REB: +10
TO: +2
Pts in paint: +16
2nd chance: Even
Fast break: Even
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Jan 31, 2009: #21 Rice (17-4, 9-1) @ Central Florida (13-6, 7-3)


Tip off

We made 8 of our 1st 11 shots. Our shooting cooled off towards the end, but we still managed to shoot 53% the entire 1st half. SF Ross Brown leads all scorers with 15 pts. UCF's 15-19 FT output comprised almost half of their offense, as we limited them to shoot just 33% FG.


Halftime, Up 49-33


Start of 2nd half

We got off to a 7-0 run to start the 2nd half, and our lead ballooned to 23. We were still shooting more than 53% FG halfway into the 2nd half, and UCF had no answer to match our offense. Our bench even managed to increase the lead to 35, until UCF had a good shooting exhibition the last 2 mins. A rather surprising blowout, as UCF is one of the surprises in the conference this season


Final Score: Rice - 94, Central Florida - 70
C Curtis Harper still struggling 2 games after his return from injury, but I am pleased that we have a lot more players now contributing on offense as compared to the start of the season. SF Ross Brown is averaging 24 ppg the last 3 games


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 26, 7, 1, 2 stls (*)
Lewis 12, 6, 1, 2 stls, 2 blks
Piatowski 12, 5, 0
Fountain 12, 3, 0
McFadden 9, 1, 4
Betts 6, 4, 2
Harper 6, 3, 0
Evans 3, 2, 6, fouled out
Barker 2, 1, 6
Young 2, 1, 1
Tiggs 2, 0, 0
Mason 2, 0, 0
Ramsey 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 55-41%
REB: +6
TO: -7
Pts in paint: +20
2nd chance: +5
Fast break: +6
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 10-1 (W6)
2. Memphis, 8-3 (W3)
3. Central Florida, 7-4 (L2)
4. Tulsa 7-4 (W4)
5. Houston, 6-5 (W1)
6. Marshall, 6-5 (L1)
7. Tulane, 5-6 (L2)
8. Southern Miss, 4-7 (L1)
9. Southern Methodist, 4-7 (W2)
10. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-8 (L4)
11. Texas-El Paso, 3-8 (W1)
12. East Carolina, 3-8 (L2)

[randy]

Feb 3, 2009: Tulsa (8-12, 7-4) @ #21 Rice (18-4, 10-1)


Tip off

TULSA trying to speed up the game, which has somehow backfired on them as we were able to take advantage of our deeper bench, led by SF Andre McFadden with 11 pts. SF Ross Brown also had 11, and C Curtis Harper beginning to get more involved on offense finishing the 1st half with 10 pts.


Halftime, Up 52-32


Start of 2nd half

TULSA tried to quickly shoot their way back into the game. But their poor defense meant they were simply trading pts with us. We eventually made some stops, and C Curtis Harper took over, scoring 16 of his 26 pts in just over 8 mins of the 2nd half. I took out my starters when we led by as high as 29.


Final Score: Tulsa - 77, Rice - 89


Box Scores
[INDENT]Harper 26, 6, 0, 3 blks, 12-13 FG (*)
Brown 20, 5, 2, 2 stls
McFadden 15, 4, 2
Barker 9, 0, 5, 3 tos
Lewis 8, 6, 1, 2 stls
Fountain 4, 2, 0
Betts 3, 2, 5
Tiggs 2, 4, 0
Piatowski 2, 2, 0
Ramsey 0, 1, 1
Evans 0, 0, 2
Young 0, 0, 2
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 53-51%
REB: +4
TO: -8
Pts in paint: +40
2nd chance: +8
Fast break: +7
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 11-1 (W7)
2. Memphis, 9-3 (W4)
3. Central Florida, 7-5 (L3)
4. Houston, 7-5 (W2)
5. Tulsa 7-5 (L1)
6. Tulane, 6-6 (W1)
7. Marshall, 6-6 (L2)
8. Southern Miss, 5-7 (W1)
9. Southern Methodist, 5-7 (W3)
10. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-9 (L5)
11. Texas-El Paso, 3-9 (L1)
12. East Carolina, 3-9 (L3)

[randy]

Feb 7, 2009: Alabama-Birmingham (6-15, 3-9) @ #17 Rice (19-4, 11-1)


Tip off

A sub-par offensive performance in the 1st half. We have scored just 16 pts with less than 5 mins left, as we're shooting poorly not just from the field, but also from the line (we missed 8 FTs already). A somehow decent finish got us a bit closer, but we definitely need to improve in the 2nd half in order to prevent an upset loss.


Halftime, Down 29-32


Start of 2nd half


We scored on 9 of our 1st 10 possessions in the 2nd half for a quick 19-2 run, and took control of the game. UAB had 2 straight baskets to stop their drought
13:52, Up 48-38

Our 2nd unit did enough damage to prevent UAB from getting closer, and even increased our lead.
7:04, Up 59-42

Some careless plays cut our lead to 12. We responded with an 8-0 run, and put our lead up to 20 with 4 mins. We coasted along since then. A strong 2nd half, saw us outscored UAB 46-23.


Final Score: Alabama-Birmingham - 55, Rice - 75


Box Scores
[INDENT]Harper 16, 5, 2, 3 stls, 3 blks (*)
Brown 15, 8, 1, 2 stls, 2 blks
Betts 11, 2, 2
Lewis 8, 13, 1, 2 blks
Tiggs 7, 2, 0
Piatowski 6, 1, 1
Evans 5, 1, 5
Barker 3, 0, 2, 2 stls
McFadden 2, 2, 0
Fountain 2, 2, 0
Young 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 48-32%
REB: +2
TO: -7
Pts in paint: +18
2nd chance: -4
Fast break: +4
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 12-1 (W8)
2. Memphis, 9-4 (L1)
3. Central Florida, 8-5 (W1)
4. Houston, 8-5 (W3)
5. Tulsa 7-6 (L2)
6. Tulane, 7-6 (W2)
7. Marshall, 7-6 (W1)
8. Southern Miss, 6-7 (W2)
9. Southern Methodist, 5-8 (L1)
10. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-10 (L6)
11. Texas-El Paso, 3-10 (L2)
12. East Carolina, 3-10 (L4)

[randy]

Feb 10, 2009: #17 Rice (20-4, 12-1) @ Texas-El Paso (5-17, 3-10)


Tip off

UTEP was in the lead most of the 1st half, as they were consistently hitting their perimeter shots, including 7 from beyond the arc. We patiently kept the score close, with C Richie Lewis (12 pts, 5-6 FG) successful with his inside moves. We got our 1st taste of the lead at 28-26, but our poor rebounding performance has kept us from extending the lead


Halftime, Down 37-38
Defending UTEP's outside shooters is definitely a concern, but a bigger issue that we need to address to do a better job on the defensive glass; UTEP already with 8 offensive rebounds


Start of 2nd half


We made some improvements on defense. But our guards have turned the ball over quite often today
13:07, Up 48-47

Both teams with 18 turn overs each. SF Ross Brown hit consecutive 3s to keep ourselves in the lead. We're in the penalty
7:38, Up 59-55

Backup PF Sam Piatkowski scored our last 6 pts to give an 8 pt lead. UTEP hits another 3, their 9th of the game.
5:18, Up 65-60

We had a mini 5-0 run to lead by 10, and looking ready to pull away. UTEP not giving, as they hit another 3. SF Ross Brown answered back with FG, but UTEP following it up with another 3. Timeout
1:34, Up 72-66

C Curtis Harper got the ball down low, and delivered. Up 9. UTEP commits their 22nd turn over of the game. UTEP went to intentional fouling the rest of the game, and made some FTs to close out the game.


Final Score: Rice - 82, Rice - 70
Because of the poor play of our 2 freshmen PGs, walk on PG Brad Hahn played the last 15 mins of the game and did not commit a single turn over


Box Scores
[INDENT]Harper 18, 9, 1, 3 blks, 6-7 FG (*)
Brown 16, 2, 1, 3 stls, 3 blks
Lewis 15, 7, 1, 3 blks, 7-10 FG
Piatowski 8, 4, 0
Betts 8, 2, 4, 5 tos
Hahn 7, 2, 2
Evans 4, 1, 1, 5 tos
Fountain 4, 1, 0
Tiggs 2, 1, 0
McFadden 0, 2, 0
Barker 0, 1, 4, 3 tos
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 54-39%
REB: +1
TO: -4 (UTEP: 22)
Pts in paint: +30
2nd chance: +17
Fast break: +10
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 13-1 (W9)
2. Memphis, 10-4 (W1)
3. Houston, 9-5 (W4)
4. Tulane, 8-6 (W3)
5. Central Florida, 8-6 (L1)
6. Tulsa 8-6 (W1)
7. Marshall, 7-7 (L1)
8. Southern Miss, 6-8 (L1)
9. Southern Methodist, 6-8 (W1)
10. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-11 (L7)
11. Texas-El Paso, 3-11 (L3)
12. East Carolina, 3-11 (L5)

[randy]

Feb 14, 2009: #14 Rice (21-4, 13-1) @ Tulane (13-10, 8-6)


Tip off

TUL's SG Alvin Ware, who last season averaged almost 26 ppg, was on fire in the 1st half with 16 pts, 4-6 3PT. Our rotation was shortened as starting PG Brent Evans got injured early in the game, and C Curtis Harper picking up 3 quick fouls.


Halftime, Tied at 36
We're defending well against the rest of the TUL squad, but we need to figure out a way to stop SG Alvin Ware. Also, we need to limit our turn overs (11 in the 1st half)


Start of 2nd half


Even after assigning a taller defender in SF Ross Brown, TUL's SG Alvin Ware still managed to score 11 of their 1st 13 pts in the 2nd half; Ware already with a game-high 27 pts.
13:35, Down 43-49

We went down by 11, as TUL's SG Alvin Ware hits his 8th triple of the game. We woke up for a short while, coming up with a 10-2 run to stop TUL's momentum, and get ourselves back in the game. We wasted a chance to cut our deficit to just 1. TUL's backup PG Eric Totten then hit a 3. We turned teh ball over for the 15th time in the game, and Totten made us pay with another 3. Timeout
7:39, Down 55-62

More turn over woes for us. We even missed a layup in transition. C Richie Lewis missing 3 straight FT. I got feeling its not our day today. Still down by 12 with just over 3 mins remaining. SF Ross Brown gets a basket. After making a stop, SG Ron Betts drains a 3. We still have one last push.
2:16, Down 62-69

TUL hits 2 FTs. We miss our next shot. We have no choice but to hoist 3s on succeeding plays. After we got the ball back, walk on PG Brad Hahn hits a 3. TUL missed, but they effectively burned up a lot of time. Timeout
0:35, Down 65-71

We missed our next attempt at 3. TUL sealed the game with FTs. We had no answer against SG Alvin Ware and the rest of TUL's shooters today


Final Score: Rice - 65, Tulane - 74
PG Brent Evans will be out for a week. We still need to win 1 more game (out of our next 3) to secure top seed in the CUSA tournament


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 16, 3, 0
Lewis 11, 6, 2, 2 stls, 4 blks
Betts 10, 3, 1
Harper 9, 4, 0
Hahn 7, 1, 5, 3 tos
Fountain 3, 5, 0, 2 stls
Piatowski 3, 0, 0
Barker 2, 3, 3, 4 tos
Tiggs 2, 3, 0
McFadden 2, 1, 0, 3 tos
Mason 0, 1, 0
Evans 0, 0, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 38-43%
REB: -3
TO: -1
Pts in paint: +12
2nd chance: -8
Fast break: +2
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Feb 17, 2009: Marshall (13-13, 7-8) @ #14 Rice (21-5, 13-2)


Tip off

After starting conference play at 5-0 including a win against us, MARS has lost 8 of their next games. But MARS is the only team in CUSA in which we have a losing record (3-4) since I came to Rice.

We established our inside game the entire 1st half, as our big man rotation of C Curtis Harper, C Richie Lewis, and PF Kevin Tiggs accounted for 27 pts. Our defense limited MARS to only 39% FG, and we also took better care of the ball committing only 2 turn overs


Halftime, Up 41-32


Start of 2nd half


MARS shooting caught fire at the beginning of the 2nd half, and even took the lead momentarily, until SF Ross Brown scored on a 3pt play. C Curtis Harper picked up 2 quick fouls, bringing his total to 4.
12:45, Up 49-47

Game continues to be tight, and we could have been staring at a deficit if not for MARS' missed shots from the FT line (11-17). Hanging on to just a 3 pt lead, our 2nd unit gave us a boost with a small 8-2 run. But we can't let our guard down against MARS as they who quickly recovered with 5 straight pts
7:05, Up 59-55

Our lead stands at 3 until SG Jon Betts scored a triple. C Curtis Harper came up with a block on the other end, not minding his 4 fouls. On our next play, SF Ross Brown scores on a running shot.
3:18, Up 70-62

After a 3 by MARS to momentarily get them close to 5 pts, C Curtis Harper scored our next 6 pts plus a couple of good defensive plays on the other end. We opened up an 11 pt lead with just over 1 min left. MARS had no choice but to give up fouls to stop us from running the clock. We scored some FTs to offset the 2 3PT shots that MARS made in the final seconds.


Final Score: Marshall - 71, Rice - 81
We had 11 blocks today


Box Scores
[INDENT]Harper 20, 8, 0, 6 blks (*)
Brown 15, 7, 0
Lewis 12, 6, 0, 4 blks
Betts 10, 4, 4
Tiggs 10, 3, 0
McFadden 9, 3, 2, 2 stls
Fountain 4, 4, 0
Barker 1, 0, 8
Hahn 0, 0, 3, 3 tos
Young 0, 0, 0
Piatowski 0, 0, 0
Mason 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 49-36%
REB: Even
TO: -6
Pts in paint: +14
2nd chance: Even
Fast break: -5
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 14-2 (W1)
2. Memphis, 12-4 (W3)
3. Central Florida, 10-6 (W2)
4. Houston, 9-7 (L2)
5. Tulsa 9-7 (L1)
6. Tulane, 9-7 (L1)
7. Southern Miss, 7-9 (W1)
8. Marshall, 7-9 (L3)
9. Southern Methodist, 6-10 (L2)
10. Alabama-Birmingham, 5-11 (W2)
11. Texas-El Paso, 5-11 (W2)
12. East Carolina, 3-13 (L7)

[randy]

Feb 19, 2009: #25 Southern Illinois (18-9, 13-2) vs #14 Rice (22-5, 14-2)


Tip off

SF Ross Brown established his offensive game early, scoring our 1st 12 pts of the game; Brown finished the 1st half with 18 pts, 3 stls. SILL's SG Donnie Dudley with 13 pts. Both teams sloppy with the basketball, combining for 22 turn overs.


Halftime, Up 43-32


Start of 2nd half

SF Ross Brown (29 pts) continues his excellent scoring performance. We're also getting more offensive support from the other players, as we widen our lead here in the 2nd half
11:19, Up 66-44

I had the opportunity to give extended rest to my key players because of our lead. SILL did chop off some of our lead, but not much as C Scott Fountain (12 pts, 8 rebs) played a key role to slow down SILL's momentum
3:32, Up 74-57

Our starting unit, all well rested, finished the job for us. SF Ross Brown had a good performance not just offense, but an excellent overall game.


Final Score: Southern Illinois - 62, Rice - 81


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 36, 7, 2, 3 stls, 3 blks, 9-9 FT (*)
Fountain 12, 8, 0
Harper 10, 10, 1
Betts 9, 1, 1, 2 stls, 3 tos
McFadden 8, 8, 0
Lewis 4, 3, 3
Barker 2, 2, 4, 3 stls, 4 tos
Hahn 0, 1, 3
Tiggs 0, 1, 1
Young 0, 1, 1
Piatowski 0, 1, 0
Mason 0, 0, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 50-38%
REB: +14
TO: -2
Pts in paint: +24
2nd chance: -1
Fast break: -3
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 14-2 (W1)
2. Memphis, 12-4 (W3)
3. Central Florida, 10-6 (W2)
4. Houston, 9-7 (L2)
5. Tulsa 9-7 (L1)
6. Tulane, 9-7 (L1)
7. Southern Miss, 7-9 (W1)
8. Marshall, 7-9 (L3)
9. Southern Methodist, 6-10 (L2)
10. Alabama-Birmingham, 5-11 (W2)
11. Texas-El Paso, 5-11 (W2)
12. East Carolina, 3-13 (L7)

[randy]

Feb 21, 2009: #14 Rice (23-5, 14-2) @ Southern Methodist (8-17, 6-10)


Tip off

We go up against a good scorer in SMU's SF Brennan King, who finished the 1st half with 15 pts. But King didn't get as much support. Our deeper bench, and balanced scoring, was the difference in the 1st half


Halftime, Up 39-29


Start of 2nd half

SMU's SF Brennan King now with 22 pts, and his team mates also beginning to contribute on offense to keep themselves within striking distance
13:20, Up 49-39

We forced a string of turn overs on the part of SMU, got some easy transition baskets, and the pace of the game definitely got faster which is to our advantage
7:19, Up 67-53

Our defense shut down SMU the rest of the game. We finished with 5 players in double figures, which was more than enough to offset the output of SMU's SF Brennan King (25 pts)


Final Score: Rice - 88, Southern Methodist - 59


Box Scores
[INDENT]Lewis 16, 5, 0, 2 blks, 7-10 FG
Harper 14, 6, 2, 2 blks, 6-8 FG (*)
McFadden 13, 3, 2, 4 stls
Brown 12, 6, 1, 2 blks
Betts 11, 1, 3
Barker 7, 3, 8
Tiggs 6, 2, 0
Fountain 4, 4, 4, 5 stls
Evans 3, 1, 2
Piatowski 2, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 53-40%
REB: +4
TO: -15 (SMU: 21)
Pts in paint: +36
2nd chance: +8
Fast break: +16
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 15-2 (W2)
2. Memphis, 13-4 (W4)
3. Houston, 10-7 (W1)
4. Central Florida, 10-7 (L1)
5. Tulsa 10-7 (W1)
6. Tulane, 9-8 (L2)
7. Marshall, 8-9 (W1)
8. Southern Miss, 7-10 (L1)
9. Southern Methodist, 6-11 (L3)
10. Alabama-Birmingham, 6-11 (W3)
11. Texas-El Paso, 5-12 (L1)
12. East Carolina, 3-14 (L8)

[randy]

Feb 24, 2009: Southern Miss (14-13, 7-10) @ #14 Rice (24-5, 15-2)


Tip off

We shot 54% FG and 14-16 FT in the 1st half, and yet the score is closer that what it should have been. Our early turn overs partly to blame for that, plus we allowed SMISS guards numerous penetrations to the basket. SF Ross Brown led all scorers with 14 pts, while C Sam Piatkowski with 10 pts off the bench.


Halftime, Up 48-35


Start of 2nd half

We mixed in some zone defense which forced SMISS to take more outside shots. SG Jon Betts kick started our offense with 2 3PT baskets, and everyone on our team can't seem to miss their shot. Our lead ballooned to 27 pts with 12 mins left. Game was virtually over at that point


Final Score: Southern Miss - 72, Rice - 98
C Richie Lewis with a strained calf, and out for 10 days. We are unsure if he can play during the conference tournament


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 23, 5, 1, 3 tos (*)
Betts 13, 1, 3
Piatowski 12, 2, 0
Harper 8, 10, 1
Fountain 8, 4, 1
Lewis 8, 2, 1 2 blks
McFadden 6, 2, 3
Evans 5, 1, 5, fouled out
Tiggs 5, 1, 0
Sanders 4, 2, 0
Barker 2, 1, 5
Ramsey 2, 1, 0
Hahn 2, 0, 0
Young 0, 3, 1
Mason 0, 1, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 56-44%
REB: +13
TO: -1
Pts in paint: +18
2nd chance: -1
Fast break: -2
[/INDENT]


CUSA Final Standings

1. Rice, 16-2 (W3)
2. Memphis, 14-4 (W5)
3. Houston, 11-7 (W2)
4. Tulane, 10-8 (W1)
5. Central Florida, 10-8 (L2)
6. Tulsa 10-8 (L1)
7. Marshall, 8-10 (L1)
8. Southern Miss, 7-11 (L2)
9. Southern Methodist, 7-11 (W1)
10. Alabama-Birmingham, 7-11 (W4)
11. Texas-El Paso, 5-13 (L2)
12. East Carolina, 3-15 (L9)