Finding ways to win

[randy]

Jan 13, 2010: #21 Rice (14-2, 4-1) @ Southern Methodist (5-9, 0-5)


Tip off

Only 32% FG for SMU, but they made 13-14 FT in the 1st half. C Curtis Harper was effective inside the paint, with 12 pts on 5-6 FG.


Halftime, Up 41-30


Start of 2nd half

We're going almost exclusively to C Curtis Harper (20 pts) at the start of the 2nd half. SF Andre McFadden came in, and scored our last 5 pts. Both teams early in the penalty.
10:32, Up 61-45

Several breaks on our transition defense, and SMU's numerous FTs, cut our lead to as low as 6. We recovered, and SF Ross Brown just made his 1st 2 baskets of the game, after starting 0-8 FG.
4:00, Up 76-62

C Curtis Harper scored 2 of our next 3 FGs. A 16 pt lead with just 2 mins left. We slowed down for the remainder of the game


Final Score: Rice - 85, Southern Methodist - 69


Box Scores
[INDENT]Harper 27, 3, 2, 3 stls, 8-10 FG, 11-14 FT (*)
McFadden 13, 4, 1
Piatowski 10, 7, 0, 2 blks
Brown 8, 6, 1
Evans 8, 2, 2, 2 stls
Fountain 8, 2, 0
Richard 5, 0, 3
Tiggs 4, 3, 2, 2 stls
Barker 2, 1, 3
Young 0, 1, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 48-43%
REB: -1
TO: -13
Pts in paint: +20
2nd chance: +1
Fast break: +2
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Memphis, 5-1 (W3)
2. Marshall, 5-1 (L1)
3. Rice, 5-1 (W1)
4. Southern Miss, 5-1 (W2)
5. Alabama-Birmingham, 3-3 (W2)
6. Tulane, 3-3 (W2)
7. Houston, 2-4 (W1)
8. East Carolina, 2-4 (L1)
9. Central Florida, 2-4 (L2)
10. Tulsa 2-4 (L2)
11. Texas-El Paso, 2-4 (L2)
12. Southern Methodist, 0-6 (L6)

[randy]

Jan 17, 2010: #20 Rice (15-2, 5-1) @ Southern Miss (10-5, 5-1)


Tip off

No contest in terms of FG% (64-35%). SMIS had zero 2nd chance and fast break pts. C Curtis Harper with 11 pts, and PF Kevin Tiggs 10 pts off the bench.


Halftime, Up 52-28


Start of 2nd half

No 2nd half meltdown this time, and our lead went as big as 33 before pulling out my key players. Distributed ample minutes to the bench, resulting in balanced scoring.


Final Score: Rice - 87, Southern Miss - 67


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 15, 2, 2, 3 stls, 2 blks (*)
Tiggs 14, 3, 1, 2 stls
McFadden 12, 1, 0
Harper 11, 6, 0
Young 9, 2, 1
Piatowski 8, 4, 1
Evans 6, 1, 6, 3 tos
Richard 3, 1, 0
Johnson 3, 0, 4
Fountain 2, 9, 0
Barker 2, 2, 1, 3 tos
Fast 2, 0, 0
Phillips 0, 0, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 57-42%
REB: +11
TO: +1
Pts in paint: +20
2nd chance: +3
Fast break: +2
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Jan 20, 2010: #5 Memphis (15-3, 6-1) @ #20 Rice (16-2, 6-1)


Tip off

We hounded MEM's ball handlers like our lives depended on it. And MEM buckled down to pressure, committing 15 turn overs in the 1st half. MEM was "saved" somehow by their outside shooting (6-11 3PT), but it wasn't enough for them to close our gap. Backup PG Brent Evans came up with probably his best outing so far, 11 pts, 6 asts, and 3-4 3PT.


Halftime, Up 47-31


Start of 2nd half

We can't relax against a team like MEM. Our players responded in keeping our intensity with a 12-4 run to start the 2nd half. We were hitting shots from everywhere, including 8 from downtown in the 2nd half, and we led by as many as 30. PG Brent Evans (20 pts, 10 asts, 6-9 3PT, 0 tos) has outplayed his counterpart, last year's CUSA POY PG Ryan Watson (18 pts, 4 asts, 6-16 3PT, 4 tos)


Final Score: Memphis - 63, Rice - 85
MEM must be dumbfounded with this loss. They limited our starting big men combined to just 2 pts, but several of our players stepped up


Box Scores
[INDENT]Evans 20, 2, 10, 6-9 3PT
Brown 18, 5, 2, 2 stls, 4 blks (*)
McFadden 17, 4, 2, 2 stls
Young 7, 3, 4
Tiggs 6, 2, 0
Barker 6, 1, 4
Fountain 4, 2, 0
Richard 3, 0, 0
Piatowski 2, 5, 0
Fast 2, 0, 0
Harper 0, 7, 2, 2 stls, 2 blks
Phillips 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 55-40%
REB: +3
TO: -9 (MEM: 20)
Pts in paint: +10
2nd chance: +4
Fast break: +2
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Jan 24, 2010: #18 Rice (17-2, 7-1) @ Houston (11-8, 2-6)


Tip off

HOU is a better team than their W-L record indicate. We had close win against them in our previous encounter. Today is no different. Both teams shooting below 40% FG in the 1st half.


Halftime, Up 33-29
We need to go to the line more often; we only attempted 3 FTs during the 1st half


Start of 2nd half

HOU with 4 turn overs in the 2nd half. We're playing solid defense led by C Curtis Harper with 6 blks. But we're struggling to make our shots (35% FG), and able to create any separation from HOU
13:12, Up 41-38

Still inconsistent outside shooting, making it more difficult for us to score against HOU's zone defense. I got warned for excessive complaining; HOU assessed with only 4 fouls the entire game so far
8:29, Down 46-47

Only 1 basket the last 5 mins, and 15 pts total in the 2nd half, as our offensive woes continue. Somehow lucky that HOU hasn't caught fire either, otherwise we would have been blown out already. We're in the penalty.
3:54, Down 48-52

C Curtis Harper scored our last 4 pts, but we couldn't make stops on the other end. Timeout
2:00, Down 52-56

We have to go inside, regardless if HOU plays zone. Forcing to get the ball inside, we made a bad pass instead. But we get a counter steal. SF ROss Brown with a wide open 3. Brown takes it. Missed. We get another steal. Outlet to SF Andre McFadden who scores on the break.
1:06, Down 54-56

We made a stop. Timeout
0:42, Down 54-56

HOU is playing m2m. But HOU is playing good denial defense, forcing our big men to receive the pass way outside. PG Jovan Barker gets the ball. Barker shoots. Miss. Barker is probably not the best person to take that shot. HOU rebounds. We have to give up a foul. HOU scores 2 FTs. Timeout
0:23, Down 54-58

We can go for a 2 if a 3 is not available, but should be quick. Took a while to get a shot. The drive by SF Andre McFadden was no good. Not gonna do it. We failed in our execution during the end game


Final Score: Rice - 54, Houston - 58
We shot 4-22 3PT. 2 of our 3 losses so far this season were because of poor outside shooting


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 15, 5, 0
McFadden 13, 8, 1
Young 7, 4, 0
Harper 6, 9, 0, 6 blks
Piatowski 6, 3, 1
Johnson 3, 2, 0
Fountain 2, 5, 0
Fast 2, 0, 0
Barker 0, 1, 5
Evans 0, 1, 4, 4 tos
Tiggs 0, 1, 1
Richard 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 33-36%
REB: -2
TO: -2
Pts in paint: +6
2nd chance: +4
Fast break: -2
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Jan 27, 2010: East Carolina (8-10, 3-6) @ #18 Rice (17-3, 7-2)


Tip off

We shot a decent 48% FG, but we limited ourselves to just 3 turn overs, allowing to us to still put more pts on the boards. 2 bench players lead our scoring, SF Andre McFadden (11 pts) and PF Kevin Tiggs (10 pts)


Halftime, Up 42-28


Start of 2nd half


We were cruising along in the 2nd half with a 23 pt lead, and then ECAR suddenly caught fire and was able to trim our lead to just 10. We need a timeout
4:27, Up 66-56

C Curtis Harper, who was still scoreless up to this pt, made 2 inside baskets. SF Ross Brown added 2 FTs, and we hiked our lead back to 16 with less 2 mins left. We were almost caught napping in this game, but woke up in the end to save this win.


Final Score: East Carolina - 62, Rice - 74


Box Scores
[INDENT]McFadden 17, 2, 3 (*)
Brown 14, 4, 1
Young 12, 5, 2, 6-8 FG
Tiggs 12, 3, 1
Fountain 6, 3, 1
Evans 4, 3, 4, 2 stls
Harper 4, 3, 1, 2 stls
Piatowski 3, 3, 0
Richard 2, 0, 0
Barker 0, 2, 3
Phillips 0, 1, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 45-45%
REB: Even
TO: -7
Pts in paint: +18
2nd chance: +3
Fast break: +4
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Jan 31, 2010: Central Florida (9-11, 4-6) @ #20 Rice (18-3, 8-2)


Tip off

Almost identical in FG% (45-43%), but we had more possessions because of our offensive rebounds (8), and UCF's 12 1st half turn overs. C Curtis Harper, averaging just 3.3 ppg the last 3 games, had 8 pts in the 1st half.


Halftime, Up 36-26


Start of 2nd half

C Curtis Harper scored our 1st pts of the half, to up his tally to 13 pts. Just as when Harper is beginning to get his confidence back after his recent slump, he suffered an injury. Exact details unknown yet, but this is certainly not good news.

The injury didn't affect us in this game, as we increased our lead to as high as 22 midway in the 2nd half, and cruise to an easy win. Good contributions from everyone, in particular SG Jimmy Young, who scored in double figures for the 2nd straight game. His outside shooting would be a key factor later during the tournament


Final Score: Central Florida - 48, Rice - 71
It was reported that Curtis Harper suffered a pull groin and will be out approx 3 weeks. He'll make it in time before the tournament games start, but has to miss a lot of practice time


Box Scores
[INDENT]Young 14, 4, 1 (*)
Harper 13, 2, 0, 2 blks
Brown 9, 6, 0, 3 blks
Piatowski 7, 5, 1
Fountain 7, 5, 0
Tiggs 6, 4, 1
Phillips 5, 3, 0
McFadden 4, 4, 1, 2 stls, 3 tos
Barker 2, 2, 1
Evans 2, 0, 3, 4 tos
Fast 2, 0, 0
Richard 0, 0, 1
Johnson 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 42-35%
REB: +6
TO: -8 (UCF: 22)
Pts in paint: +18
2nd chance: +10
Fast break: +8
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Feb 3, 2010: #20 Rice (19-3, 9-2) @ Tulsa (5-15, 2-9)


Tip off

TULSA on a 7-game losing streak, giving up 73+ ppg during that span

I was initially concerned how our defense would respond without C Curtis Harper in the middle. But we're doing just fine as TULSA shot just 21% FG (0-11 3PT). We're not exactly much better at 27% FG, but we have dominated the boards, and went to the line often (12-17 FT). SF ROss Brown already with a double-double, 12 pts and 10 rebs.


Halftime, Up 29-18


Start of 2nd half

TULSA finding it difficult to stop SF Ross Brown's (20 pts) penetrations.
14:12, Up 43-28

With SF Ross Brown resting on the bench, TULSA began dominating the boards. Our 14 turn overs also didn't help our cause, and our lead is just single digits. We are also in the penalty
7:57, Up 53-44

3 more turn overs on our part, and our lead is just 5. A clutch inside basket by C Scott Fountain ended our dry spell. TUL not hitting their shots. We turned the ball 3 more times again, wasting opportunities to increase our lead
3:57, Up 55-48

TUL scored 2 from the line. TUL also got into penalty, but we missed the front end of a 1-an-1. Another foul on us the next play, and TUL sinking both FTs again. This is not looking good. Timeout
3:11, Up 55-52

SF Ross Brown missing another shot, and he has gone cold lately. But we got the offensive rebound. PG Jovan Barker strong drive to the basket, and he got fouled. Barker hits 2 important FTs. Up 5. TUL missed a 3; they are 1-16 3PT today. We go to C Scott Fountain who scores down low.
2:25, Up 59-52

TUL scores on the other end. Up 5. On our next play, SF Andre McFadden shoots from 3, and he nails it! Prior to that shot, we're just 1-9 3PT.
1:54, Up 62-54

SF Ross Brown gets a steal. But we also turned it over with our possession. That is our 20th turn over! TULSA still has a fighting chance here. And TULSA able to score. Timeout. We need to settle down
1:06, Up 62-56

SF Andre McFadden missing his shot. Timeout TULSA. They missed a 3. That was a key defensive stop. TULSA has to give up fouls now. SF Ross Brown hits 2 FTs to ice the game.


Final Score: Rice - 66, Tulsa - 56
Both teams combined for 3-28 3PT. We survived a poor shooting performance, but defending the other team to shoot worse


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 22, 12, 0, 2 stls (*)
McFadden 10, 6, 0, 3 tos
Fountain 8, 7, 0
Phillips 8, 4, 1
Tiggs 6, 3, 1, 2 stls, 3 tos
Barker 6, 2, 5, 4 tos
Piatowski 3, 5, 0
Evans 3, 1, 5, fouled out
Johnson 0, 1, 0
Young 0, 0, 0, 3 tos
Richard 0, 0, 0
Fast 0, 0, 0
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 38-30%
REB: +10
TO: +6
Pts in paint: +8
2nd chance: -1
Fast break: -4
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Feb 7, 2010: #19 Rice (20-3, 10-2) @ Alabama-Birmingham (10-11, 7-5)


Tip off

We started the game with 4 turn overs in the 1st 3 mins; we ended up with 11 errors in the 1st half. As bad as our offense is going, we kept the game close by playing good defense and controlling the boards. Down 18-20, we got ourselves a 9-0 to take the lead. UAB came back with some hot outside shooting but we managed to hang on with the lead


Halftime, Up 35-33


Start of 2nd half


UAB with 4 turn overs in the 2nd half (we have 2). A couple of unexpected performances helped us stay afloat in this game - SG Jimmy Young (9 pts, 3-4 3PT) and freshman C Brent Phillips (8 pts, 6 rebs).
13:13, Up 46-40

C Brent Phillips continues to impress, 13 pts, 8 rebs. PR Sam Piatkowski (11 pts) also with a good performance, scoring our last 4 pts. Both teams in the penalty. UAB with 7 2nd half turn overs.
7:44, Up 62-52

SF Ross Brown who was relatively quiet until now, took over our offense, scoring 7 straight pts including a 3. We're up by 15 with just over 6 mins to go. But UAB starting to making a run now.
3:44, Up 73-64

We had 3 unproductive possessions. UAB cut our lead to 7. I called a timeout. SF Andre McFadden responded with a basket. UAB later made 2 FTs.
1:45, Up 75-68

SF Ross Brown hits a long jumper. UAB only able to come up with a FT on their next 2 plays. They did hit a 3 to cut our lead to 5, but with just 20 secs left. We converted our FTs to make the game out of reach


Final Score: Rice - 82, Alabama-Birmingham - 72
A sub par performance by SF Ross Brown during the 1st 3 quarters of the game, but he made it up big time when it mattered most.


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 19, 6, 5, 2 stls, 6 tos (*)
Phillips 13, 8, 1
McFadden 12, 2, 1, 2 blks
Piatowski 11, 6, 1, 3 stls
Tiggs 9, 4, 0
Young 9, 2, 2, 3-4 3PT
Fountain 4, 3, 1, 3 tos
Barker 3, 2, 2
Johnson 2, 0, 3, fouled out
Evans 0, 1, 1
Richard 0, 0, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 54-45%
REB: +9
TO: +2
Pts in paint: +2
2nd chance: +5
Fast break: +4
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Feb 10, 2010: Texas-El Paso (12-10, 7-6) @ #19 Rice (21-3, 11-2)


Tip off

Defense almost non-existent for both sides, and too many FTs being given up. Ross Brown leads all scorers with 17 pts, 7-9 FG


Halftime, Up 43-41


Start of 2nd half

UTEP started the 2nd half on an 8-0 run, and we found ourselves trailing by 6 early. We recovered immediately, helped by SF Andre McFadden's 1st 6 pts of the game.
13:28, Up 57-53

Much better defense and rebounding, but this is still anybody's game.
7:48, Up 67-60

UTEP to within 3. UTEP went to a zone defense, but we were able to bust it with a couple of outside shots
3:54, Up 74-66

Teams traded FTs the past 2 possessions. And then SF Andre McFadden hits a big 3 to get us ahead by 11 with less than 2 mins left. UTEP got back also with a 3, but that was the last basket they scored in the game.


Final Score: Texas-El Paso - 73, Rice - 86


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 25, 5, 1, 3 blks (*)
Tiggs 12, 6, 0
McFadden 9, 5, 0
Fountain 8, 7, 2
Phillips 8, 4, 0
Piatowski 8, 3, 0
Young 7, 2, 1
Barker 5, 1, 7
Fast 2, 1, 0
Richard 2, 0, 2
Evans 0, 2, 2
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 52-43%
REB: +12
TO: -2
Pts in paint: +30
2nd chance: +5
Fast break: -2
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

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

[randy]

Feb 14, 2010: Tulane (15-8, 8-6) @ #18 Rice (22-3, 12-2)


Tip off

TUL converted only 10 shots, shooting 33% FG. But 8 of those came from beyond the arc (5 coming from sharpshooter SG Alvin Ware)


Halftime, Tied at 34
We need to contest TUL's outside shots


Start of 2nd half

Our constant pressure on TUL's shooters finally paying off, as they haven't converted any 3s yet in the 2nd half
13:05, Up 46-37

TUL finally hit their 1st 3 of the 2nd half, but overall, they have scored just 8 pts in more than 13 mins of the 2nd half. SF Ross Brown and SF Andre McFadden taking over our offense by repeatedly attacking the basket from all directions.
6:37, Up 60-42

TUL's SG Alvin made consecutive 3s in the dying mins, but the game was long decided at that point. We outscored TUL 42-19 in the 2nd half


Final Score: Tulane - 53, Rice - 76


Box Scores
[INDENT]Brown 22, 3, 0, 3 blks (*)
McFadden 12, 3, 3, 2 stls, 2 blks
Tiggs 8, 5, 2, 3 tos
Young 8, 5, 1, 3 stls
Piatowski 7, 3, 0
Barker 7, 0, 1
Fountain 6, 6, 0
Phillips 6, 5, 0, 2 stls
Evans 0, 0, 7
Richard 0, 0, 1
Johnson 0, 0, 1
[/INDENT]
Stats Comparison
[INDENT]FG: 49-29%
REB: -8
TO: -13 (TUL: 20)
Pts in paint: +26
2nd chance: -2
Fast break: +4
[/INDENT]


CUSA Standings

1. Rice, 13-2 (W6)
2. Memphis, 12-3 (W3)
3. Marshall, 11-4 (L1)
4. Tulane, 8-7 (L1)
5. Southern Miss, 8-7 (W1)
6. Alabama-Birmingham, 8-7 (W1)
7. Texas-El Paso, 7-8 (L3)
8. Central Florida, 6-9 (L1)
9. East Carolina, 5-10 (L1)
10. Houston, 4-11 (L5)
11. Southern Methodist, 4-11 (W1)
12. Tulsa 4-11 (W1)