2019–20 Rice Owls men's basketball team

2019–20 Rice Owls men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record15–17 (7–11 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Vince Alexander
  • Mark Linebaugh
  • Van Green
Home arenaTudor Fieldhouse
Seasons
2019–20 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
North Texas 14 – 4   .778 20 – 11   .645
Western Kentucky 13 – 5   .722 20 – 10   .667
Louisiana Tech 13 – 5   .722 22 – 8   .733
Charlotte 10 – 8   .556 16 – 13   .552
FIU 9 – 9   .500 19 – 13   .594
Marshall 10 – 8   .556 17 – 15   .531
UAB 9 – 9   .500 19 – 13   .594
Old Dominion 9 – 9   .500 13 – 19   .406
Florida Atlantic 8 – 10   .444 17 – 15   .531
UTSA 7 – 11   .389 13 – 19   .406
UTEP 8 – 10   .444 17 – 15   .531
Rice 7 – 11   .389 15 – 17   .469
Southern Miss 5 – 13   .278 9 – 22   .290
Middle Tennessee 4 – 14   .222 8 – 23   .258
Note: The 2020 C-USA Tournament was canceled prior to the quarterfinals due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The 2019–20 Rice Owls men's basketball team represented Rice University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by third-year head coach Scott Pera, played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 15–17, 7–11 in C-USA play to finish in 12th place. They lost in the first round of the C-USA tournament to FIU.

Previous season

The Owls finished the 2018–19 season 13–19 overall, 8–10 in C-USA play to finish in four-way tie for 9th place. In the C-USA tournament, they were defeated by Marshall in the first round.[1]

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Dylan Jones 4 F 6'8" 215 RS Senior Houston, TX Graduated
Oliver Xu 30 G 6'2" 170 RS Senior Hong Kong Walk-on; graduated
Jack Williams 32 F 6'8" 220 RS Senior Porter Ranch, CA Graduated
Quentin Millora-Brown 42 F 6'9" 205 Freshman Lorton, VA Transferred to Vanderbilt

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Tommy McCarthy 13 G 6'0" 175 GS Senior Ranch Santa Fe, CA Transferred from Harvard. Will be eligible to play immediately since McCarthy graduated from Harvard.
Malik Ondigo F 6'10" 215 Junior St. Louis, MO Transferred from Texas Tech. Under NCAA transfer rules, Ondigo will have to sit out the 2019–20 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2019 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Max Fiedler
C 		Melbourne, FL Melbourne High School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (100 kg) Sep 16, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Zach Crisler
PF 		Glenside, PA La Salle College High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sep 14, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Quincy Olivari
PG 		Atlanta, GA Westlake High School 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sep 17, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2020 recruiting class

College recruiting information (2020)
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Mylyjael Poteat
C 		Reidsville, NC The Burlington School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (120 kg) Jan 13, 2020 
Star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:2/5 stars    ESPN grade: 0
Cameron Sheffield
SF 		Alpharetta, GA Chattahoochee High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sep 27, 2018 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 0
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2019–20 Rice Owls men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Payton Moore 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Santa Monica High School Los Angeles, California
G 1 Josh Parrish 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Seguin High School
TCU 		Arlington, Texas
G 2 Trey Murphy III 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Cary Academy Durham, North Carolina
G 3 Ako Adams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Bishop O'Connell High School Washington, D.C.
G 4 Quincy Olivari 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Westlake High School Atlanta, Georgia
G 5 Addison Owen (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr The Paideia School Atlanta, Georgia
F 10 Robert Martin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Tilton School Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
F 12 Ben Moffat (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Rider High School Wichita Falls, Texas
G 13 Tommy McCarthy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) GS La Costa Canyon High School
Harvard 		Rancho Santa Fe, California
G 14 Reed Myers (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Scottsdale Christian Academy Phoenix, Arizona
F 15 Max Fiedler 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Melbourne High School Indialantic, Florida
F 20 Zach Crisler 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr La Salle High School North Wales, Pennsylvania
G/F 23 Drew Peterson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Libertyville High School Libertyville, Illinois
G 24 Chris Mullins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Mansfield Timberview High School Grand Prairie, Texas
F 35 Tim Harrison 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Francis Parker School San Diego, California
F Malik Ondigo Current redshirt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Putnam Science Academy
Texas Tech 		El Mirage, Arizona
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: January 18, 2020

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 31, 2019*
7:00 pm 		St. Edward's L 83–89 
Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
November 5, 2019*
7:00 pm, SECN+ 		at Arkansas L 43–91  0–1
 Bud Walton Arena (17,274)
Fayetteville, AR
November 9, 2019*
3:30 pm, CUSA.tv 		Penn W 80–61  1–1
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,557)
Houston, TX
November 10, 2019*
4:00 pm, CUSA.tv 		Wayland Baptist W 65–40  2–1
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,222)
Houston, TX
November 12, 2019*
6:30 pm, DemonTV 		at Northwestern State W 80–74  3–1
 Prather Coliseum (1,606)
Natchitoches, LA
November 16, 2019*
4:00 pm, BigWest.tv 		at UC Santa Barbara W 82–81  4–1
 The Thunderdome (1,503)
Santa Barbara, CA
November 19, 2019*
7:00 pm, Facebook 		Houston
Rivalry 		L 89–97  4–2
 Tudor Fieldhouse (2,513)
Houston, TX
November 22, 2019*
1:00 pm, FloHoops 		vs. Milwaukee
Islands of the Bahamas Showcase First Round 		W 75–69  5–2
 Baha Mar Convention Center (300)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 23, 2019*
4:00 pm, FloHoops 		vs. Liberty
Islands of the Bahamas Showcase Semifinals 		L 59–71  5–3
 Baha Mar Convention Center (300)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 24, 2019*
4:00 pm, FloHoops 		vs. East Carolina
Islands of the Bahamas Showcase 3rd Place Game 		W 77–69  6–3
 Baha Mar Convention Center (300)
Nassau, Bahamas
December 7, 2019*
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Lamar L 60–73  6–4
 Montagne Center (1,807)
Beaumont, TX
December 14, 2019*
7:00 pm, CUSA.tv 		Houston Baptist W 96–84  7–4
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,725)
Houston, TX
December 19, 2019*
11:15 am, CUSA.tv 		St. Thomas (TX) W 103–70  8–4
 Tudor Fieldhouse (4,325)
Houston, TX
December 29, 2019*
2:00 pm, CUSA.tv 		Sam Houston State L 61–75  8–5
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,763)
Houston, TX
Conference USA regular season
January 2, 2020
6:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Marshall L 69–89  8–6
(0–1) 		Cam Henderson Center (5,311)
Huntington, WV
January 4, 2020
4:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Western Kentucky L 61–68  8–7
(0–2) 		E. A. Diddle Arena (4,619)
Bowling Green, KY
January 9, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Florida Atlantic L 76–81  8–8
(0–3) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,170)
Houston, TX
January 11, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		FIU W 92–78  9–8
(1–3) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,490)
Houston, TX
January 16, 2020
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Louisiana Tech L 56–72  9–9
(1–4) 		Thomas Assembly Center (2,467)
Ruston, LA
January 18, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Southern Miss L 68–81  9–10
(1–5) 		Reed Green Coliseum (3,571)
Hattiesburg, MS
January 20, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at North Texas L 59–79  9–11
(1–6) 		The Super Pit (2,729)
Denton, TX
January 23, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UTEP L 64–72  9–12
(1–7) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,518)
Houston, TX
January 25, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		UTSA L 88–90  9–13
(1–8) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,239)
Houston, TX
February 1, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		North Texas W 84–75  10–13
(2–8) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,580)
Houston, TX
February 6, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at UAB W 86–72  11–13
(3–8) 		Bartow Arena (3,032)
Birmingham, AL
February 8, 2020
5:00 pm, CUSA.tv 		at Middle Tennessee W 91–83  12–13
(4–8) 		Murphy Center (3,912)
Murfreesboro, TN
February 13, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Old Dominion L 70–73  12–14
(4–9) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,387)
Houston, TX
February 15, 2020
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Charlotte W 70–54  13–14
(5–9) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,872)
Houston, TX
February 22, 2020
6:00 pm, CUSA.tv 		at UTEP L 62–68  13–15
(5–10) 		Don Haskins Center (4,139)
El Paso, TX
March 1, 2020
2:00 pm, CUSA.tv 		Middle Tennessee W 77–66  14–15
(6–10) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,677)
Houston, TX
March 4, 2020
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Southern Miss W 72–57  15–15
(7–10) 		Reed Green Coliseum (3,065)
Hattiesburg, MS
March 7, 2020
5:00 pm, CUSA.tv 		UTEP L 72-77  15-16
(7-11) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,608)
Houston, TX
Conference USA tournament
March 11, 2020
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		(12) vs. (5) FIU
First round 		L 76–85  15–17
 Ford Center at The Star 
Frisco, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Source[2]

References

  1. ^ "Season Ends as Rice Falls to Marshall, 82-65, in C-USA Tournament". Rice University Athletics. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "2019-20 Men's Basketball Schedule". Rice University Athletics. Retrieved January 18, 2020.