Rice Owls Narrowly Outscored by Blue Raiders at Tudor Fieldhouse
In a closely contested conference game at Tudor Fieldhouse, the Rice Owls faced off against the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders. The final scoreboard read 71-68 in favor of the visitors, leaving the Owls with a hard-fought loss. The Blue Raiders improved their record while handing the home team another notch in their season tally.
The Rice Owls started strong, leading with 36 points to 22 in the first half. However, momentum shifted as the Blue Raiders surged back with an impressive 49 points in the second half compared to 32 from the home team. Despite this setback, Rice's offense was notable for its efficiency inside, scoring 40 points in paint and achieving a field goal percentage of nearly 48 percent on their total attempts.
Rice's players showed commendable effort on both ends of the court. They outrebounded their opponents with a total of 34 rebounds to Middle Tennessee's 33 and were particularly active defensively with six steals and four blocks during playtime. Their assist-to-turnover ratio stood at an even one, reflecting a balanced approach between passing precision and handling pressure.
On individual performances, several players stood out for Rice despite not securing victory. Their shooting accuracy from two-point range was noteworthy at over fifty-two percent success rate; however they struggled beyond the arc making only four three-pointers throughout game time.
Middle Tennessee's defense proved formidable as they tallied eleven blocks and ten steals contributing significantly to their win. Their field goal percentage was slightly higher than that of Rice at fifty percent overall including thirty-six percent from three-point territory which helped them close down gap after halftime.
The upcoming match for Rice is set against UTEP Miners at Tudor Fieldhouse on January 14th scheduled for an evening tip-off fans can tune into CUSA TV via internet broadcast networks to follow action live from Houston Texas where both teams will compete once more on basketball court.