Rice Owls Set to Challenge South Florida Bulls at Yuengling Center

As the Rice Owls prepare to face off against the South Florida Bulls at the Yuengling Center, fans can anticipate a game where recent trends and statistics will play a crucial role. The Owls have shown resilience in their past performances, but they will need to step up their game as they head into this away match.

Analyzing the past three games, it's clear that Rice has been struggling with consistency. In their most recent game against the Roadrunners, despite a strong two-point shooting percentage of 58 percent and an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.45, they fell short in overtime with 82 points to UTSA's 89. This loss highlighted their difficulties from beyond the arc where they shot only 27 percent.

In contrast, during their encounter with Tulane's Green Wave, Rice suffered defensively allowing 84 points while only scoring 59 themselves. Their field goal percentage dropped significantly to just 32 percent and three-point shots were not falling either at a mere 25 percent success rate.

However, not all trends are negative for Rice; when facing Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns earlier in December at Tudor Fieldhouse, although defeated with a score of 67-84, they showed promise from downtown hitting an impressive 42 percent from three-point range.

The key for Rice will be finding consistency on both ends of the floor and improving upon areas such as points off turnovers where they've been outperformed by opponents recently.

As fans gear up for this matchup on January 13th at Tampa’s Yuengling Center—broadcasted nationally on ESPNU channel 208—they should look for how well Rice can adjust defensively while capitalizing on scoring opportunities inside and beyond the arc. Will we see them bounce back against USF? Only time will tell if these Owls can soar or if they'll falter once more away from home.