Know the Foe: Rice

Memphis started conference play with a win inside FedExForum, and now, it hits the road for its first conference game away from FedExForum. The Tigers will travel to Houston for a Saturday afternoon matchup against Rice.

The Owls enter the game with a 6-8 record, but they suffered a 49-point loss in their first road game against Tulsa. Out of the six wins this season, only four of them have been against division one opponents, and their best win came in a home victory over Arkansas State.

Rob Lanier is in his second season as Rice’s head coach, and he brought in seven new players this season. Lanier’s team averages 74.1 points per game, and they average 41.5 percent from the field, 36 percent from deep and 68.4 percent from the free-throw line. 

Rice has three players averaging more than 10 points per game, and Prairie View A&M transfer Nick Anderson leads the team with 13.9 points and 3.5 rebounds. Trae Broadnax, who led the team in scoring last season, is averaging 13.5 points and 5.4 rebounds.

Last year, Broadnax averaged 11.5 points in two games against the Tigers.

Redshirt senior Jalen Smith, who redshirted last year, is averaging 11.9 points, 2.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds, and he’s the team’s best three-point shooter, shooting 40.8 percent on 76 attempts.

Rice is another team in the American that lacks size, and four of the five starters are 6-foot-4 or shorter. The tallest starter is 6-foot-9 forward Stephen Giwa, who made his fourth start against Tulsa.

The Owls average 38.4 rebounds per game, and they have a plus-1.4 rebounding margin this season. Rice was dominated in the rebounding category, 43-to-26 against the Hurricanes, and they’ve been out-rebounded in three of the last four games.

Lanier’s team only averages 12.7 turnovers per game, and they haven’t recorded more than 13 turnovers in a game since a 19-turnover performance against Florida Gulf Coast. On the other side, Rice forces 13.3 turnovers per game, and they score 15.7 points off turnovers.

Defensively, the Owls allow 74 points per game, but that number jumps up to nearly 80 points per game when you take out the two games against non-DI opponents. Opposing teams shoot 44.1 percent from the field and 34.9 percent against Rice, and Lanier’s team averages 7.7 steals and 4.3 blocks per contest.