2017–18 Rice Owls men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Rice Owls men's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by first-year head coach Scott Pera, played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 7–24, 4–14 in C-USA play to finish in 13th place and failed to qualify for the C-USA tournament.

2017–18 Rice Owls men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record7–24 (4–14 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Chris Kreider
  • Mark Linebaugh
  • Omar Mance
Home arenaTudor Fieldhouse
Seasons
2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Middle Tennessee 16 2   .889 25 8   .758
Old Dominion 15 3   .833 25 7   .781
Western Kentucky 14 4   .778 27 11   .711
Marshall 12 6   .667 25 11   .694
UTSA 11 7   .611 20 15   .571
UAB 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
North Texas 8 10   .444 20 18   .526
FIU 8 10   .444 14 18   .438
Southern Miss 7 11   .389 16 18   .471
Louisiana Tech 7 11   .389 17 16   .515
Florida Atlantic 6 12   .333 12 19   .387
UTEP 6 12   .333 11 20   .355
Rice 4 14   .222 7 24   .226
Charlotte 2 16   .111 6 23   .207
2018 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

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The Owls finished the 2016–17 season 23–12, 11–7 in C-USA play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Southern Miss in the first round of the C-USA tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to UTEP. They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated San Francisco in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals to Utah Valley.

On March 21, 2017, head coach Mike Rhoades resigned to become the head coach at VCU.[1] He finished at Rice with a three-year record of 47–52. On March 23, the school promoted assistant coach Scott Pera to head coach.[2]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Marcus Evans 2 G 6'2" 195 Sophomore Chesapeake, VA Transferred to VCU
Egor Koulechov 4 G/F 6'5" 210 RS Junior Volgograd, Russia Graduate transferred to Florida
Corey Douglas 11 F 6'8" 190 Freshman Louisville, KY Transferred to Tallahassee CC
Marquez Letcher-Ellis 12 F 6'7" 205 Sophomore Houston, TX Transferred to Nevada
Chad Lott 21 G 6'3" 190 RS Freshman Shreveport, LA Transferred to Howard
Marcus Jackson 22 G 6'3" 185 Senior Acton, CA Graduate transferred to UC Santa Barbara
Harrison Brown 31 G/F 6'4' 200 Sophomore Austin, TX Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Andrew Drone 54 C 6'10" 260 Senior Ridgway, IL Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
A. J. Lapray 2 G 6'5" 190 RS Senior Salem, OR Transferred from Pepperdine. Will be eligible to play immediately since Lapray graduated from Pepperdine.
Dylan Jones 4 F 6'8" 215 RS Senior Houston, TX Transferred from Penn. Will be eligible to play immediately since Jones graduated from Penn.
Josh Parrish 12 G 6'5" 220 Sophomore Arlington, TX Transferred from TCU. Under NCAA transfer rules, Parrish will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

2017 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Miles Lester
PG
Wichita, KS Wilbraham & Monson Academy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Najja Hunter
PG
Brooklyn, NY St Benedict's Preparatory School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Apr 15, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: NR
Malik Osborne
SF
Matteson, IL Don Bosco Prep Academy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Apr 24, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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:

  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 11, 2017.

2018 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Chris Mullins
#55 SG
Mansfield, TX Timberview High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A Aug 23, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 3
Trey Murphy III
SG
Cary, NC Cary Academy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Nov 8, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 0
Quentin Millora-Brown
PF
Lorton, VA Bishop O'Connell High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Nov 8, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 0
Payton Moore
SG
Los Angeles, CA Windward School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Nov 8, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 0
Drew Peterson
SF
Libertyville, IL Libertyville High Scoool 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Apr 10, 2018 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     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

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2017–18 Rice Owls men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Connor Cashaw 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Stevenson High School Lincolnshire, Illinois
G 2 A. J. Lapray 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Sr Sprague HS
Pepperdine
Salem, Oregon
G 3 Ako Adams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School Washington, D.C.
F 4 Dylan Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr The Village School
Penn
Houston, Texas
G 5 Addison Owen (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So The Paideia School Atlanta, Georgia
F 10 Robert Martin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Tilton School Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
G 11 Miles Lester 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Wilbraham & Monson Academy Wichita, Kansas
G 12 Josh Parrish   6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Seguin High School
TCU
Arlington, Texas
F 13 Malik Osbourne 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Don Bosco Prep Matteson, Illinois
G 15 Bishop Mency 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Chino Hills High School Chino Hills, California
G 20 Grant Youngkin (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So St. Albans School Washington, D.C.
G 24 J. T. Trauber (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr St. John's School Houston, Texas
F 30 Austin Meyer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Rouse High School Pflugerville, Texas
F 35 Tim Harrison 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Francis W. Parker School San Diego, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2017*
7:00 pm
Wayland Baptist W 79–72 
Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm
Eastern Kentucky
MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game
L 72–73  0–1
Tudor Fieldhouse (2,001)
Houston, TX
Nov 14, 2017*
7:00 pm
Georgia State
MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game
L 54–75  0–2
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,208)
Houston, TX
Nov 17, 2017*
6:30 pm
at Northwestern State W 87–65  1–2
Prather Coliseum (1,312)
Natchitoches, LA
Nov 20, 2017*
9:00 pm
vs. UNLV
MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight semifinals
L 68–95  1–3
T-Mobile Arena (8,107)
Paradise, NV
Nov 22, 2017*
9:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Ole Miss
MGM Resorts Main Event Heavyweight consolation game
L 62–79  1–4
T-Mobile Arena (8,424)
Paradise, NV
Nov 25, 2017*
6:30 pm
St. Thomas (TX) W 70–59  2–4
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,439)
Houston, TX
Nov 29, 2017*
6:30 pm, ESPN3
at Texas–Arlington L 49–69  2–5
College Park Center (1,649)
Arlington, TX
Dec 2, 2017*
2:00 pm
Texas–Rio Grande Valley L 67–69  2–6
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,548)
Houston, TX
Dec 9, 2017*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
at Stephen F. Austin L 62–81  2–7
William R. Johnson Coliseum (4,071)
Nacogdoches, TX
Dec 14, 2017*
11:30 am
St. Edward's W 91–86  3–7
Tudor Fieldhouse (5,208)
Houston, TX
Dec 16, 2017*
7:00 pm
at No. 24 Texas Tech L 53–73  3–8
Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (7,034)
Lubbock, TX
Dec 19, 2017*
8:30 pm, ATTSN
at New Mexico L 69–78  3–9
Dreamstyle Arena (9,415)
Albuquerque, NM
Dec 22, 2017*
7:00 pm
Texas State L 66–74  3–10
Tudor Fieldhouse (2,913)
Houston, TX
Conference USA regular season
Dec 28, 2017
7:00 pm
at UTSA L 66–79  3–11
(0–1)
Convocation Center (1,163)
San Antonio, TX
Dec 30, 2017
8:00 pm
at UTEP L 62–80  3–12
(0–2)
Don Haskins Center (6,147)
El Paso, TX
Jan 4, 2018
7:00 pm
Old Dominion L 75–82 OT 3–13
(0–3)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,313)
Houston, TX
Jan 6, 2018
2:00 pm
Charlotte W 73–64  4–13
(1–3)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,482)
Houston, TX
Jan 13, 2018
2:00 pm
North Texas L 78–85  4–14
(1–4)
Tudor Fieldhouse (2,487)
Houston, TX
Jan 18, 2018
7:00 pm
at Southern Miss L 75–86  4–15
(1–5)
Reed Green Coliseum (2,001)
Hattiesburg, MS
Jan 20, 2018
6:00 pm
at Louisiana Tech L 54–69  4–16
(1–6)
Thomas Assembly Center (3,836)
Ruston, LA
Jan 25, 2018
7:00 pm
FIU W 73–64  5–16
(2–6)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,485)
Houston, TX
Jan 27, 2018
2:00 pm
Florida Atlantic L 62–63  5–17
(2–7)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,866)
Houston, TX
Feb 3, 2018
5:00 pm, ESPN3
at North Texas L 70–74  5–18
(2–8)
The Super Pit (2,322)
Denton, TX
Feb 8, 2018
6:30 pm, Stadium
at Middle Tennessee L 75–94  5–19
(2–9)
Murphy Center (5,602)
Murfreesboro, TN
Feb 10, 2018
7:00 pm
at UAB L 56–61  5–20
(2–10)
Bartow Arena (3,703)
Birmingham, AL
Feb 15, 2018
7:00 pm
Marshall L 80–93  5–21
(2–11)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,694)
Houston, TX
Feb 17, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Western Kentucky L 66–85  5–22
(2–12)
Tudor Fieldhouse (4,246)
Houston, TX
Feb 22, 2018
6:00 pm
at Florida Atlantic W 79–76 OT 6–22
(3–12)
FAU Arena (1,188)
Boca Raton, FL
Feb 24, 2018
6:00 pm
at FIU L 64–67  6–23
(3–13)
FIU Arena (4,580)
Miami, FL
Mar 1, 2018
7:00 pm
UTEP W 76–70  7–23
(4–13)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,802)
Houston, TX
Mar 3, 2018
7:00 pm
UTSA L 60–79  7–24
(4–14)
Tudor Fieldhouse (3,738)
Houston, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Mike Rhoades leaving Rice for VCU job". March 22, 2017.
  2. ^ Payne, Terrence (March 23, 2017). "Rice promotes Scott Pera to head coach". CollegeBasketballTalk. Retrieved April 13, 2017.