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
2017–18 record7–24 (4–14 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Chris Kreider
  • Mark Linebaugh
  • Omar Mance
Home arenaTudor Fieldhouse
2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Middle Tennessee162 .889  258  .758
Old Dominion153 .833  257  .781
Western Kentucky144 .778  2711  .711
Marshall126 .667  2511  .694
UTSA117 .611  2015  .571
UAB108 .556  2013  .606
North Texas810 .444  2018  .526
FIU810 .444  1418  .438
Southern Miss711 .389  1618  .471
Louisiana Tech711 .389  1716  .515
Florida Atlantic612 .333  1219  .387
UTEP612 .333  1120  .355
Rice414 .222  724  .226
Charlotte216 .111  623  .207
2018 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

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

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Marcus Evans2G6'2"195SophomoreChesapeake, VATransferred to VCU
Egor Koulechov4G/F6'5"210RS JuniorVolgograd, RussiaGraduate transferred to Florida
Corey Douglas11F6'8"190FreshmanLouisville, KYTransferred to Tallahassee CC
Marquez Letcher-Ellis12F6'7"205SophomoreHouston, TXTransferred to Nevada
Chad Lott21G6'3"190RS FreshmanShreveport, LATransferred to Howard
Marcus Jackson22G6'3"185SeniorActon, CAGraduate transferred to UC Santa Barbara
Harrison Brown31G/F6'4'200SophomoreAustin, TXWalk-on; left the team due to personal reasons
Andrew Drone54C6'10"260SeniorRidgway, ILGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
A. J. Lapray2G6'5"190RS SeniorSalem, ORTransferred from Pepperdine. Will be eligible to play immediately since Lapray graduated from Pepperdine.
Dylan Jones4F6'8"215RS SeniorHouston, TXTransferred from Penn. Will be eligible to play immediately since Jones graduated from Penn.
Josh Parrish12G6'5"220SophomoreArlington, TXTransferred 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

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: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/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: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   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:

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

    2018 recruiting class

    Roster

    2017–18 Rice Owls men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 0 Connor Cashaw 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrStevenson High School Lincolnshire, Illinois
    G 2 A. J. Lapray 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS SrSprague HS
    Pepperdine
    Salem, Oregon
    G 3 Ako Adams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoBishop 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 SrThe Village School
    Penn
    Houston, Texas
    G 5 Addison Owen (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) SoThe Paideia School Atlanta, Georgia
    F 10 Robert Martin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)220 lb (100 kg) SoTilton School Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    G 11 Miles Lester 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrWilbraham & Monson Academy Wichita, Kansas
    G 12 Josh Parrish  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoSeguin High School
    TCU
    Arlington, Texas
    F 13 Malik Osbourne 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrDon Bosco Prep Matteson, Illinois
    G 15 Bishop Mency 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)215 lb (98 kg) SrChino Hills High School Chino Hills, California
    G 20 Grant Youngkin (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) SoSt. Albans School Washington, D.C.
    G 24 J. T. Trauber (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)165 lb (75 kg) SrSt. John's School Houston, Texas
    F 30 Austin Meyer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)235 lb (107 kg) SoRouse High School Pflugerville, Texas
    F 35 Tim Harrison 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)220 lb (100 kg) SoFrancis 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

    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)
    Mufreesboro, 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

    References

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