2016–17 Rice Owls men's basketball team

2016–17 Rice Owls men's basketball
CBI, Quarterfinals
ConferenceConference USA
Record23–12 (11–7 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaTudor Fieldhouse
Seasons
2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Middle Tennessee † 17 – 1   .944 31 – 5   .861
Louisiana Tech 14 – 4   .778 23 – 10   .697
Old Dominion 12 – 6   .667 19 – 12   .613
UTEP 12 – 6   .667 15 – 17   .469
Rice 11 – 7   .611 23 – 12   .657
Marshall 10 – 8   .556 20 – 15   .571
UAB 9 – 9   .500 17 – 16   .515
Western Kentucky 9 – 9   .500 15 – 17   .469
UTSA 8 – 10   .444 14 – 19   .424
Charlotte 7 – 11   .389 13 – 17   .433
Florida Atlantic 6 – 12   .333 10 – 20   .333
Southern Miss 6 – 12   .333 9 – 22   .290
FIU 3 – 15   .167 7 – 24   .226
North Texas 2 – 16   .111 8 – 22   .267
† 2017 C-USA Tournament winner

The 2016–17 Rice Owls men's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by third-year head coach Mike Rhoades, played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas as members of Conference USA. They finished the 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]

Previous season

The Owls finished the 2015–16 season 12–20, 7–11 in C-USA play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They lost in the second round of the C-USA tournament to Charlotte.

Preseason

The Owls were picked to finish in ninth place in the preseason Conference USA poll.[3] Marcus Evans was selected to the preseason All-Conference USA team.[3]

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Max Guercy 1 G 5'9" 170 Senior Arleta, CA Graduated
Oliver Xu 30 G 6'2" 170 Sophomore Hong Kong Walk-on; didn't return
Amir Smith 32 F 6'6" 200 Freshman Missouri City, TX Transferred to State Fair Community College
Nate Pollard 45 C 7'1" 220 Sophomore Bountiful, UT Transferred to Chaminade

Recruiting class of 2016

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ako Adams
#55 PG 		Arlington, VA Bishop O'Connell High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sep 5, 2015 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 3
Tim Harrison
#66 PF 		El Cajon, CA Francis Parker High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Oct 1, 2015 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 3
Austin Meyer
#51 C 		Mustang, OK Mustang High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Nov 25, 2015 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 3
B.J. Martin
#92 PF 		Waltham, MA Tilton School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jan 15, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 2
Corey Douglas
PF 		Louisville, KY Fork Union Military Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Mar 26, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 2
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:

  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 3, 2016.

Roster

2016–17 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) So Stevenson High School Lincolnshire, Illinois
G 2 Marcus Evans 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Cape Henry Collegiate School Chesapeake, Virginia
F 3 Robert Martin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Tilton School Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
G/F 4 Egor Koulechov 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr Arizona State Volgograd, Russia
G 5 Ako Adams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School Washington, D.C.
F 11 Corey Douglas 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Fork Union Military Academy Louisville, Kentucky
F 12 Marquez Letcher-Ellis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Montverde Academy Houston, Texas
G 13 Addison Owen (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr The Paideia School Atlanta, Georgia
G 15 Bishop Mency 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Chino Hills High School Chino Hills, California
G 20 Grant Youngkin (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr St. Albans School Washington, D.C.
G 21 Chad Lott 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr C. E. Byrd High School Shreveport, Louisiana
G 22 Marcus Jackson (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Pacific Hills School Acton, California
F 30 Austin Meyer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Rouse High School Pflugerville, Texas
G/F 31 Harrison Brown (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So McCallum High School Austin, Texas
F 35 Tim Harrison 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Francis W. Parker School San Diego, California
C 54 Andrew Drone 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Gallatin High School Ridgway, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/05/2016*
7:00 pm 		Our Lady of the Lake W 96–86 
Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
11/13/2016*
1:00 pm 		at James Madison W 94–70  1–0
 JMU Convocation Center (3,480)
Harrisonburg, VA
11/16/2016*
7:00 pm 		Texas Southern L 68–71  1–1
 Tudor Fieldhouse (2,082)
Houston, TX
11/19/2016*
1:00 pm 		at Nebraska–Omaha W 100–87  2–1
 Baxter Arena (1,814)
Omaha, NE
11/21/2016*
7:00 pm 		Montana State W 83–78  3–1
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,408)
Houston, TX
11/23/2016*
7:00 pm 		Delaware State W 80–58  4–1
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,275)
Houston, TX
11/26/2016*
3:00 pm 		at Incarnate Word W 87–79  5–1
 McDermott Center (530)
San Antonio, TX
11/30/2016*
7:00 pm 		Houston Baptist W 90–77  6–1
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,766)
Houston, TX
12/03/2016*
1:00 pm, FSSW 		at Texas Tech L 84–85  6–2
 United Supermarkets Arena (10,452)
Lubbock, TX
12/10/2016*
7:00 pm 		Stephen F. Austin W 70–63  7–2
 Tudor Fieldhouse (2,205)
Houston, TX
12/15/2016*
11:45 am 		St. Edward's W 93–64  8–2
 Tudor Fieldhouse (5,307)
Houston, TX
12/17/2016*
6:00 pm, ACCN Extra 		at Pittsburgh L 73–83  8–3
 Peterson Events Center (7,017)
Pittsburgh, PA
12/19/2016*
7:00 pm 		Northwestern State W 100–93  9–3
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,555)
Houston, TX
12/21/2016*
7:00 pm 		St. Thomas W 83–63  10–3
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,878)
Houston, TX
Conference USA regular season
12/31/2016
12:00 pm 		at Old Dominion L 56–62  10–4
(0–1) 		Ted Constant Convocation Center (5,431)
Norfolk, VA
01/02/2017
6:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Charlotte W 89–70  11–4
(1–1) 		Dale F. Halton Arena (3,660)
Charlotte, NC
01/05/2017
7:00 pm, beIN 		Middle Tennessee L 77–80  11–5
(1–2) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,513)
Houston, TX
01/07/2017
7:00 pm 		UAB L 81–88 OT 11–6
(1–3) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,001)
Houston, TX
01/14/2017
2:00 pm 		North Texas W 101–79  12–6
(2–3) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,749)
Houston, TX
01/19/2017
6:30 pm 		at Louisiana Tech L 64–74  12–7
(2–4) 		Thomas Assembly Center (3,313)
Ruston, LA
01/21/2017
4:00 pm 		at Southern Miss W 61–58  13–7
(3–4) 		Reed Green Coliseum (2,366)
Hattiesburg, MS
01/26/2017
7:00 pm, CI 		Old Dominion L 72–80  13–8
(3–5) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,460)
Houston, TX
01/28/2017
7:00 pm 		Charlotte W 84–67  14–8
(4–5) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,206)
Houston, TX
02/04/2017
2:00 pm 		at North Texas W 95–80  15–8
(5–5) 		The Super Pit (2,154)
Denton, TX
02/09/2017
6:00 pm 		at FIU W 89–78  16–8
(6–5) 		FIU Arena (802)
Miami, FL
02/11/2017
6:00 pm 		at Florida Atlantic W 81–75 OT 17–8
(7–5) 		FAU Arena (1,655)
Boca Raton, FL
02/16/2017
7:00 pm 		UTSA W 80–68  18–8
(8–5) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,713)
Houston, TX
02/18/2017
7:00 pm 		UTEP L 71–79  18–9
(8–6) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,988)
Houston, TX
02/23/2017
7:00 pm 		Southern Miss W 72–71 OT 19–9
(9–6) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,589)
Houston, TX
02/25/2017
7:00 pm 		Louisiana Tech W 88–81  20–9
(10–6) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (3,302)
Houston, TX
03/02/2017
6:00 pm 		at Marshall W 89–88  21–9
(11–6) 		Cam Henderson Center (4,994)
Huntington, WV
03/04/2017
7:00 pm 		at WKU L 72–79  21–10
(11–7) 		E. A. Diddle Arena (4,283)
Bowling Green, KY
Conference USA tournament
03/08/2017
2:00 pm, CI 		(5) vs. (12) Southern Miss
First round 		W 86–75  22–10
 Legacy Arena (3,207)
Birmingham, AL
03/09/2017
2:00 pm, ASN 		(5) vs. (4) UTEP
Quarterfinals 		L 76–86  22–11
 Legacy Arena (3,228)
Birmingham, AL
CBI
03/15/2017*
7:00 pm 		San Francisco
First Round 		W 85–76  23–11
 Tudor Fieldhouse (3,207)
Houston, TX
03/20/2017*
7:00 pm 		Utah Valley
Quarterfinals 		L 79–85  23–12
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,584)
Houston, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.
Source[4]

See also

2016–17 Rice Owls women's basketball team

References

  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.
  3. ^ a b "MBK: UAB Voted C-USA Preseason Favorite". Conference USA. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  4. ^ http://www.riceowls.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/rice-m-baskbl-sched.html [dead link‍]