Rice Plays at Texas Saturday

For the second time in as many games, Rice University’s basketball team will look to stop Tristan Thompson when the Owls take on Texas Saturday in Austin.

Earlier this week, North Texas’ Tristan Thompson scored 26 points to help lead the Mean Green to a 68-65 win against Rice. UNT’s Thompson scored 11 straight points early in the second half and was a catalyst to the Mean Green retaking a lead in the game. His free throw with 1:37 to play gave North Texas the lead for good.

Now, the Owls face a Texas team whose roster also includes a player named Tristan Thompson. The Longhorns’ Thompson ranks second on the Texas team in scoring with a 12.6 points per game saverage. He leads the Longhorns with 13 blocks through five games and is also averaging 6.2 rebounds.

Saturday’s game between Rice and Texas is slated for 3 p.m. The game will be broadcast within the Lone Star State on Fox Sports Net Southwest and will be broadcast locally in Houston by 1560 the Game.

For the full story, go to RiceOwls.com.

Rice vs. Texas preview.

Owls Take on North Texas Tuesday

Rice University plays its third game in six days when the Owls travel to North Texas on Tuesday. Tip-off for the intastate battle is 7 p.m. from The Super Pit on the UNT campus and the game will be broadcast locally in Houston on ESPN 97.5 and through RiceOwls.com.

Rice will be at full strength with the return of junior guard Connor Frizzelle. In Sunday’s game against Saint Gregory’s, Frizzelle was fouled in the opening minute and came down hard hitting his head on the hardwood. He had to be assisted by teammates to the locker room.

Frizzelle underwent tests conducted by the Rice medical staff Monday morning and has been cleared to play. He was averaging 13.3 points per game heading into the week and has started the last two games for the Owls.

Link to Full Story.

Owls Take on Santa Clara Thursday

Rice will look to equal last year’s 3-0 start Thursday night when the Owls take on Santa Clara in the team’s first road game of the season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. local time, 9 p.m. in Houston. The game will be broadcast by ESPN 97.5

Rice capped a 2-0 weekend to start the season last Sunday when the Owls beat Grambling State 86-57. In both of the team’s games this season a player has come off the bench to lead the Owls in scoring. Trey Stanton scored 17 points in the Owls’ 63-51 season-opening win over St. Thomas. Earlier this week, Connor Frizzelle came off the bench and was the team’s scoring co-leader with 17 points.

Frizzelle leads Rice with 13.0 point scoring average this season and has five steals in two games.

Thursday’s game against Santa Clara is the return trip for a home-and-home series with the West Coast Conference school. Last year, Frizzelle scored 16 points and the Owls converted 23 Santa Clara turnovers into 27 points in a 70-57 victory over the Broncos.

Link to RiceOwls.com Preview

Fight and Desire

Few student-athletes have had to overcome the amount of adversity which has beset Rice University basketball player Cory Pflieger during his career. Pflieger has had to overcome not one, but two season-ending injuries during his time at Rice.

Back in November of 2007 and just five games into his junior season, Pflieger suffered a torn ligament in his ankle that would sideline him for the rest of the year. He received a medical redshirt and came back to play a full junior season a year later. And then, heading into his senior season last fall, Pflieger suffered what was later diagnosed as a torn anterior cruciate ligament as well as torn meniscus which required surgery and prevented him from playing.

But in the weeks after surgery, which ironically came on the day of the Owls’ 2009-10 season opener against Sacramento State, Pflieger learned of the NCAA’s hardship waiver and the possibility of gaining one final year of eligibility.

“I had heard of a few athletes such as Jordan Shipley at Texas who had received a sixth year,” Pflieger said. “After talking it over with the coaches, I felt I had the opportunity of possibly being granted a sixth year since I didn’t even go through one official practice. Even though it was not guaranteed, I believed I would be back and have a chance to play.”

Pflieger, along with the team’s trainer and team physicians, all had to write letters to the NCAA to request the waiver which granted Pflieger a sixth year to play four seasons of basketball.

Surprisingly, the process took less time than expected. Pflieger received the waiver just a few weeks after submitting his request.

“I really appreciate the NCAA reading the letter I wrote and realizing it wasn’t just a petty attempt to gain another year of college. It was an opportunity to gain another year of life that I didn’t want to miss,” he said. “After getting the waiver, the choice was definitely up to me. I made my decision to come back and then it was up to the coaches to see how I would fit in.

No Regrets

Pflieger’s rehab following surgery is now right at a calendar year. His health is good. He is ready to provide the kind of leadership only a senior can provide.

“If something happened during rehab or something happens during the middle of the season that prevents me from finishing my career – and I don’t expect that to happen knowing how I have worked and trained – I will always know I gave it my best shot. I am not going to give up or quit on myself or my team.”

Even though his past injuries were beyond his control, Pflieger said he felt as if he let his teammates down last year.

As he began rehabilitation for his knee, he proved to be a role model for his teammates. He rehabbed in the training room. He worked out in the weight room at the same time his teammates were there.

“I should have been there for leadership,” he said about last year. “I wanted to prove to my teammates that I wasn’t giving up on them. And I wasn’t giving up on myself as far as playing. I worked as hard as I could every day to show them I still had a positive attitude and was positive about the situation.”

Pflieger is one of four seniors on this year’s squad. With a strong core of returning talent, the Owls will look to improve on last year’s 8-23 record.

Pflieger said he has high expectations for himself as well as this year’s Rice team.

“A lot a people may not feel that way because of the record we had last year,” he said of his expectations. “I feel a lot of the problems we have had in the past were eliminated during the workouts this summer. This team is definitely unified and in the goal we have for this season.

“The theme for the year is ‘Get Better Each Day’ and we have shown that on the court. From the first practice, people were working hard. You could tell from our intensity and how we were communicating, this season is going to be different. We have worked too hard during the offseason and during the preseason to have another disappointing year.”

In the Classroom

One interesting postscript to Pflieger’s story is the uniqueness of being a sixth-year student-athlete at a university the caliber of Rice.

Pflieger graduated from Rice this past spring with a degree in kinesiology. Returning to the classroom this year, the bar was raised when it came to the academic performance. He must maintain a higher grade point average than his teammates to remain eligible for next semester.

His course load also has depth and direction.

In addition to taking business courses which will help in any future endeavors, Pflieger is continuing to take courses which focus on different cultures. His course load includes a modern government course taught by CBS presidential historian and analyst Douglas Brinkley.

“I picked classes which have well-respected professors as well as classes which will help me when I am finished with my career at Rice,” he said. “Douglas Brinkley is a very interesting guy. It is a class you don’t want to miss and you learn something every day. The same with my Modern Arab History course which is taught by Dr. (Ussama) Makdisi.”

Trey Stanton scored 17 points and Arsalan Kazemi registered his 10th career double-double as Rice opened its season Friday with a 63-51 win over St. Thomas.

Check out video highlights, statistics and a full recap at RiceOwls.com.

Link to game story.

Rice Takes on St. Thomas in Opener

Rice University opens its 97th basketball season Friday when it plays host to the University of St. Thomas. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Tudor Fieldhouse and is part of a rare, double-header with the Owl volleyball team which plays host to Marshall at 5 p.m.

Friday's game for the Rice basketball program begins a busy first weekend. The Owls also play host to Grambling State Sunday afternoon. The squad will look to take advantage of playing three of its first four at home in Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Owls' games are broadcast by ESPN 97.5. Live statistics and video are available through RiceOwls.com.

Read more at RiceOwls.com.
Here is a link to the full story.

White Sands Await Owls in 2011

Rice University is one of six teams announced Wednesday by ESPN Regional Television to participate in the 2011 Cancun Governor's Cup. The tournament will be held in late December around the Christmas holiday, at Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun, Mexico. The remaining two teams for the tournament field will be announced at a later date.

The second annual Cancun Governor's Cup field also includes the College of Charleston, Kansas State, Massachusetts, Southern Illinois and Utah. Kansas State, currently ranked No. 3 in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll, advanced to the Elite of the NCAA Championship in 2010, falling to national runner-up Butler. Charleston participated in the College Basketball Invitational.

The 2011 Cancun Governor's Cup, a bracket-format tournament, will feature 12 games over three days in late December 2011. Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through a bracket-tournament format. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in a championship game on the final day.

The inaugural Cancun Governor's Cup will take place Wednesday-Friday, Dec. 22-24, 2010, at the Poliforum Benito Juarez. Conference USA will serve as the event's sponsoring conference. C-USA member Southern Miss is in the 2010 field.

The tournament offers teams an opportunity to practice, play and be immersed in the Mexican culture and landscape. Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Cancun Governor's Cup Web site at CancunGovernorsCup.com.

The Cancun Governor's Cup is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television, Inc. (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN.

The nation's largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Collegiate basketball events include the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Cancun Governor's Cup; Charleston Classic (S.C.); DIRECTV SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Honda Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); Lane Furniture All-College Basketball Classic (Oklahoma City) and BracketBusters.

If the Rice men's basketball exhibition game Monday against Texas A&M International was an opportunity for the coaching staff to evaluate the squad in a game setting, the coaches had to be pleased with what they saw. The Owls flew past the Dustdevils in a 76-49 exhibition victory at Tudor Fieldhouse and the outcome never in doubt.

Forward Arsalan Kazemi led the team with 14 points and five rebounds, as a balanced scoring attack saw five Owl players in double figures. Connor Frizzelle scored a dozen points and Cory Pflieger contributed 11, including three from 3-point range. Trey Stanton had 11 points and led the team with nine rebounds. Lucas Kuipers had 10 points and seven boards. The team shot 47.5 percent overall.

For more images, video and statistics, go to RiceOwls.com.
Link to Texas A&M International Game

Rice held its final preseason intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday in Tudor Fieldhouse. Read more at RiceOwls.com. Pictured, Returning sophomore Arsalan Kazemi defends against freshman Omar Oraby.

Link to full story about intrasquad scrimmage.

Faculty & Staff Appreciation Weekend Opens Season

Rice will open the 2010-11 basketball season with a weekend which recognizes faculty and staff for their efforts on campus. The athletic department will be selling discounted tickets for the opening weekend of hoops during the lunch hour Tuesday through Thursday at Willy’s Statue on campus.

Rice opens the regular season on Friday, Nov. 12th against St. Thomas then plays host to Grambling State Saturday, Nov. 14th.

Faculty and staff can purchase an End Court ticket to either game for $10. The ticket price also includes a hot dog and drink at the game. Tickets for both games are $15 which also includes a hot dog and drink for each game.

Faculty and staff are admitted free to all Rice women’s games. With a purchase of a ticket for either men’s game, faculty and staff can purchase additional tickets for family and friends for the women’s season opener on Nov. 17th against Stephen F. Austin for $1.

The athletic department will be selling tickets Tuesday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. next to Willy’s Statue.

Also this week, both the men’s and women’s basketball programs will co-host Hootin’ Hoops in Tudor Fieldhouse Thursday at 7 p.m. Fans will have an opportunity to meet members of both teams and receive player autographs while women’s head coach Greg Williams and men’s coach Ben Braun will preview their upcoming seasons. Fans and students will also have an opportunity to learn chants and cheers during a simulated game played during the evening.

Season tickets for both programs’ home schedules are also available by visiting the ticket link at RiceOwls.com or by calling the Rice Ticket Office at (713) 522-6957.