SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men's basketball team will conclude its regular-season schedule with a Saturday matchup against Rice at 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN+, with Lincoln Rose (play-by-play) and Karl Schoening (analyst) calling the action, and on Ticket 760 AM with Andy Everett (play-by-play) and Tim Carter (analyst) voicing the game.
UTSA (9-21, 2-15 Conference USA) will wrap up its 18-game home schedule and 31-game season slate with Rice on Saturday. The Roadrunners have secured their matchup in the first round of the Conference USA Championships and will face Southern Miss on Tuesday at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ at The Star in Frisco.
The matchup with the Owls marks the second in the home-and-home season series, as Rice posted a 91-78 win over the Roadrunners on Feb. 3 in Houston. UTSA will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak in the matchup on Saturday, after springing a 98-79 overtime winner at Southern Miss on Feb. 17, UTSA has fallen to the top three teams in the C-USA West Division, Louisiana Tech, UAB and league champion North Texas.
UTSA will be honoring three senior student-athletes and two student managers during senior day on Saturday. Student managers Jordan Litofsky – in his second year – and first-year manager Todd Torres will be honored with their families pregame. Seniors Phoenix Ford, Darius McNeill and Adrian Rodriguez will be honored as well on Saturday. Ford is a three-year post player after transferring from Richmond and Mississippi Gulf Coast College, McNeill has played the 2021-22 season with the Roadrunners after transferring from Cal and SMU, and Rodriguez has played four seasons with UTSA and medically retired in the preseason due to lingering knee injuries throughout his career.
The Roadrunners average 66.9, 38.7 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 5.7 steals and 2.6 blocks per game as a team, shooting 39 percent from the field and 28.8 percent from 3-point range. Opponents are scoring 72.5 points per game, with a 45.6 clip from the field and a 35.9 percent clip from deep.
UTSA is led in scoring by junior center Jacob Germany, who averages 14.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, going for eight double-doubles and 25 blocks. Junior guard Dhieu Deing averages 14 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, while senior Darius McNeill chips in 6.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Isaiah Addo-Ankrah averages 4.8 points and shoots 40.6 percent from deep.
Rice (15-14, 7-10 C-USA) comes into the matchup with UTSA after falling 70-67 at UTEP on Thursday. The Owns had a four-game losing streak snapped with a 77-72 win over Southern Miss on Feb. 26. After beating UTSA to go to 6-4 in conference play on Feb. 3, the Owls have last six of their last seven games against D1 opponents to drop to 7-10 in league.
The Owls average 75.4 points, 35.8 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 5.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game as a team, shooting 45.9 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from deep. UMass transfer Carl Pierre paces the offense with 15.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Travis Evee averages 14.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, while sophomore center Max Fielder chips in 10 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. Quincy Olivari averages 9.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
UTSA leads the all-time series with Rice, 10-8, including a 6-1 mark in games played in San Antonio. UTSA last lost in San Antonio vs. Rice in 2015. Rice won the last meeting, 91-78 in Houston, getting 22 points from Max Fielder and a 12-point, 13-rebounds game from Quincy Olivari. Carl Pierre had 19 and Travis Evee chipped in 16. UTSA shot50 percent in the game, with 20 points and nine boards from Jacob Germany, one of five Roadrunners in double figures. Rice shot 62.3 percent from the field in the win and was 7 of 14 from deep.
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