SAN ANTONIO – The eleventh-seeded UTSA men's basketball will face No. 6 seed Rice on Wednesday, March 8, on Court B at 8:30 p.m. at The Star in Frisco. Chris Mycoskie (play-by-play) and Kyle Youmans (analyst) will call the game on ESPN+, with Andy Everett, the voice of the Roadrunners, voicing the action on Ticket 760 AM.
UTSA (10-21, 4-16 Conference USA) will face Rice (17-14, 8-12 C-USA) in the third and final game of the Wednesday action at The Star. (8) Western Kentucky will face (9) UTEP on Court A to open the event while (7) FIU will play (10) Louisiana Tech at 8 p.m. The winner of the UTSA/Rice matchup will advance to face (3) UAB on Thursday at 8:30.
Leading the Roadrunners
UTSA is led on offense by a quartet of double-digit scorers. Leading the way is JUCO transfer Japhet Medor who churns out a team-high 13.4 points per game. Medor not only leads the team in scoring but also in assists (105) and steals (43) while pulling down 3.3 boards per contest – the fourth most by any Roadrunner. Medor has seven 20+ point outings this season and scored a career-high 30 points against Rice on 1/16 in the teams' first meeting. Medor leads C-USA in free throws attempted and made.
Flanking Medor in the backcourt is fellow JUCO newcomer guard John Buggs III. Buggs chips in 11.0 points per game and he has four 20+ point outings this year. Buggs has a team-high 20 double-digit scoring outings on the season. Freshman DJ Richards also averages double-digit points as the rookie averages to 10.4 points per game. Richards, a two-time C-USA Freshman of the Week (D12, D19), is shooting the three ball at a 33.0% clip while Buggs shoots 40.1% to lead the team. Richards is second on the team in rebounding, pulling in 4.6 boards a game.
Senior stalwart Jacob Germany is the final double-digit scorer and averages 12.4 points per game. The fourth-year Roadrunner out of Kingston, Okla. is pulling in 8.3 rebounds per contest too, tied for the most by any player in C-USA. Germany, a 2021-22 and 2022-23 Conference USA All-Conference Honorable Mention, adds a team-high 24 total blocks to the mix. Germany has nine double-doubles this season.
Overall, the Roadrunners are shooting 41.0 percent as a team from the field and holding foes to 44.9 percent. UTSA averages 69.2 points, 35.2 rebounds, 10.5 assists, 4.3 steals and 2.5 blocks per game as a team.
Scouting Rice
Rice boasts three double-digit scorers, with its leading scorer being Quincy Olivari, the third-highest scorer in Conference USA. Olivari averages 19.4 points per contest and also leads the team in defensive rebounds and three-pointers made.
Max Fiedler, one of the double-digit scorers, averages 10.6 points per game and leads the Owls in rebounding as he pulls down 7.7 rebounds a game, the third most in the conference. Fiedler leads all of Conference USA in assists, averaging 5.1 a game, and recorded the Owls' second-ever triple-double when the two teams first met in January. Fiedler is also the backbone of the backline defense, owning 34 blocks to lead the team. Travis Evee (15.4) also averages double-digit points and leads the team in steals, owning 37 on the season.
Overall, the Owls are shooting 46.7 percent as a team from the field and holding foes to 46.5 percent. Rice averages 77.4 points, 35 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 6.0 steals and 2.4 blocks per game as a team.
Next Time Out
UTSA owns a 3-9 all-time record in the Conference USA Championships and will be appearing in the tournament for the tenth consecutive year. UTSA went 0-1 last year, dropping its first-round matchup to Southern Miss.
The Roadrunners and the Owls split the regular season series at one apiece with the first matchup heading to overtime.
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