SAN ANTONIO – Following the first BYE date of the 2024 American Athletic Conference schedule, the UTSA men’s basketball team (8-13, 2-6 AAC) are aiming to get a repeat of the last result against Rice (8-13, 2-6 AAC) inside the friendly confines of the Convocation Center. Following up the overtime triumph in Houston at the beginning of January, the Owls and Roadrunners are set to tip at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 3, setting off the first date of UTSA’s Rowdy Rodeo Weekend at The Convo. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ alongside the radio broadcast on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket.
Men's Basketball Tickets
Single-Game Tickets
UTSA Men’s Basketball Home Schedule
Direct Link: https://bit.ly/UTSATix
Single Game Adult Reserved: $13
Single Game Military/Youth (ages 3-18)/Senior (ages 65+): $11
Students: Free Admission with UTSA ID, download tickets at goUTSA.com/studentlogin.
Rowdy Rodeo Weekend
UTSA Athletics invites fans to dress in their best western attire to root on their Roadrunners this weekend. There will be giveaway of six (6) UTSA custom-branded cowboy hats, San Antonio Rodeo tickets, prize packs and country music will be featured throughout the game.
On the Air and on the Web
Saturday’s meeting between the Roadrunners and Owls is set to stream live on ESPN+ for subscribers, with Lincoln Rose (play-by-play) and Devin Brown (analyst) on the broadcast call.
On the radio with Andy Everett (play-by-play) and Tim Carter (analyst), the broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket and, as always, will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
UTSA Athletics will also provide LIVE STATS.
Last Time Out
‣ The Roadrunners couldn’t overcome a slow start in Tampa, as the South Florida Bulls fired off an opponent-high 18 three-pointers to pull away from UTSA in the second half.
‣ UTSA cut the deficit to just six with four minutes remaining in the first half, but a late push by the Bulls set a 13-point halftime lead.
‣ In the second half, South Florida collected seven consecutive scores across a six-minute stretch, building out a game-high 24-point lead – fueled by five threes in the grouping.
‣ Although UTSA got its shooting untracked in the second half and started to cut into the USF lead, trading scores with the Bulls didn’t make up enough ground while the Bulls put up over half their shots from the perimeter, en route to a 72-89 USF win.
‣ After snapping UTSA’s four-game slide on a game-winner against Tulane, Jordan Ivy-Curry led all scorers with 23 points against the Bulls on 8-for-16 shooting with five buckets from the perimeter. Massal Diouf topped the UTSA rebounding effort with six boards.
‣ Christian Tucker doled out six more assists and continues his streak of 13 consecutive weeks topping the American Athletic Conference assist stats, pacing the league with 118 dimes (30th NCAA) on 5.6 apg (30th NCAA), holding the No. 2 spot with a 2.81 assist-to-turnover ratio (38th NCAA). Tucker is also working on his fourth week leading the AAC in free throw percentage at an NCAA 21st-best 89.3 percent.
‣ Though battling through some inconsistency of late, UTSA still tops the AAC with 29.4 three-point attempts per game (No. 8 NCAA) and 10.1 3FG/g (14th NCAA), while also hitting the glass hard for a league-best 40.29 rebounds per game (24th NCAA).
Series with Rice
The Roadrunners extended a slight edge out to 13-10 on the last meeting, as these teams head into their 24th series meeting. UTSA also is 7-2 at home in the 40-year series that dates to 1984. The series opened with six early non-conference tilts but gained frequency in 2013-14 when UTSA joined Conference USA. Head coach Steve Henson is 7-6 overall and 3-1 at home against the Owls.
In the last meeting, UTSA and Rice were forced to a neutral court on the campus of the University of St. Thomas due to water damage at the Owls’ court. The Roadrunners erased a 10-point deficit with a 13-1 run late in regulation. Tucker tied the game from the perimeter at 73-all on Ivy-Curry’s drive and kick. Trailing with seconds to go, Ivy-Curry drew a shooting foul with 3.1 seconds to go, dropping both shots to force overtime. UTSA outscored Rice 12-5 in the extra period for the 89-82 UTSA win. Carlton Linguard Jr. fired off a team-high 24 points while Dre Fuller Jr. scored 23 points. On the opposite side of the coin, Rice’s Travis Evee and Mekhi Mason scored 25 and 22, respectively.
Scouting Rice
‣ Playing under seventh-year head coach Scott Pera, the Rice Owls match UTSA’s record at 8-13 and 2-6 in AAC play after registering the upset on Wednesday at Memphis – downing the Tigers, 74-71.
‣ In addition, the Owls recorded close AAC losses last month to both Tulsa (83-85) and Charlotte (79-81).
‣ Rice averages 73.1 ppg on 43.8 percent shooting, collecting 36.5 rpg with a 0.9 rebounding differential.
‣ Senior guard Travis Evee remains the top scorer for the Owls with 15.6 ppg on 39.9 percent shooting, pacing the squad with 42 threes and shooting a team-high 60-for-73 (82.2 percent) at the free throw line. Evee chips in 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game.
‣ Sophomore Mekhi Mason has established himself even more in conference play, averaging 14.0 ppg this season on 40.9 percent shooting, while also dropping 32 threes.
‣ The all-around post player, senior forward Max Fiedler is at the fringe of a double-double average, putting up 9.5 ppg, an AAC-high 9.9 rpg and team-leading 5.4 apg – which ranks just behind Tucker at No. 2 in the conference assist rankings.
‣ Fiedler was just recognized for being the first player in the last 30 years of college basketball to earn 1,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 assists, 100 blocks and 100 steals.
Up Next
After Saturday’s meeting with the Owls, the Roadrunners travel to the Sunflower State for the first AAC matchup with Wichita State on Feb. 7, returning home for a 210 Day face-off with East Carolina in a nationally televised contest on ESPNU (Feb. 10).
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