Men's basketball sees step ahead negated by Tulane loss
Yan Digilov
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Sports
One step forward and two steps back is no way to make progress.
The men's basketball team is no exception, but even the single step forward is a plus for a team that just snapped a seven-game losing streak against East Carolina University last Saturday.
The win against the Pirates (7-15, 1-7 Conference USA) also marked their first road win all season long. After showing flashes of quality play throughout their losing slide, the Owls (7-14, 1-7 C-USA) were finally able to put together a complete game against the worst team in the conference.
Against the Pirates, Rice reversed several trends that have haunted it in the past. First, the team got off to a competitive start, in sharp contrast to the stagnant play that has dominated the first minutes of play over their last several games.
With a stifling defense, Rice also limited ECU to 31 percent shooting. It was a stark contrast to the 51 percent shooting from Southern Methodist University (13-8, 3-4 C-USA) two weeks ago, a mark well above the team's season average.
But the young squad's inexperience eventually came through, and despite building a 20-point lead in the first half, turnovers and lazy play created an unnecessary challenge for Rice. The home team's comeback climaxed with a two-point deficit with 8:30 left in the game. This time, Rice held ECU off to walk away with the win, but in their next game at Tudor Fieldhouse, they would not be so lucky.
Surprisingly enough, the win against the Pirates also broke a streak of six consecutive games in which the Owls out-rebounded their opponents, losing the battle by a margin of 40-39. The inverse relationship continued for the Owls on Wednesday against the undersized Tulane University squad, who ceded the rebound battle by a mark of 35-28.
At home, the Owls blew a 13-point second-half lead against the Green Wave (6-14, 2-6 C-USA) to drop an overtime contest 79-74.
"I think our team was ready to play and was focused," Head Coach Ben Braun said. "It is just tough that the things that we did right were overshadowing with lack of toughness. It isn't technical. It isn't game plan. Those are intangibles that you have to master."
The men's basketball team is no exception, but even the single step forward is a plus for a team that just snapped a seven-game losing streak against East Carolina University last Saturday.
The win against the Pirates (7-15, 1-7 Conference USA) also marked their first road win all season long. After showing flashes of quality play throughout their losing slide, the Owls (7-14, 1-7 C-USA) were finally able to put together a complete game against the worst team in the conference.
Against the Pirates, Rice reversed several trends that have haunted it in the past. First, the team got off to a competitive start, in sharp contrast to the stagnant play that has dominated the first minutes of play over their last several games.
With a stifling defense, Rice also limited ECU to 31 percent shooting. It was a stark contrast to the 51 percent shooting from Southern Methodist University (13-8, 3-4 C-USA) two weeks ago, a mark well above the team's season average.
But the young squad's inexperience eventually came through, and despite building a 20-point lead in the first half, turnovers and lazy play created an unnecessary challenge for Rice. The home team's comeback climaxed with a two-point deficit with 8:30 left in the game. This time, Rice held ECU off to walk away with the win, but in their next game at Tudor Fieldhouse, they would not be so lucky.
Surprisingly enough, the win against the Pirates also broke a streak of six consecutive games in which the Owls out-rebounded their opponents, losing the battle by a margin of 40-39. The inverse relationship continued for the Owls on Wednesday against the undersized Tulane University squad, who ceded the rebound battle by a mark of 35-28.
At home, the Owls blew a 13-point second-half lead against the Green Wave (6-14, 2-6 C-USA) to drop an overtime contest 79-74.
"I think our team was ready to play and was focused," Head Coach Ben Braun said. "It is just tough that the things that we did right were overshadowing with lack of toughness. It isn't technical. It isn't game plan. Those are intangibles that you have to master."
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