New Mexico vs. Rice: TV, Radio Schedule, Livestream, Odds, More
New Mexico gets its first taste of action against the Rice Owls
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Conference USA’s Rice Owls host New Mexico in place of in-state foe #7 Houston
WHO: Rice (4-0) vs. New Mexico Lobos (0-0)
WHEN: Sunday, December 13 — 1:00 PM MT / 2:00 PM CT
WHERE: Tudor Fieldhouse – Houston, TX (5,208)
TV: None
STREAM: CUSA TV (Subscription or daily pass required)
RADIO: Rice | New Mexico
SERIES RECORD: New Mexico leads, 5-1
ODDS: Rice -3
As has become the norm for many teams this season, Rice found itself without an opponent this weekend after #7 Houston received news of positive tests for COVID-19 within the program and postponed activities for the time being. The matchup between the same-town teams was set for Saturday in what was to be a repeat of last year’s closer-than-expected game in which Houston came out ahead, 97-89 (Rice led by as many as 13 in the first half of the game).
With the postponement, New Mexico became the beneficiary of attaining their first contest of the season. While it may not be a headliner type game, it will provide a welcome first-sight of a nearly completely new New Mexico team that is currently residing in Levelland, Texas which amounts to a little more than an 8 hour drive to the Houston-based Tudor Fieldhouse of Rice University.
As part of the game agreement, Rice has offered to allow New Mexico to use its home arena and services for contests on December 15 and 17 in lieu of the typical pay-to-play contract.
Without a whole lot of data to dive into for the current season, here are some “key” numbers for each team as we approach Sunday’s afternoon game between the Owls and the Lobos:
Rice:
- 0: Number of seniors on the team (there are 2 graduate transfers, Cavit Ege Havsa and Tre Clark, neither of whom are starters so far)
- 2: Number of times Rice has beat New Mexico
- 4: Number of players averaging double digits
- 11: Place Rice finished (tied) within the 14-team Conference USA in 2019-2020.
- 15: Number of victories Rice claimed in 2019-2020
- 228: Rice’s position in Ken Pomeroy’s analytics ranking system
New Mexico:
- 7: Place New Mexico finished within the 11-team Mountain West Conference in 2019-2020
- 12: Number of players on the team’s roster that have never played a game with the team
- 214: New Mexico’s position in Ken Pomeroy’s analytics ranking system
- 282: Number of days since New Mexico has played a basketball game
While the result of the game is anything but predictable, New Mexico should be champing at the bit to compete, and fans should be just as eager to see a team that has so many new faces. For Rice, this could be an opportunity to continue to grow and start 5-0, even if not against the fiercest competition.
