Rice Owls men's basketball

Rice Owls
Rice Owls
	2024–25 Rice Owls men's basketball team
University	Rice University
First season	1914–15
All-time record	1,189–1,525 (.438)
Head coach	Rob Lanier (1st season)
Conference	The American
Location	Houston, Texas
Arena	Tudor Fieldhouse ; (capacity: 5,208)
Nickname	Owls
Student section	The Nest
Colors	Blue and gray;
Uniforms
Home	Away ;
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
	1940, 1942
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
	1954
NCAA tournament appearances
	1940, 1942, 1954, 1970
Conference regular season champions
	1918, 1935, 1940, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1949, 1954, 1970

The Rice Owls men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of Rice University. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the American Athletic Conference. They previously participated in the Southwest Conference (1914–1996), the Western Athletic Conference (1996–2005), and Conference USA (2005–2023).

The Owls play their home games in Tudor Fieldhouse, which they have called home since 1950. Previously known as Rice Gymnasium, it was renamed in honor of Rice alum Bobby Tudor, who spearheaded the 2008 renovation of the facility with a multimillion-dollar donation. The court is designated "Autry Court" in memory of Mrs. James L. Autry. Her husband James Lockhart Autry was a descendant of Micajah Autry, who was a hero of the Battle of the Alamo. Her daughter, Mrs. Edward W. Kelley, made a generous donation to the gymnasium building fund in honor of her late mother, an ardent supporter of Rice.

Head coaches

Head Coach	Years	Win–loss	Pct.
Robert Cummings	1914–1917	30–11	.732
Wilbur Tisdale	1917–1919	14–14	.500
Leslie Mann	1919–1920	6–6	.500
Pete Cawthon	1920–1921	5–10	.333
Howard Yerges Sr.	1921–1922	2–12	.143
Philip Arbuckle	1922–1923	10–9	.526
Franklyn Ashcraft	1923–1924	3–17	.150
John Patrick Nicholson	1924–1925	2–12	.143
Franklyn Ashcraft	1925–1927	1–22	.043
Russell Daugherty	1927–1932	25–46	.352
James Kitts	1932–1938	48–56	.462
Buster Brannon	1938–1942	68–20	.773
Joe Davis	1942–1945	52–10	.839
Buster Brannon	1945–1946	17–16	.515
Joe Davis	1946–1949	31–46	.403
Don Suman	1949–1959	149–106	.584
John Frankie	1959–1963	39–54	.419
George Carlisle	1963–1966	18–53	.254
Don Knodel	1966–1974	77–126	.379
Bob Polk	1974–1977	17–63	.212
Mike Schuler	1977–1981	30–76	.283
Tommy Suitts	1981–1987	64–106	.376
Scott Thompson	1987–1992	65–79	.451
Willis Wilson	1992–2008	219–246	.471
Ben Braun	2008–2014	63–128	.330
Mike Rhoades	2014–2017	47–52	.474
Scott Pera	2017–2024	96–127	.430
Rob Lanier	2024–present	0–0	.000

Postseason history

NCAA tournament results

The Owls have appeared in four NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–5. Their drought of 53 years is the eighth longest drought between appearances in the NCAA Division I Tournament history.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1940	First round Regional third-place game	Kansas Colorado	L 44–50 W 60–56
1942	First round Regional third-place game	Stanford Kansas	L 47–53 L 53–55
1954	Sweet Sixteen Regional third-place game	Oklahoma A&M Colorado	L 45–51 W 78–55
1970	First round	New Mexico State	L 77–101

NIT results

The Owls have appeared in five National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 1–6.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1943	Quarterfinals	St. John's	L 49–51
1991	First round	Arkansas State	L 71–78
1993	First round Second round	Wisconsin Boston College	W 77–73 L 68–101
2004	Opening Round	UW-Milwaukee	L 53–91
2005	Opening Round	Southwest Missouri State	L 82–105

CBI results

The Owls have appeared in three College Basketball Invitational (CBI) tournaments. Their combined record is 2–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2017	First round Quarterfinals	San Francisco Utah Valley	W 85–76 L 79–85
2022	First round	Ohio	L 64–65
2023	First round Quarterfinals	Duquesne Southern Utah	W 84–78 L 79–81

CIT results

The Owls have appeared in one CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT). Their combined record is 2–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2012	First round Second round Quarterfinals	Louisiana-Lafayette Drake Oakland	W 68–63 W 74–68 L 70–77

Players of note

Tudor Fieldhouse before a men's basketball game in 2022

Owls in the NBA

Owls in international basketball

Suleiman Braimoh (born 1989), Nigerian-American in the Israel Basketball Premier League
Egor Koulechov (born 1994), Israeli-Russian basketball player for Israeli team Ironi Nahariya

Politicians

Glenn Youngkin (born 1966), 74th Governor of Virginia

Retired numbers

Rice University has retired six numbers.

Bill Henry, Gene Schwinger, and Bob Kiney, whose numbers were retired by Rice

No.	Player	Tenure	Ref.
16	Bill Henry	1942–45	^[2]
21	Gene Schwinger	1951–54	^[2]
22	Bill Closs	1939–43	^[2]
23	Bob Kinney	1938–42	^[2]
25	Ricky Pierce	1979–82	^[2]
29	Don Lance	1951–54	^[2]

References

^ Rice Athletics Branding Guidelines, Rules, & Regulations (PDF). August 19, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Rice retires jerseys of basketball greats By: MIKE TENNEY - Nov. 19, 2003

External links

Official website

[1] Rice Athletics Branding Guidelines, Rules, & Regulations (PDF). August 19, 2019. Retrieved March 2, 2020.

[riceret-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Rice retires jerseys of basketball greats By: MIKE TENNEY - Nov. 19, 2003

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[2]