# 2020–21 Rice Owls men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Rice Owls men's basketball team represented the Rice University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Scott Pera, and played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas as members of Conference USA.

## Previous season

The Owls finished the 2019–20 season 15–17, 7–11 in C-USA play to finish in 12th place. They lost in the first round of the C-USA tournament to FIU.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 27, 2020* 1:00 p.m. | | at Incarnate Word UIW Invitational | W 68–53 | 1–0 | McDermott Center San Antonio, TX |
| November 29, 2020* 3:00 p.m. | | vs. Our Lady of the Lake UIW Invitational | W 103–64 | 2–0 | McDermott Center San Antonio, TX |
| December 3, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | LeTourneau | W 94–74 | 3–0 | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| December 5, 2020* 7:00 p.m. | | at Houston Baptist | W 86–64 | 4–0 | Sharp Gymnasium (150) Houston, TX |
| December 12, 2020* 1:00 p.m. | | Houston | Postponed | Postponed | Fertitta Center Houston, TX |
| December 13, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | New Mexico | L 61–72 | 4–1 | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| December 15, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | Houston Baptist | W 90–79 | 5–1 | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| December 19, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | at Sam Houston State | L 69–82 | 5–2 | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (504) Huntsville, TX |
| December 21, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | Incarnate Word | Postponed | Postponed | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| December 21, 2020* 2:00 p.m. | | New Orleans | W 73–62 | 6–2 | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| CUSA regular season ||||||
| January 1, 2021 2:00 p.m. | | UTSA | W 95–86 | 7–2 (1–0) | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| January 2, 2021 2:00 p.m. | | UTSA | W 84–69 | 8–2 (2–0) | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| January 8, 2021 8:00 p.m. | | at UTEP | L 89–101 | 8–3 (2–1) | Don Haskins Center (459) El Paso, TX |
| January 9, 2021 8:00 p.m. | | at UTEP | W 71–68 | 9–3 (3–1) | Don Haskins Center (457) El Paso, TX |
| January 15, 2021 2:00 p.m. | | Old Dominion | W 69–59 | 10–3 (4–1) | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| January 16, 2021 1:00 p.m. | | Old Dominion | L 58–61 | 10–4 (4–2) | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| January 22, 2021 6:30 p.m. | | at UAB | L 68–78 | 10–5 (4-3) | Bartow Arena (1,099) Birmingham, AL |
| January 23, 2021 3:00 p.m. | | at UAB | L 74–86 | 10–6 (4–4) | Bartow Arena (989) Birmingham, AL |
| January 28, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | North Texas | L 74–79 | 10–7 (4–5) | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| January 30, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | at North Texas | L 53–79 | 10–8 (4–6) | The Super Pit (1,303) Denton, TX |
| February 5, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | Southern Miss | W 88–62 | 11–8 (5–6) | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| February 6, 2021 4:00 p.m. | | Southern Miss | W 76–68 | 12–8 (6–6) | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| February 12, 2021 7:00 p.m. | | at Western Kentucky | L 71–77 | 12–9 (6–7) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,118) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 13, 2021 5:00 p.m. | | at Western Kentucky | L 66–89 | 12–10 (6–8) | E. A. Diddle Arena (1,239) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 20, 2021 12:00 p.m. | | Marshall | Canceled | Canceled | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| February 21, 2021 11:00 a.m. | | Marshall | Canceled | Canceled | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| February 26, 2021 6:30 p.m. | | at Louisiana Tech | L 57–101 | 12–11 (6–9) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| February 27, 2021 6:00 p.m. | | at Louisiana Tech | L 58–79 | 12–12 (6–10) | Thomas Assembly Center (1,200) Ruston, LA |
| March 5, 2021* 2:00 p.m. | | Our Lady of the Lake | W 80–77 | 13–12 | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (W6) | vs. (W7) Southern Miss Preliminary Round | W 61–52 | 14–12 | Ford Center at The Star (283) Frisco, TX |
| March 9, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (W6) | vs. (E3) Marshall Second Round | W 72–68 | 15–12 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| March 10, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (W6) | vs. (W2) UAB Quarterfinals | L 60–73 | 15–13 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||