# Rice Owls men's basketball

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. Rice has appeared four times in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, most recently in 1970. Their 54 years without making the Tournament is currently the fifth longest in active history.
Rice has never reached a conference tournament final in any of the conferences they have played in (Southwest, WAC, Conference USA, The American).

## 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
### Owls in the NBA

* Morris Almond
* Ken Austin
* Bill Closs
* Mike Harris
* Bill Henry
* Bob Kinney
* Trey Murphy III
* Ricky Pierce
* Brent Scott
* Mike Wilks
* Drew Peterson
* Quincy Olivari

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