# 2021–22 Rice Owls men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Rice Owls men's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by fifth-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 2020–21 season 15–13, 6–10 in C-USA play to finish in sixth place in West Division. They defeated Southern Miss in first round and Marshall in the second before losing to UAB in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Payton Moore | 0 | G | 6'4" | 215 | Junior | Los Angeles, CA | Graduate transferred to Denver |
| Malik Ondigo | 10 | F | 6'10" | 215 | RS Junior | El Mirage, AZ | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Tre Clark | 22 | G | 6'5" | 205 | GS Senior | Palmetto, FL | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Cavit Ege Havsa | 55 | G | 6'5" | 180 | GS Senior | Istanbul, Turkey | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Carl Pierre | 12 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Senior | Boston, MA | UMass |
| Terrance McBride | 13 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Senior | Lynwood, CA | Cornell |

### 2021 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jaden Geron SG | Fresno, CA | San Joaquin Memorial High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 20, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Damion McDowell PF | Los Angeles, CA | Dorsey High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 30, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2022 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Mekhi Mason SG | Chandler, AZ | AZ Compass Prep School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A | Sep 12, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Mason Jones SG | Chicago, IL | Link Year Preparatory School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 6, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Andrew Akuchie PF | Plantation, FL | St. Thomas Aquinas High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jun 13, 2021 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 4, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | St. Edward's | W 85–71 | – | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Pepperdine | W 82–63 | 1–0 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,796) Houston, TX |
| November 12, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 15 Houston Rivalry | L 46–79 | 1–1 | Fertitta Center (6,967) Houston, TX |
| November 16, 2021* 7:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | Southern | W 81–63 | 2–1 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,565) Houston, TX |
| November 19, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Orleans | W 83–78 | 3–1 | Lakefront Arena (959) New Orleans, LA |
| November 22, 2021* 10:00 a.m., FloHoops | | vs. Evansville Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinal | W 109–104 $^{3OT}$ | 4–1 | Hertz Arena (435) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 23, 2021* 4:00 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Oakland Gulf Coast Showcase semifinal | L 73–76 | 4–2 | Hertz Arena (270) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 24, 2021* 4:00 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Fordham Gulf Coast Showcase 3rd place game | L 74–84 | 4–3 | Hertz Arena (150) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 30, 2021* 7:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | Texas State | L 69–80 | 4–4 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,365) Houston, TX |
| December 4, 2021* 2:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | Jarvis Christian | W 100–62 | 5–4 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,283) Houston, TX |
| December 11, 2021* 7:00 p.m., Husky Sports Network | | at Houston Baptist | W 88–73 | 6–4 | Sharp Gymnasium (703) Houston, TX |
| December 16, 2021* 11:15 a.m., CUSAtv | | Incarnate Word | W 85–55 | 7–4 | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,021) Houston, TX |
| December 19, 2021* 2:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | St. Thomas (TX) | Postponed due to COVID-19 concerns | Postponed due to COVID-19 concerns | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| January 1, 2022 5:00 p.m., ESPN+/YouTube | | at North Texas | L 43–75 | 7–5 (0–1) | The Super Pit (2,409) Denton, TX |
| January 6, 2022 7:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | Middle Tennessee | W 65–61 | 8–5 (1–1) | Tudor Fieldhouse (500) Houston, TX |
| January 8, 2022 3:00 p.m., YouTube | | UAB | W 85–80 | 9–5 (2–1) | Tudor Fieldhouse (500) Houston, TX |
| January 13, 2022 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Western Kentucky | L 66–80 | 9–6 (2–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,933) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 15, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Marshall | W 87–77 | 10–6 (3–2) | Cam Henderson Center (4,239) Huntington, WV |
| January 20, 2022 7:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | Old Dominion | W 77–69 | 11–6 (4–2) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,407) Houston, TX |
| January 22, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Charlotte | L 64–67 | 11–7 (4–3) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,641) Houston, TX |
| January 27, 2022 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana Tech | L 63–80 | 11–8 (4–4) | Thomas Assembly Center (2,634) Ruston, LA |
| January 29, 2022 2:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Southern Miss | W 76–62 | 12–8 (5–4) | Reed Green Coliseum (3,074) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 3, 2022 7:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | UTSA | W 91–78 | 13–8 (6–4) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,638) Houston, TX |
| February 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | UTEP | L 70–72 | 13–9 (6–5) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,872) Houston, TX |
| February 8, 2022* 2:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | Jarvis Christian | W 98–63 | 14–9 | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,775) Houston, TX |
| February 12, 2022 2:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | North Texas | L 44–67 | 14–10 (6–6) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,102) Houston, TX |
| February 17, 2022 7:00 p.m., Stadium | | at UAB | L 68–92 | 14–11 (6–7) | Bartow Arena (2,643) Birmingham, AL |
| February 19, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at FIU | L 78–80 | 14–12 (6–8) | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (2,349) Miami, FL |
| February 24, 2022 7:00 p.m., Stadium | | Louisiana Tech | L 79–83 | 14–13 (6–9) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,226) Houston, TX |
| February 26, 2022 6:00 p.m., CUSAtv | | Southern Miss | W 77–72 $^{OT}$ | 15–13 (7–9) | Tudor Fieldhouse (4,087) Houston, TX |
| March 3, 2022 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UTEP | L 67–70 | 15–14 (7–10) | Don Haskins Center (4,645) El Paso, TX |
| March 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTSA | L 71–82 | 15–15 (7–11) | Convocation Center (1,014) San Antonio, TX |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2022 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (W5) | vs. (E4) Charlotte Second round | W 73–61 | 16–15 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| March 10, 2022 5:30 p.m., Stadium | (W5) | vs. (W1) North Texas Quarterfinals | L 50–68 | 16–16 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| College Basketball Invitational ||||||
| March 19, 2022 7:30 p.m., FloHoops | (14) | vs. (3) Ohio | L 64–65 | 16–17 | Ocean Center (799) Daytona Beach, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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