# 2022–23 Rice Owls men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Rice Owls men's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Scott Pera, and played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse in Houston, Texas as members of Conference USA (C-USA). The Owls finished the season 19–16, 8–12 in C-USA play, to finish in a three-way tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the C-USA tournament, they defeated UTSA before losing to UAB. They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Duquesne before losing to Southern Utah in quarterfinals.
This was the last season for the team as members of Conference USA before joining the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2023.

## Previous season

The Owls finished the 2021–22 season 16–17, 7–11 in C-USA play, to finish in fifth place in West Division. They defeated Charlotte in second round of the C-USA tournament before losing to North Texas in the quarterfinals. They were invited to the CBI post-season tournament where they lost to Ohio in the first round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Noah Hutchins | 1 | G | 6'1" | 195 | Freshman | Buffalo, NY | Transferred to Ranger College |
| Riley Abercrombie | 11 | F | 6'10" | 210 | RS Sophomore | Wollongong, Australia | Transferred to Northern Colorado |
| Carl Pierre | 12 | G | 6'4" | 190 | GS Senior | Boston, MA | Graduated |
| Terrance McBride | 13 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Senior | Lynwood, CA | Graduated |
| Chris Mullins | 24 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Junior | Grand Prairie, TX | Transferred to William & Mary |
| Mylyjael Poteat | 34 | F | 6'9" | 260 | Sophomore | Reidsville, NC | Transferred to Virginia Tech |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Seryee Lewis | 0 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Kansas State |
| Alem Huseinovic | 23 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Sophomore | Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina | Nevada |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| 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) | 175 lb (79 kg) | 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 ||||||
| Ifeanyi Ufochukwu C | Matthews, NC | Covenant Day | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 25, 2020 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ||||||
| 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. ||||||

#### 2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Keanu Dawes #21 PF | Houston, TX | Stratford High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 11, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| 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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 31, 2022* 7:00 p.m. | | Rockhurst | W 112–68 | | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* 9:00 p.m., WCC Network | | at Pepperdine | L 67–106 | 0–1 | Firestone Fieldhouse (1,258) Malibu, CA |
| November 10, 2022* 5:00 p.m., CUSATV | | St. Thomas (TX) | W 85–48 | 1–1 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,623) Houston, TX |
| November 15, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | L 46–81 | 1–2 (0–1) | Murphy Center (2,802) Murfreesboro, TN |
| November 18, 2022* 6:00 p.m., CUSATV | | Georgia Southern Owl Invitational | W 88–71 | 2–2 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,401) Houston, TX |
| November 19, 2022* 5:00 p.m., CUSATV | | Western Michigan Owl Invitational | W 96–88 | 3–2 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,141) Houston, TX |
| November 21, 2022* 7:00 p.m., CUSATV | | Houston Christian Owl Invitational | W 76–67 | 4–2 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,105) Houston, TX |
| November 30, 2022* 7:00 p.m., CUSATV | | Prairie View A&M | W 70–62 | 5–2 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,141) Houston, TX |
| December 4, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas State | W 83–71 | 6–2 | Strahan Arena (1,282) San Marcos, TX |
| December 12, 2022* 7:00 p.m., LHN | | at No. 7 Texas | L 81–87 $^{OT}$ | 6–3 | Moody Center (10,763) Austin, TX |
| December 15, 2022* 11:15 a.m., CUSATV | | North American | W 92–54 | 7–3 | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,952) Houston, TX |
| December 17, 2022* 2:00 p.m., CUSATV | | Northwestern State | W 110–73 | 8–3 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,771) Houston, TX |
| December 19, 2022* 7:00 p.m., CUSATV | | Jarvis Christian | W 109–64 | 9–3 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,467) Houston, TX |
| December 29, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Kentucky | W 81–78 | 10–3 (1–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,018) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 31, 2022 3:00 p.m., CUSATV | | at UTEP | W 72–67 $^{OT}$ | 11–3 (2–1) | Don Haskins Center (3,743) El Paso, TX |
| January 5, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech | L 82–88 $^{OT}$ | 11–4 (2–2) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,962) Houston, TX |
| January 11, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Middle Tennessee | L 68–71 | 11–5 (2–3) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,010) Houston, TX |
| January 14, 2023 2:00 p.m., CUSATV | | UTEP | W 83–82 | 12–5 (3–3) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,991) Houston, TX |
| January 16, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTSA | W 88–81 $^{OT}$ | 13–5 (4–3) | Convocation Center (767) San Antonio, TX |
| January 19, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at North Texas | W 72–60 | 14–5 (5–3) | The Super Pit (4,015) Denton, TX |
| January 26, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Charlotte | W 65–63 | 15–5 (6–3) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,665) Houston, TX |
| January 28, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UAB | L 52–70 | 15–6 (6–4) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,454) Houston, TX |
| February 2, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana Tech | L 72–80 | 15–7 (6–5) | Thomas Assembly Center (2,356) Ruston, LA |
| February 4, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Texas | L 64–74 | 15–8 (6–6) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,246) Houston, TX |
| February 9, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Florida Atlantic | L 81–90 | 15–9 (6–7) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,027) Boca Raton, FL |
| February 11, 2023 6:00 p.m., CUSATV | | at FIU | W 85–78 | 16–9 (7–7) | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,292) Miami, FL |
| February 16, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTSA | L 79–84 | 16–10 (7–8) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,999) Houston, TX |
| February 18, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Kentucky | W 83–77 | 17–10 (8–8) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,141) Houston, TX |
| February 23, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UAB | L 57–85 | 17–11 (8–9) | Bartow Arena (4,891) Birmingham, AL |
| February 25, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Charlotte | L 54–70 | 17–12 (8–10) | Dale F. Halton Arena (2,837) Charlotte, NC |
| March 2, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Florida Atlantic | L 74–103 | 17–13 (8–11) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,040) Houston, TX |
| March 4, 2023 2:00 p.m., CUSATV | | FIU | L 83–90 | 17–14 (8–12) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,760) Houston, TX |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2023 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (11) UTSA First round | W 72–71 | 18–14 | Ford Center at The Star Frisco, TX |
| March 9, 2023 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (3) UAB Quarterfinals | L 60–87 | 18–15 | Ford Center at The Star (2,765) Frisco, TX |
| College Basketball Invitational ||||||
| March 19, 2023 1:30 p.m., FloHoops | (12) | vs. (5) Duquesne First round | W 84–78 | 19–15 | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| March 20, 2023 1:00 p.m., FloHoops | (12) | vs. (4) Southern Utah Quarterfinals | L 79–81 | 19–16 | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
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