2014–15 Rice Owls men's basketball team

2014–15 Rice Owls men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record12–20 (8–10 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaTudor Fieldhouse
Seasons
2014–15 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Louisiana Tech 15 3   .833 27 9   .750
Old Dominion 13 5   .722 27 8   .771
UTEP 13 5   .722 22 11   .667
WKU 12 6   .667 20 12   .625
UAB 12 6   .667 20 16   .556
Middle Tennessee 9 9   .500 19 17   .528
FIU 8 10   .444 16 17   .485
UTSA 8 10   .444 14 16   .467
North Texas 8 10   .444 14 17   .452
Rice 8 10   .444 12 20   .375
Charlotte 7 11   .389 14 18   .438
Marshall 7 11   .389 11 21   .344
Southern Miss* 4 14   .222 9 20   .310
Florida Atlantic 2 16   .111 9 20   .310
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban
2015 C-USA Tournament winner

The 2014–15 Rice Owls men's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by first year head coach Mike Rhoades, played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse and were members of Conference USA. They finished the season 12–20, 8–10 in C-USA play to finish in a four way tie for seventh place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to Louisiana Tech.

Previous season

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The Owls finished the season 7–23, 2–14 in C-USA play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the C-USA tournament to North Texas.

Departures

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Offseason Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Sean Obi 3 F 6'9" 265 Freshman Kaduna, Nigeria Transferred to Duke
Nizar Kapic 4 G/F 6'6" 195 RS Freshman Sankt Pölten, Austria Left Team (Injury)
Keith Washington 5 G 6'1" 180 Sophomore Philadelphia, PA Left Rice (Personal)
Hunter Eggers 15 G 6'0" 200 Freshman Greenwich, CT Left Team (Personal)
Drew Bender 21 G 6'5" 195 Freshman Phoenix, AZ Transferred to Northern Colorado
Austin Ramljak 42 G 6'3" 200 Senior Thousand Oaks, CA Graduated
Bahrom Firozgary 44 F 6'8" 200 Senior Houston, TX Graduated

In-Season Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Maurice Rivers 12 F 6'6" 190 Freshman Atlanta, Georgia Personal
Ross Wilson 11 F 6'6" 215 Junior Gosforth, England Injury
Oliver Xu 3 G 6'2" 170 Freshman Hong Kong Personal
Joey Burbach 2 G 6'5" 190 Sophomore Port Washington, Wisconsin Personal

Incoming Transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Egor Koulechov 4 F 6'5" 205 Sophomore Volgograd, Russia Transferred from Arizona State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Koulechev will have to sit out for the 2014–15 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Van Green 31 G 6'3" 185 Senior Birmingham, Alabama Transferred from Columbia. Transferred under NCAA graduate transfer exception, Green will not have to sit out for the 2014–15 season.

Recruiting class of 2014

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Bishop Mency
SF
Chino Hills, CA Chino Hills High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Apr 1, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 65
Jordan Reed
SG
Lucas, TX Lovejoy High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sep 30, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Maurice Rivers
SG
Atlanta, GA Columbia High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Nov 16, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Nate Pollard
C
Bountiful, UT Impact Basketball Academy 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Apr 23, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jeremy Jones
SF
San Antonio, TX East Central High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Dec 1, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:2/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
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:

  • "2014 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 16, 2014.

Recruiting class of 2015

[edit]
Connor Cashaw helped Stevenson (IL) win the 2015 IHSA Class 4A championship.
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Marcus Evans
PG
Virginia Beach, VA Cape Henry Collegiate School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jun 29, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: NR
Connor Cashaw
SG
Lincolnshire, IL Adlai E. Stevenson High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 30, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Marquez Letcher-Ellis
SF
Houston, TX Montverde Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Oct 25, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 79
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:

Roster

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2014–15 Rice Owls men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Dan Peera 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr San Ramon, California
G 1 Max Guercy 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Arleta, California
G/F 4 Egor Koulechov (I) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Volgograd, Russia
G 5 Jordan Reed 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Lucas, Texas
F 10 Denzel Davis Injured 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Orlando, Florida
G 15 Bishop Mency 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Chino Hills, California
F 20 Jeremy Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr San Antonio, Texas
G 22 Marcus Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Acton, California
G 24 J. T. Trauber (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Houston, Texas
G 31 Van Green 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Birmingham, Alabama
F 41 Seth Gearhart (C) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Wilsonville, Oregon
C 45 Nate Pollard 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Bountiful, Utah
C 54 Andrew Drone 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) So Junction, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 2014-09-05

Schedule

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[1]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/08/2014*
5:00 pm
LeTourneau W 82–64 
Tudor Fieldhouse (712)
Houston, TX
Regular season
11/14/2014*
9:00 pm, P12N
at Oregon State L 54–67  0–1
Gill Coliseum (4,759)
Corvallis, OR
11/19/2014*
7:00 pm
Prairie View A&M W 68–64  1–1
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,092)
Houston, TX
11/22/2014*
7:00 pm
William & Mary L 65–69  1–2
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,195)
Houston, TX
11/27/2014*
8:30 pm, CBSSN
vs. Mercer
Great Alaska Shootout quarterfinals
L 71–77 OT 1–3
Alaska Airlines Center (2,366)
Anchorage, AK
11/28/2014*
5:00 pm
vs. Washington State
Great Alaska Shootout consolation round
L 74–76  1–4
Alaska Airlines Center (2,554)
Anchorage, AK
11/29/2014*
3:00 pm
at Alaska Anchorage
Great Alaska Shootout 7th place game
L 54–65  1–5
Alaska Airlines Center (2,398)
Anchorage, AK
12/03/2014*
7:00 pm
Houston Baptist L 55–58  1–6
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,139)
Houston, TX
12/06/2014*
7:00 pm
St. Edward's W 54–49  2–6
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,613)
Houston, TX
12/18/2014*
11:30 am
St. Thomas W 72–61  3–6
Tudor Fieldhouse (4,502)
Houston, TX
12/22/2014*
7:00 pm
at Lamar L 72–79 OT 3–7
Montagne Center (1,740)
Beaumont, TX
12/29/2014*
12:00 pm, LHN
at No. 11 Texas L 55–66  3–8
Frank Erwin Center (9,373)
Austin, TX
01/02/2015
7:00 pm
UTSA W 67–52  4–8 (1–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,242)
Houston, TX
01/04/2015
2:30 pm, ASN
UTEP L 57–66  4–9 (1–1)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,220)
Houston, TX
01/10/2015
2:00 pm, ASN
North Texas L 63–66  4–10 (1–2)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,230)
Houston, TX
01/15/2015
6:00 pm
at Old Dominion L 53–63  4–11 (1–3)
Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,457)
Norfolk, VA
01/17/2015
6:00 pm
at Charlotte W 73–68 OT 5–11 (2–3)
Dale F. Halton Arena (4,318)
Charlotte, NC
01/22/2015
7:00 pm
Southern Miss W 58–56  6–11 (3–3)
Tudor Fieldhouse (985)
Houston, TX
01/24/2015
7:00 pm
Louisiana Tech L 45–58  6–12 (3–4)
Tudor Fieldhouse (2,613)
Houston, TX
01/28/2015*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Houston
Bayou Cup
L 48–59  6–13
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,465)
Houston, TX
01/31/2015
7:00 pm, ASN
at North Texas L 65–75  6–14 (3–5)
UNT Coliseum (4,212)
Denton, TX
02/05/2015
6:00 pm
at Marshall L 55–69  6–15 (3–6)
Cam Henderson Center (4,844)
Huntington, WV
02/07/2015
7:00 pm, FCS
at WKU W 72–68  7–15 (4–6)
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,071)
Bowling Green, KY
02/12/2015
7:00 pm
Middle Tennessee W 71–68 2OT 8–15 (5–6)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,341)
Houston, TX
02/14/2015
7:00 pm
UAB W 82–73 2OT 9–15 (6–6)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,647)
Houston, TX
02/19/2015
7:00 pm, ASN
at FIU L 56–60  9–16 (6–7)
FIU Arena (1,051)
Miami, FL
02/21/2015
6:00 pm
at Florida Atlantic W 76–69  10–16 (7–7)
FAU Arena (1,481)
Boca Raton, FL
02/26/2015
7:00 pm
Old Dominion L 54–63  10–17 (7–8)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,506)
Houston, TX
02/28/2015
7:00 pm
Charlotte L 76–77  10–18 (7–9)
Tudor Fieldhouse (4,653)
Houston, TX
03/05/2015
7:00 pm
at UTSA W 76–74  11–18 (8–9)
Convocation Center (1,204)
San Antonio, TX
03/07/2015
3:00 pm
at UTEP L 65–68  11–19 (8–10)
Don Haskins Center (8,574)
El Paso, TX
Conference USA tournament
03/11/2015
8:30 pm, ASN
vs. North Texas
First round
W 82–54  12–19
Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (4,695)
Birmingham, AL
03/12/2015
8:30 pm, ASN
vs. Louisiana Tech
Quarterfinal
L 64–70  12–20
Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (6,922)
Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

See also

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2014–15 Rice Owls women's basketball team

References

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  1. ^ "2014-2015 Schedule". www.riceowls.com. Archived from the original on April 21, 2015.