2014–15 Rice Owls men's basketball team

2014–15 Rice Owls men's basketball

Conference	Conference USA
2014–15 record	12–20 (8–10 C-USA)
Head coach	Mike Rhoades (1st year)
Assistant coach	Carlin Hartman
Assistant coach	Scott Pera
Assistant coach	J.D. Byers
Home arena	Tudor Fieldhouse

	Conf				Overall
2014–15 Conference USA men's basketball standings
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.

Previous season

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

Offseason Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Sean Obi	3	F	6'9"	265	Freshman	Kaduna, Nigera	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

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

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Egor Koulechev	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

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
Bishop Mency SF	Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/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
Jordan Reed SG	Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/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
Maurice Rivers SG	Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/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
Nate Pollard C	Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/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
Jeremy Jones SF	Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/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

Connor Cashaw helped Stevenson (IL) win the 2015 IHSA Class 4A championship.

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
Marcus Evans PG	Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: 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
Connor Cashaw SG	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/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
Marquez Letcher-Ellis SF	Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: 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: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 16, 2014.

Roster

2014–15 Rice Owls men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Home town
1.5 !G	0	Peera, DanDan Peera	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 72 !6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 180 lb (82 kg)	4.0 !Sr	San Ramon, California
1.5 !G	1	Guercy, MaxMax Guercy	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 69 !5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 170 lb (77 kg)	3.0 !Jr	Arleta, California
2.5 !G/F	4	Koulechov, EgorEgor Koulechov (I)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 210 lb (95 kg)	2.0 !So	Volgograd, Russia
1.5 !G	5	Reed, JordanJordan Reed	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 71 !5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 170 lb (77 kg)	1.0 !Fr	Lucas, Texas
3.5 !F	10	Davis, DenzelDenzel Davis	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 80 !6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 215 lb (98 kg)	1.5 !RS Fr	Orlando, Florida
1.5 !G	15	Mency, BishopBishop Mency	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 77 !6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 185 lb (84 kg)	1.0 !Fr	Chino Hills, California
3.5 !F	20	Jones, JeremyJeremy Jones	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 65 !5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 205 lb (93 kg)	1.0 !Fr	San Antonio, Texas
1.5 !G	22	Jackson, MarcusMarcus Jackson	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 175 lb (79 kg)	2.0 !So	Acton, California
1.5 !G	24	Trauber, J. T.J. T. Trauber (W)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 70 !5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 165 lb (75 kg)	1.0 !Fr	Houston, Texas
1.5 !G	31	Green, VanVan Green	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 75 !6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 185 lb (84 kg)	4.0 !Sr	Birmingham, Alabama
3.5 !F	41	Gearhart, SethSeth Gearhart (C)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 79 !6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 215 lb (98 kg)	4.0 !Sr	Wilsonville, Oregon
5.0 !C	45	Pollard, NateNate Pollard	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 85 !7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 220 lb (100 kg)	1.0 !Fr	Bountiful, Utah
5.0 !C	54	Drone, AndrewAndrew Drone	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 82 !6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	style="text-align:right; white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%; \| 260 lb (118 kg)	2.0 !So	Junction, Illinois

Head coach

Mike Rhoades

Assistant coach(es)

Carlin Hartman
Scott Pera
J.D. Byers

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2014-09-05

Schedule

^[1]

Date	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (Attendance)
Exhibition
11/08/2014*	LeTourneau	W 82–64	–	Tudor Fieldhouse (712)
Regular season
11/14/2014*	at Oregon State	L 54–67	0–1	Gill Coliseum (4,759)
11/19/2014*	Prairie View A&M	W 68–64	1–1	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,092)
11/22/2014*	William & Mary	L 65–69	1–2	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,195)
11/27/2014*	vs. Mercer (Great Alaska Shootout quarterfinals)	L 71–77 ^OT	1–3	Alaska Airlines Center (2,366)
11/28/2014*	vs. Washington State (Great Alaska Shootout consolation round)	L 74–76	1–4	Alaska Airlines Center (2,554)
11/29/2014*	at Alaska–Anchorage (Great Alaska Shootout 7th place game)	L 54–65	1–5	Alaska Airlines Center (2,398)
12/03/2014*	Houston Baptist	L 55–58	1–6	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,139)
12/06/2014*	St. Edward's	W 54–49	2–6	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,613)
12/18/2014*	St. Thomas	W 72–61	3–6	Tudor Fieldhouse (4,502)
12/22/2014*	at Lamar	L 72–79 ^OT	3–7	Montagne Center (1,740)
12/29/2014*	at #11 Texas	L 55–66	3–8	Frank Erwin Center (9,373)
01/02/2015	UTSA	W 67–52	4–8 (1–0)	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,242)
01/04/2015	UTEP	L 57–66	4–9 (1–1)	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,220)
01/10/2015	North Texas	L 63–66	4–10 (1–2)	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,230)
01/15/2015	at Old Dominion	L 53–63	4–11 (1–3)	Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,457)
01/17/2015	at Charlotte	W 73–68 ^OT	5–11 (2–3)	Dale F. Halton Arena (4,318)
01/22/2015	Southern Miss	W 58–56	6–11 (3–3)	Tudor Fieldhouse (985)
01/24/2015	Louisiana Tech	L 45–58	6–12 (3–4)	Tudor Fieldhouse (2,613)
01/28/2015*	at Houston (Bayou Cup)	L 48–59	6–13	Hofheinz Pavilion (3,465)
01/31/2015	at North Texas	L 65–75	6–14 (3–5)	UNT Coliseum (4,212)
02/05/2015	at Marshall	L 55–69	6–15 (3–6)	Cam Henderson Center (4,844)
02/07/2015	at WKU	W 72–68	7–15 (4–6)	E. A. Diddle Arena (5,071)
02/12/2015	Middle Tennessee	W 71–68 ^2OT	8–15 (5–6)	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,341)
02/14/2015	UAB	W 82–73 ^2OT	9–15 (6–6)	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,647)
02/19/2015	at FIU	L 56–60	9–16 (6–7)	FIU Arena (1,051)
02/21/2015	at Florida Atlantic	W 76–69	10–16 (7–7)	FAU Arena (1,481)
02/26/2015	Old Dominion	L 54–63	10–17 (7–8)	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,506)
02/28/2015	Charlotte	L 76–77	10–18 (7–9)	Tudor Fieldhouse (4,653)
03/05/2015	at UTSA	W 76–74	11–18 (8–9)	Convocation Center (1,204)
03/07/2015	at UTEP	L 65–68	11–19 (8–10)	Don Haskins Center (8,574)
Conference USA Tournament
03/11/2015	vs. North Texas (First round)	W 82-54	12-19	Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (4,695)
03/12/2015	vs. Louisiana Tech (Quarterfinal)	L 64-70	12-20	Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex (6,922)
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. ( ) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

↑ http://www.riceowls.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/rice-m-baskbl-sched.html

Rice Owls men's basketball

Venues	Tudor Fieldhouse (1950–present)

Rivalries	Houston

Culture & lore	History Sammy the Owl Marching Owl Band

People	Head coaches Retired jerseys

Seasons	1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15