Men's basketball hopes to end skid this weekend

By Yan Digilov     1/28/10 6:00pm

The men's basketball team enjoyed a light schedule last week, as the team only played one game during the past seven days. After dropping a tight game against the conference-leading University of Tulsa, Rice (6-13, 0-6 C-USA) is taking the time to recuperate and prepare to end a seven-game losing streak beset with inconsistent play and missed opportunities. Their game against Tulsa (16-4, 5-1 C-USA) proved to be one of their most competitive road games this season. But just when it looked like Rice might have a chance to steal a win from the conference-leading Miners, that light was snuffed out. Not for lack of talent, though, but because of a lack of focus, according to Head Coach Ben Braun.

"It is a confidence issue," Braun said after his team ran its road record to 0-8. "It is about a belief that if you stick to your system, it will work at home or on the road. Good teams don't go away from their principles."

Among those principles has been a strong attack from the low post, continued with an excellent performance from junior center Trey Stanton, who finished the day with 11 points and nine rebounds. Freshman forward Arsalan Kazemi contributed eight points and 11 rebounds, helping the Owls finish yet another game on top of the rebound battle.

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However, one of the main principles Braun has also attempted to instill is that of a complete performance, something that the team has yet to see through in its road struggles.

"We shot ourselves in the foot," Braun said of the contest against Tulsa. "We played so hard and so well, but you have just got to do the little things. You have to remember that you can't just play 37 minutes, you have got to play the full 40."

Down the stretch, turnovers emerged without cause, and despite having the lead multiple times throughout the game, the Owls could not close out the game in the final minutes, falling by a score of 62-58.

Now with some time off, Braun is focusing on raising the squad's confidence and shoring up a defense that, as the season has progressed, has proven to be their most glaring deficiency.

Fortunately, it appears that some progress has been made on the defensive front. Rice held Tulsa to just over 40-percent shooting, a reassuring statistic against a team that has been having its way with conference opponents all year long.

The Owls started the game against Tulsa energized and playing ahead of their opponents. This energy is something that has been severely lacking all year, as the squad's offensive production has not been strong enough to give them the early shocks necessary for competitiveness.

Back in the starting lineup, sophomore Lucas Kuipers has provided some additional firepower in recent games after an ineffective start to the season.

"Nobody works harder than Lucas," Braun said. "He comes in early in the mornings to shoot and he stays after practice. I am happy to see him starting to find his range."

With some role players coming back into the mix, including sophomore Connor Frizzelle, who seems to be working his way out of a long shooting dry spell, Braun is hoping that the squad will be able to put the ugly streak behind them and gather steam as conference play progresses.

Rice travels to play its next opponent, East Carolina University, tomorrow at Williams Arena before returning for a three-game homestand that starts with Tulane University on Wednesday.

Recent crowd showings at Tudor Fieldhouse have made the prospects of playing at home a more appealing event for the players. The return of the Autry Army, bringing with it an estimated 550 students, may not have brought the team a win against the University of Memphis last week, but it has resulted in other benefits for the squad.

"We had four recruits that came here that night, and every recruit was talking not just about the game but about the student support section," Braun said. "That was huge for us in terms of locking in those kids. They are excited to come to Rice, and I think our environment had a lot to do with it.

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