Rice looks to sweep ODU

Published Jan. 16, 2021 6:45 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Old Dominion (7-4, 3-2) vs. Rice (10-3, 4-1)

Tudor Fieldhouse, Houston; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Old Dominion seeks revenge on Rice after dropping the first matchup in Houston. The teams last went at it on Jan. 15, when Old Dominion made only four 3-pointers on 19 attempts while the Owls hit 14 of 40 behind the arc en route to the 69-59 victory.

STEPPING UP: Malik Curry is averaging 14.4 points to lead the charge for the Monarchs. Kalu Ezikpe is also a key contributor, accounting for 10.5 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. The Owls have been led by Max Fiedler, who is averaging 12 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists.

STEPPING IT UP: The Owls have scored 81.6 points per game against CUSA opponents so far, an improvement from the 74.5 per game they managed against non-conference foes.

CREATING OFFENSE: Fiedler has either made or assisted on 47 percent of all Rice field goals over the last three games. The sophomore forward has accounted for 22 field goals and 16 assists in those games.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Owls are 7-0 when they record six or more steals and 3-3 when they fall shy of that mark. The Monarchs are 5-0 when they score at least 71 points and 2-4 on the year when falling short of 71.

LONG-RANGE THREAT: Old Dominion's Oliver II has attempted 56 3-pointers and connected on 35.7 percent of them, and is 10 for 25 over his past five games.

DID YOU KNOW: Rice as a team has made 11.1 3-pointers per game this season, which is fifth-best among Division I teams.

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