Southern Miss faces Rice in CUSA tourney

Published Mar. 8, 2021 3:30 p.m. ET

Associated Press

No. 7 seed Southern Miss (8-16, 4-13) vs. No. 6 seed Rice (13-12, 6-10)

Conference USA Conference Tourney First Round, Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Southern Miss is set to meet Rice in the first round of the CUSA tournament. Rice swept the two-game regular season series. The teams last played on Feb. 6, when Southern Miss made just three 3-pointers on 17 attempts while the Owls hit 14 of 32 behind the arc en route to a 76-68 victory.

STEPPING UP: Rice's Quincy Olivari has averaged 16.3 points and 4.8 rebounds while Max Fiedler has put up 10.6 points and 8.6 rebounds. For the Golden Eagles, Tyler Stevenson has averaged 14.2 points and 7.3 rebounds while Tae Hardy has put up 10 points.OUTSTANDING OLIVARI: Olivari has connected on 40.9 percent of the 193 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 17 for 55 over the last five games. He's also made 81.1 percent of his free throws this season.

WINLESS WHEN: Rice is 0-6 this year when it scores 66 points or fewer and 13-6 when it scores at least 67.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: Rice is a perfect 5-0 when the team records at least 14 offensive rebounds. The Owls are 8-12 this season when they fail to reach that mark.

DID YOU KNOW: Rice as a collective unit has made 10.4 3-pointers per game this season, which is eighth-best among Division I teams.

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