Final grades signify improvement for men's basketball
Last Thursday's 73-51 second-round defeat against the University of Tulsa in the Conference USA tournament capped the men's basketball team's first season under Head Coach Ben Braun. Though full of ups and downs, buzzer beaters and blowouts, it was a season that saw marked improvement on last year's disappointing finish and raises the expectations for Rice men's basketball in years to come. Though Rice has shown improvement in many areas, a 21-0 run by Tulsa three minutes into the first half showed just how far this team has to go. Playing their second game in as many days, the Owls were unable to keep pace with the Golden Hurricane, who came into the game with the second best record in C-USA. The Owls struggled offensively, as freshman guard Connor Frizzelle was the only Owl in double figures with 10 points. Senior guard Rodney Foster, Rice's third leading scorer with 10 points per game, was held to just eight points on 1-5 shooting.