The Rice Owls men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a Private university, private research university in Houston, Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranke ...

. The program is classified in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

's Division I, and the team competes in

Conference USA Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are l ...

. They previously participated in the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma an ...

(1914–1996) and the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...

(1996–2005). The Owls play their home games in

Tudor Fieldhouse Tudor Fieldhouse is multi-purpose arena in Houston, Texas. Previously known as Rice Gymnasium, it was renamed in honor of Rice University alum Bobby Tudor, who spearheaded the renovation of the facility with a multimillion-dollar donation. The co ...

, which they have called home since 1950. Previously known as Rice Gymnasium, it was renamed in honor of Rice alum Bobby Tudor, who spearheaded the 2008 renovation of the facility with a multimillion-dollar donation. The court is designated "Autry Court" in memory of Mrs. James L. Autry. Her husband James Lockhart Autry was a descendant of

Micajah Autry Micajah Autry (1793March 6, 1836) was an American merchant, poet and lawyer who died in the Texas Revolution at the Battle of the Alamo. From Natchitoches, Louisiana, on December 13 he wrote: "About 20 men from Tennessee formed our squad.... e ...

, who was a hero of the

Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Ant ...

. Her daughter, Mrs. Edward W. Kelley, made a generous donation to the gymnasium building fund in honor of her late mother, an ardent supporter of Rice.

Head coaches

Postseason history

NCAA tournament results

The Owls have appeared in four NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 2–5.

NIT results

The Owls have appeared in five

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

s. Their combined record is 1–6.

CIT results

The Owls have appeared in one

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was an American men's college basketball postseason tournament founded by Collegeinsider.com. The tournament was oriented toward schools that did not get selected for the NCAA Division I men's ...

(CIT). Their combined record is 2–1.

CBI results

The Owls have appeared in 2

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...

(CBI). Their combined record is 1–2.

Players of note

Owls in the NBA

Morris Almond Morris Almond (born February 2, 1985) is an American former professional basketball player. Almond is the founder of Almond Athletics. His last professional appearance would be for the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League (D-Leagu ...

* Ken Austin * Bill Closs *

Mike Harris Michael Deane Harris (born January 23, 1945) is a Canadian retired politician who served as the 22nd premier of Ontario from 1995 to 2002 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario (PC Party) from 1990 to 2002. During his time ...

* Bill Henry *

Bob Kinney Robert Paul Kinney (September 16, 1920 – September 2, 1985) was an American professional basketball player in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), National Basketball Association (NBA) and National Professional Basketball Leag ...

Trey Murphy III Kenneth "Trey" Murphy III (born June 18, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the New Orleans Pelicans of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Rice Owls and the Virginia Cavaliers. E ...

Ricky Pierce Richard Charles Pierce (born August 19, 1959) is an American retired National Basketball Association (NBA) player. Nicknamed "Deuces" and "Big Paper Daddy", he was selected as an NBA All-Star (1991) and was twice the NBA Sixth Man of the Year (19 ...

* Brent Scott * Mike Wilks

Owls in international basketball

* Suleiman Braimoh (born 1989), Nigerian-American in the

Israel Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional competition in Israeli club basketball, making it Israel's primary basketball co ...

Egor Koulechov Egor Koulechov ( he, איגור קולשוב, russian: Егор Кулешов; born November 5, 1994) is an Israeli-Russian professional basketball player for Hapoel Be'er Sheva B.C., Hapoel Be'er Sheva of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. ...

(born 1994), Israeli-Russian basketball player for Israeli team

Ironi Nahariya Ironi Nahariya Basketball Club ( he, מועדון הכדורסל עירוני נהריה; ) known for sponsorship reasons as Ironi Rain Nahariya () is a professional basketball club based in city of Nahariya in northern Israel. The team plays in t ...

Retired numbers

Rice University has

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

six numbers.

References

External links

* {{Conference USA men's basketball navbox Basketball teams established in 1914