UTEP, Rice meet in conference play

UTEP (16-14, 7-10) vs. Rice (15-15, 7-10)

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

BOTTOM LINE: CUSA foes meet as UTEP battles Rice. UTEP knocked off Middle Tennessee by four in its last outing. Rice is coming off a 72-57 win over Southern Miss in its most recent game.

SAVVY SENIORS: Rice’s Robert Martin, Ako Adams and Josh Parrish have collectively accounted for 38 percent of the team’s scoring this season, including 47 percent of all Owls points over the last five games.

SPARKING THE OFFENSE: Daryl Edwards has made or assisted on 59 percent of all UTEP field goals over the last three games. The senior guard has accounted for 32 field goals and nine assists in those games.

WINLESS WHEN: Rice is 0-9 this year when it scores 64 points or fewer and 15-6 when it scores at least 65.

ASSIST-TO-FG RATIO: The Owls have recently created baskets via assists more often than the Miners. Rice has 42 assists on 69 field goals (60.9 percent) across its previous three contests while UTEP has assists on 39 of 70 field goals (55.7 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Rice has made 9.9 3-pointers per game as a team this year, which is most among CUSA teams.