GAME NOTES: The Rice Owls will try to bounce back from a lopsided loss while the Houston Cougars are hoping to get back in the win column when the two non- conference foes meet at Hofheinz Pavilion on Wednesday night.

The Owls had won two in a row before putting forth their lowest scoring effort of the season in a 58-45 home loss to Louisiana Tech last Saturday. Rice made a total of just five field goals in 17 attempts in the second half, allowing the Bulldogs to pull away for the comfortable victory.

Seth Gearhart scored a game-high 16 points and Marcus Jackson added 12, but Rice turned the ball over 18 times and shot just 32.6 percent overall in the setback, which dropped the club to the middle of the Conference USA pack with a 3-4 league ledger.

Jackson leads the Owls in scoring with 14.7 ppg (10th in C-USA), while Gearhart ranks second on the team with 13.9 ppg. Rice sits near the bottom in C-USA in both scoring offense (61.7 ppg) and field goal percentage (.402).

Defensively, the Owls allow opponents to score 64.4 ppg and convert 43.3 percent of their field goal attempts. Rice also ranks near the bottom of C-USA in 3-point field goal defense (.377). The Owls are in the red in rebounding margin (-0.9), and are last in the conference in turnover margin (-1.83).

Houston's downward trend continued last Saturday in an 80-59 drubbing at SMU, keeping the club winless in eight American Athletic Conference tests.

Jherrod Stiggers scored 25 points, Danrad Knowles added 10, and L.J. Rose chipped in with a season-high 10 assists, but the team shot just 35.2 percent from the floor overall and allowed SMU to connect on 51.9 percent of its total shots.

Stiggers was in a shooting slump prior to his 25-point outburst. His shooting percentage dipped down to .350 coming into the game, which upped his scoring average to a team-best 15.3 ppg. Knowles and Devonta Pollard are both netting right around 11 ppg, but the team as a whole is connecting on just 38.7 percent of its overall shots.

The Cougars defense has been spotty at best, allowing 68.6 ppg to opponents on 42.8 percent shooting. LeRon Barnes leads a group of talented rebounders with 6.5 rpg.

These former conference rivals have squared off 79 times previously, with Houston holding a commanding 61-18 advantage. The Owls are starting a four- game road trip in this one, while Houston plays its next four games in front of the home fans.

The meetings is a nice step back for a pair of squads trying to gain footing in their respective conferences. A win would be a huge boost of confidence for the victor, and if Stiggers can follow up his performance against SMU, the Cougars will be the ones who prevail.