GAME NOTES: The quarterfinal round of the Conference USA Tournament concludes Wednesday night with a matchup featuring the ninth-seeded Rice Owls taking on the top-seeded Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Legacy Arena.

The winner moves on to the semifinal round, which takes place on Friday and offers the victor a spot in the conference title bout.

Talk about a dominant performance to set the tone early. Rice frustrated North Texas Wednesday in the opening round of the conference tournament and ended up with an 82-54 victory, allowing the Owls to pull off the slight upset and advance.

Louisiana Tech was tabbed the No. 1 seed in the conference after finishing the regular season with a 24-7 overall record and a 15-3 mark in conference play. The Bulldogs won the last three games on their schedule as they head into conference tournament play. They will be looking to avenge a loss in last year's championship game to Tulsa.

Rice and Louisiana Tech met just once during the regular season in Houston. The Bulldogs still ended up with a 58-45 victory even though the contest was on the road.

Rice absolutely crushed North Texas Wednesday in the opening round of the C- USA Tournament, leading from start to finish against the Mean Green and owning a lead at one point that got to as many as 29. The Owls contained the Mean Green to a mere 28.8 percent shooting in the win, and held North Texas to 4- of-21 from 3-point range. Marcus Jackson scored a team-high 28 points to pace Rice, while Max Guercy, Seth Gearhart and Van Green all chipped in with 10 points apiece.

The Owls didn't do so well finishing off the regular season, losing four of their last six entering the postseason. But an improved offense led by Gearhart (15.4 ppg) and Jackson (14.2 ppg) seems to have caught fire at the right time. In the only meeting between Rice and Louisiana Tech during the regular season, the Owls were limited to just 32.6 percent shooting from the field. Gearhart scored 16 points, and Jackson added 12 as the only double- digit scorer's in the team's 13-point loss.

Louisiana Tech was able to finish off the regular season on a high note against a struggling Southern Miss squad. The Bulldogs only led by two points at halftime, 26-24, but hit on 51.6 percent of their shots from the floor in the second period to build on their advantage. Michale Kyser tallied a double- double with 19 points and 14 rebounds, while Raheem Appleby led the way with 23 points. Erik McCree chipped in 10, and Kenneth Smith dished out 10 assists to aid the effort.

Appleby paced the team in scoring during the regular season with 15.7 ppg, but was tailed not too far behind by Alex Hamilton's 15.2 ppg. Both Smith and Kyser were named to the Conference USA All-Defensive Team yet again after anchoring a Bulldogs squad that averaged 16.1 turnovers forced per outing. Louisiana Tech is looking to improve its 2-1 record in the league tournament and earn its first title.

This matchup could be a bit different, as the Owls have clearly established themselves as an offense that could explode at any time. But North Texas isn't known for strong defense, yet Louisiana Tech is. The Bulldogs, certainly one of the favorites to win the conference title, should be able to hold Rice down.