GAME NOTES: After splitting their first two contests in a three-game homestand, the North Texas Mean Green will look for a victory against their in-state rivals the Rice Owls on Saturday in Conference USA play at the Super Pit.

Rice enters this game on a two-game losing streak with the most recent defeat being a 59-48 loss to Houston on Wednesday. The losses have dropped the Owls' league record to 3-4 and overall mark to 6-13.

North Texas started its current homestand with a victory over Louisiana Tech, but lost to Southern Miss in overtime last Saturday by a score of 75-71. The loss put the Mean Green's conference mark at 2-5 and overall record at 8-11.

This marks the 16th meeting between these teams on the hardwood, with North Texas leading the series 11-4. On Jan. 10, in the squads' first meeting this season, North Texas held on for a 66-63 victory.

Rice held Houston to a shooting percentage of 37 percent in the first half, and only trailed 22-20 going into the locker room. The Owls shot an impressive 55 percent from the field in the final period, but allowed Houston to convert 48 percent of its field-goal attempts, including 5-of-12 from 3-point range. Houston had more points off of turnovers than Rice (19-6), in the Owls' fourth league loss this season. Rice was led by Seth Gearhart, who finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

Marcus Jackson is Rice's top scorer with 14.3 ppg (10th in C-USA), with Gearhart right behind him at 13.9 ppg. The Owls rank second to last in C-USA in scoring offense (60.9 ppg) and towards the bottom in field-goal percentage (.409). Rice allows its opponents to score 64.2 ppg and connect on 43.2 percent of their field-goal attempts. The Owls are in the red for rebounding margin (-0.7) and rank last in the C-USA for turnover margin (-2.21).

North Texas shot an impressive 60 percent in the first half against Southern Miss, and took a 37-29 lead into halftime. But the Mean Green converted on just 40 percent of its second-half field goal tries and the Golden Eagles snuck back into the game and forced overtime. North Texas was just 3-of-12 from the field in the extra period, while Southern Miss was 4-of-6 on its field-goal tries, including 2-of-3 from 3-point distance. North Texas was out- rebounded 42-35 in the loss. Jordan Williams led the Mean Green in scoring with 19 points, while Jeremy Combs nearly had a double-double as he finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Williams is the top scorer for North Texas with 15.6 ppg (eighth in C-USA) while Combs is the team's top rebounder (6.6 rpg, ninth in C-USA) and second-best scorer (10 ppg). North Texas is scoring 64.5 ppg and converting 43.3 percent of its field-goal attempts, which includes a 3-point field-goal percentage of 29.9, second worst in the league. The Mean Green allow opponents to score 67.7 ppg and only net 39.9 percent of their field-goal tries (first in C-USA).

This contest is likely to be close throughout, as both teams match up well against one another. In tight games, turnovers can play a big factor, and Rice is last in the conference in turnover margin. Look for North Texas to win the turnover battle and squeak by in close one.