GAME NOTES: The Rice Owls seek a victory in what will be the finale of a three-game Conference USA homestand when they battle it out with the North Texas Mean Green on Saturday afternoon at Tudor Fieldhouse.

The Mean Green head to Rice on a four-game losing streak, which includes two straight home setbacks against conference foes UTEP (85-71) and Texas-San Antonio (71-61). The losses have dropped UNT's league ledger to 0-2 and its overall record to 6-8.

After winning their first conference matchup of the season against UTSA, 67-52, the Owls were defeated by the UTEP Miners, 66-57, at home last Sunday. The loss to UTEP knocked Rice's conference record down to 1-1, and overall record to 4-9.

The Mean Green and the Owls are meeting for the 15th time in history, with North Texas leading the series 10-4. These programs last met on March 11, 2014 during the Conference USA Tournament, and the Mean Green prevailed in overtime, 63-62.

Against the UTSA Roadrunners last Sunday, North Texas shot an impressive 56 percent from the field in the opening half, but made only 37 percent after the break in what turned out to be a lost cause. The Mean Green didn't play good defense out on the perimeter, allowing the Roadrunners to sink 40.9 percent of their 3-point field goal attempts. Jordan Williams (17 points, six rebounds) was one of four double-digit scorers for UNT, and he was joined by Muhammed Ahmed (14 points), DeAndre Harris (12 points) and Colin Voss (10 points).

Williams is the leading scorer for North Texas, as he averages 14.9 ppg, the 10th-highest average in Conference USA. Voss leads the squad in rebounding with 6.3 boards per game. North Texas is averaging 64.9 ppg but allowing its opponents to net 67.7 ppg, putting its scoring margin at -2.9. The Mean Green are currently near the bottom in C-USA for 3-point field goal percentage (.298) and have the second-most turnovers in the league (224).

Despite an impressive 12-of-23 mark from beyond the arc against the Miners, Rice went just 35.8 percent overall in its field goal attempts. Defensively, the Owls allowed UTEP to connect on 48.1 percent of its total shots, which included an 8-of-16 mark from 3-point range. Leading the way for Rice was Marcus Jackson as he finished with 20 points and eight rebounds. Seth Gearhart also contributed with 10 points and eight boards.

Gearhart (14.1 ppg) and Jackson (13.6 ppg) pace Rice in the scoring column this season. The Owls generate just 62.9 ppg behind a field goal percentage of .398, while allowing opponents to score 65.3 ppg, and connect on 42.2 percent of their tries from the field. The Owls are however, converting 74 percent of their free throws, the highest percentage in C-USA.

Neither team is playing well at the moment, as North Texas has lost three in a row by double digits and Rice has won just once in its last four contests. In what will likely be a close game, expect the Owls' free-throw shooting to be the difference.