Subject:

Ben Braun

  • Blogs

    April 5, 2013

    Rice Denies "Terrorist," "Axis of Evil" Racial Slurs Surrounding Implosion of Men's Basketball Team

    It's been four long, sad decades for the Rice men's basketball program. There have been a few moments of levity -- the opening of Tudor Fieldhouse, Morris Almond's mid-range jumper, Willis Wilson's mustache -- but, by and large, the tale's been one of cumbersome academics and milquetoast community ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 18, 2013

    Cougars And Owls Finish Very Disappointing Basketball Seasons

    March Madness begins on Tuesday and gets into full swing on Thursday. And for the first time in probably forever (technically 1977), not one single Texas college was invited to play in the NCAA Tournament. No UT. No A&M. No Baylor. No Rice, UH, Sam Houston State, or SFA. Not one. But not all hope ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 1, 2013

    Depleted Owls Stun Cougars

    The Rice Owls defeating the Houston Cougars 79-69 on Wednesday night wasn't surprising. Or rather, it shouldn't have been surprising. Not to anybody who has actually watched both teams play this season. The Cougars are the more talented team. They're more athletic. They have speed, size, and length ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 18, 2013

    Rice Owls Play The Game of "What If?"

    The story is not that the Memphis Tigers defeated the Rice Owls 77-51 on Wednesday night. That was to be expected. The story's not that Rice struggled shooting the ball. That's a season-long pattern. The story's not really about the game the two teams played on Wednesday night. The story's more ab ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 17, 2012

    What Does The Future Hold For The Rice Owls?

    It's been a so-so year for Rice sports. The baseball team didn't make it past the NCAA Regionals. The men's basketball team self-destructed. And at one point the football team was 1-5. But then in mid-October the football team took off, and they won five of their six games to finish the season at 6- ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 12, 2012

    Yes, The Rice Owls Will Play Basketball This Season

    Ben Braun's tone is weary. His expression is resigned. His body language is tired. He's aware of the questions that he's about to face in the long day ahead of him, and he knows that if he's ever going to get a chance to talk about the future, he's going to have to first talk about the past. Braun, ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 1, 2012

    Comment of the Day: The Oddities Surrounding Once-Pristine Rice Basketball Recruiting

    We have some great commenters here on Hair Balls, and it's time we paid some damn attention to them. So we'll be highlighting a Comment of the Day each morning or afternoon from the previous day's work. Maybe two comments, even. This will all be determined by a highly rigorous scientific formula i ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 28, 2012

    What The Hell's Going On With Rice Basketball? Their Best Players, Connected To Former Coach Marco Morcos, Leaving In Droves

    Just what is going on with the Rice Owls men's basketball team? It was supposedly a program on the rise the last time they played a game in Houston. But since that time, only about six months, the team has become not only a national laughingstock, but also the poster child of an issue known as up-tr ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 19, 2012

    Hey, Rice Owls Fans, Do You Even Know You Have a Basketball Team?

    The College Insider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) is just another of college basketball's postseason alphabet tournaments -- see also the NIT and the CBI. But the Rice Owls are playing in the CIT, and it's the first time the team's made a men's postseason basketball tournament since 2005. It's ju ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 9, 2012

    Shocking News: The Owls and Cougars Not Going Dancing

    There might still be a month left in the season for several college basketball teams. But the alumni, students, and fans of Rice and the University of Houston are either going to have to ignore March Madness, or they're going to have to find some other teams for whom to cheer. That the Houston Coug ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 5, 2012

    Arsalan Kazemi Chases Refs, Shoves Security Guard: Chaos Reigns Supreme As Coogs Stun Owls

    The Rice Owls didn't just lose a basketball game on Saturday night. They lost a home game by the score of 76-75. They lost to their crosstown rivals, the Houston Cougars (15-14, 7-9 in conference). They lost while having a one-point lead and the ball with 5.2 seconds left and the Cougars having no t ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 23, 2012

    Rice Owls Reach the Rarified Air of Basketball Success

    Something a little magical happened at Rice's Tudor Fieldhouse Wednesday night. Something that basketball fans don't see too often. Something Rice fans have never seen. It wasn't just that the Owls (16-12, 7-6 in conference) came back from a 15-point first half deficit to defeat the UCF Knights ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 20, 2012

    Coog Hoops Show Hope; Rice & UH Open Their Baseball Seasons

    It was all right there for the taking. A win and the Southern Miss Golden Eagles would take sole possession of first place in Conference USA. A win and Southern Miss head coach Larry Eustachy would earn his 400th victory as a head coach. But on a misty, drizzling, miserable Saturday night in the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 10, 2012

    Owls Stage the Comeback and Stun the Coogs in Game That Epitomized Both Teams

    The Houston Cougars dashed off to a 13-0 lead against the Rice Owls on Wednesday night. The offense worked to perfection. There was some decent defense being played. But as the teams went into a timeout only 7:45 into the game, one couldn't help but sense doom hanging over the Hofheinz Pavilion cour ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 20, 2012

    Owls and Coogs Disappointing Basketball Fans, Dammit

    These guys are turrible!​The Rice Owls (11-8, 2-2) lost a basketball game they should have won on Wednesday night. The Houston Cougars (9-9, 1-4) were blown out yet again. It's turning into another disappointing men's basketball season in Houston, Texas. It's not supposed to have been this ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 9, 2011

    Houston and Rice Pray for a Miracle As C-USA Tournament Starts Today

    John RoyalHouston Cougars coach James Dickey​The Houston Cougars and Rice Owls men's basketball teams take to the court again today. Possibly for the last time. Possibly for the start of a miracle run. And while the Owls eagerly look for such a run to happen, using the Cougars of last year ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 3, 2011

    Rice Basketball: Farce? Fiasco? Either Way, the Owls Lose Another

    John RoyalThe malfunctioning shot clock displays Rice's chances of advancing to the NCAA Tournament​What if they played a basketball game and nobody cared? What if it was senior night, but the school was on spring break and not even the band or cheerleaders could be bothered to make even a to ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 28, 2011

    College Basketball: Owls Lose a Heartbreaker While Coogs Appear to Give Up

    John RoyalRice's Arsalan Kazemi battles for position under the Rice basket​No coach wants to have to draw up a play with 2.3 seconds left that, if it works, merely ties the score and sends the game to overtime. But such was the position Rice Owls coach Ben Braun was in last night, his Owls do ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 25, 2011

    UH and Rice Attempt to Salvage Their Seasons This Weekend

    John RoyalMaurice McNeil hopes to lead the Cougars out to three more wins​The Houston Cougars and Rice Owls looked to be moving in different directions as the men's basketball season got underway. The Cougars had a new head coach, James Dickey, who hadn't been a head coach since the 1990s. T ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 21, 2011

    Owls De-Claw the Tigers, Get First-Ever Win Over Memphis

    John RoyalConnor Frizzelle drives the baseline in the first half​The Memphis Tigers were the number one team in Conference USA Saturday afternoon. In a conference guaranteed only one team in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, the Tigers were primed to be that team. They just forgot one th ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 7, 2011

    UTEP Mines Another Win Against the Owls

    John RoyalBen Braun argues a call made against the Owls on Saturday​It's becoming a rather common story for the Rice Owls. Fall behind. Make a big comeback. Fall short in the closing minutes. Lose the game. It's one that happened again on Saturday as the Owls lost to the UTEP Miners by th ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 31, 2011

    Egypt & Rice Basketball: You Say You Want a Revolution

    John RoyalExcuse Omar Oraby if his mind is on something other than basketball​It's easy to forget that basketball is just a game. Particularly on the college level where, for the most part, it's played mostly by kids who are a long way from home. And as much as fans might want the team to wi ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 27, 2011

    Owls Basketball: Given the Second Chance, Owls Soar Over the Cougars

    John RoyalRice guard Connor Frizzelle awaits a pass in the first half​The Houston Cougars were 11-6 and tied for first place in Conference USA this time last week. The Rice Owls were 8-10 and floundering in last place in C-USA. What a difference a week makes. Now it's the Cougars who are fl ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 21, 2011

    Owls Basketball Searching for a Reason to Believe

    John RoyalRice cheerleaders need a reason to cheer​The Rice Owls were heading high come the start of conference play. They'd already won eight games, matching their total from all of last season. They'd played a difficult non-conference schedule against such college powers as Arizona, Texas ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 13, 2011

    Owls Basketball: Just One or Two Plays Away, Again

    John RoyalBen Braun questions a call in the first half​Rice Owls head coach Ben Braun says that his team is close. One or two plays away close. One or two plays away from winning those close games and being a good basketball team. But all that actually matters is that the Owls are still a f ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 6, 2011

    Rice Owls Overwhelmed by a Barrage of Three-Pointers

    John RoyalArsalan Kazemi makes a jumper in the first half​Rice Owls head coach Ben Braun was worried about the Tulane Green Wave last week. Even as the Owls were defeating LSU and TCU for some impressive out-of-conference wins, Braun was worried about a Tulane team he thought might be the most i ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 3, 2011

    Rice Owls De-Horn The Frogs, Prepare For C-USA

    John Royal Trey Stanton with a big first half shot block​The Rice Owls won eight basketball games all of last season. But things change, and yesterday, after defeating the TCU Horned Frogs 70-61, the Rice Owls have win number eight and they've yet to reach conference play. The game didn't p ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 30, 2010

    Rice Basketball: What's New, Pussycat?

    The Owls turned the LSU Tigers into pussycats​There are droughts, and there are droughts. And fittingly, on a day when the city of Houston was submerged under a continuous downpour of rain that may have helped to end a drought that's been dragging down the city, the Rice Owls found a way&nbs ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 17, 2010

    Rice Owls Hit The Jackpot, And A Three-Pointer Or Two

    The Owls are heading to Vegas, baby​The Rice Owls played the first game of the Las Vegas Hoops Classic last night, and the Owls improved their record to 5-4 as they defeated the (6-5) UALR Trojans 65-55. But though the game was part of a Las Vegas basketball tournament, the game was played a ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 2, 2010

    Rice Forward Calls Teammates "Scared" After Arizona Loss

    Arizona unloaded on Rice​The Rice Owls are in a tough stretch of games. They've been on the road, and they're running up against the end of the semester, which means finals and tests and papers and no sleep. So maybe their 84-57 loss to the Arizona Wildcats can be explained away by going wit ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 22, 2010

    Rice Basketball: Owls Slay Cavaliers

    How about some Rice basketball?​The Rice Owls shouldn't have to struggle against a team like the St. Gregory's Cavaliers. St. Gregory's is one of those NAIA teams brought in to boost records and help with the confidence. And a final score of 75-58 makes it appear that Rice didn't have that m ... More >>

  • Blogs

    November 9, 2010

    Believe It Or Not, It's Time For College Basketball

    John Royal Cougars prepare to play basketball​They were just exhibition games, and they tell us that exhibition games are meaningless. They don't count in the standings. They're a chance to test game conditioning. To see how well everyone understands the offense. To see what improvements ne ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 28, 2010

    Owls Basketball Prepares To Fly

    ​It's no secret that Rice's men's basketball program has not been very successful in recent seasons. Last year's team finished the season with a woeful 8-23 record, and with many of the same players returning this season, there shouldn't be much hope for this season.Yet, strangely, there is th ... More >>

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