HOUSTON, Texas – Middle Tennessee men's basketball suffered a tough road loss in a must-win situation Sunday afternoon at the hands of Rice, falling 77-66 in Tudor Fieldhouse to end their hopes of competing the 2020 Conference USA Championship.
MT looked to be the better team for much of the first half, limiting an Owl squad that poured 91 on the Blue Raiders in Murfreesboro to 24 points on just eight made field goals before the break.
After a 5-0 run to start the second half put the Raiders up 10, things turned drastically in Houston as Rice would win the final 18 minutes by a score of 53-32 to take control of the contest on their home floor.