Rice Owls at Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
· NCAA Men's Basketball
<span class="badge bg-danger" style="font-size: 1.2em; margin: 5px 0;">Final</span>
72 - 68
72 - 68
Gearhart's 31 leads Rice upset of W. Kentucky, 72-68
Gearhart's layup with 2:01 left to play gave the Owls (7-15, 4-6 C-USA) the lead, 66-65, and he pushed it to a three-point lead with a layup off a feed by Marcus Jackson with 1:22 remaining. Gearhart's two free throws with :22 left made it a five-point game and, following Trency Jackson's 3-pointer with :05 to play, Gearhart added two more free throws for the final margin.
The Owls shot 59.5 percent from the field, knocking down 25 of 42 shots, including 7 of 17 from distance.
The loss was just the third at home for Western Kentucky (16-7, 9-2), which is now tied with Louisiana Tech and Alabama-Birmingham atop the conference standings.
Jackson finished with 23 points to lead the Hilltoppers.
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Recent Plays
| 2nd 0:00 | End of Game | 72 - 68 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Seth Gearhart made Free Throw. | 72 - 68 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Seth Gearhart made Free Throw. | 71 - 68 |
| 2nd 0:02 | Foul on Ben Lawson. | 70 - 68 |
| 2nd 0:03 | Western Kentucky Timeout | 70 - 68 |
Statistics
 RICE |
 WKU |
|
|---|---|---|
| 25-42 | FG | 23-55 |
| 60 | Field Goal % | 42 |
| 7-17 | 3PT | 7-24 |
| 41 | Three Point % | 29 |
| 15-17 | FT | 15-19 |
| 88 | Free Throw % | 79 |
| 28 | Rebounds | 27 |
| 3 | Offensive Rebounds | 11 |
| 25 | Defensive Rebounds | 16 |
| 13 | Assists | 12 |
| 6 | Steals | 6 |
| 4 | Blocks | 2 |
| 18 | Turnovers | 11 |
| 3 | Team Turnovers | 0 |
| 18 | Total Turnovers | 11 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 0 | Points Off Turnovers | 0 |
| 0 | Fast Break Points | 0 |
| 0 | Points in Paint | 0 |
| 19 | Fouls | 18 |
Game Information
Venue: E.A. Diddle Arena
Location: Bowling Green, KY
Attendance: 5,071 | Capacity:
Location: Bowling Green, KY
Attendance: 5,071 | Capacity:
2025-26 American Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Florida | 15-3 | - | 25-9 |
| Tulsa | 13-5 | 2 | 30-8 |
| Wichita State | 13-5 | 2 | 24-12 |
| UAB | 11-7 | 4 | 20-12 |
| North Texas | 9-9 | 6 | 19-14 |
| Florida Atlantic | 9-9 | 6 | 18-15 |
| Charlotte | 9-9 | 6 | 17-17 |
| Tulane | 8-10 | 7 | 18-15 |
| Temple | 8-10 | 7 | 16-16 |
| Memphis | 8-10 | 7 | 13-19 |
| Rice | 7-11 | 8 | 13-18 |
| East Carolina | 6-12 | 9 | 11-20 |
| UTSA | 1-17 | 14 | 5-25 |
2025-26 Conference USA Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 17-3 | - | 26-8 |
| Sam Houston | 13-7 | 4 | 22-12 |
| Louisiana Tech | 11-9 | 6 | 20-14 |
| Western Kentucky | 11-9 | 6 | 18-14 |
| Middle Tennessee | 11-9 | 6 | 17-15 |
| Kennesaw State | 10-10 | 7 | 21-14 |
| Jacksonville State | 10-10 | 7 | 15-17 |
| New Mexico State | 8-12 | 9 | 16-16 |
| Missouri State | 8-12 | 9 | 16-18 |
| Florida International | 8-12 | 9 | 15-17 |
| UTEP | 7-13 | 8 | 11-20 |
| Delaware | 6-14 | 11 | 10-21 |