COURTESY OF RICE UNIVERSITY
Defensive ability is what makes Rice guard Omar-Seli Mance special, according to Owls coach Willis Wilson.
Rice guard Omar-Seli Mance rates among the Western Athletic Conference's most productive offensive players. But the increase in the senior's points and assists are a product of his work on the other end of the floor. Mance is the man
for improving OwlsHe leads Rice into tonight's
Game info, starters
WAC game against HawaiiBy Jason Kaneshiro
jkaneshiro@starbulletin.com"When Omar's playing well there's certain things that he's doing, and typically it's guarding the basketball," Rice coach Willis Wilson said. "His team defense and his ability to guard individually has allowed us to be better offensively.
"Defense is the sacrifice you make to win. Offense is the side of the ball that's easy to get excited about. Defense is the side you have to have a lot of pride in, and Omar has the pride to be a good defender."
Mance's efforts have played a big part in Rice's 12-5 record entering tonight's Western Athletic Conference game against Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Mance has been the catalyst of the WAC's most productive offense as the Owls have already passed their win total of last season and are looking for just their second winning season in the last seven years.
"I wanted to be a leader, just be a real good senior leader and hopefully have a winning season," Mance said. "We haven't had many and I wanted to leave with a bang.
"Rice is not known for winning and if I could be a senior and be one of the first teams to really do well in the conference, that's the biggest achievement I'll have."
Said Wilson: "The most impressive thing about Omar is the fact that he's a complete player. The assists and points are all well and good, but I think Omar would rather somebody say he's about winning more than he's about individual accolades."
Mance enters the weekend fourth in the WAC in scoring (17.6) and leads the conference in 3-point shooting (3.38 per game). He is just one trey short of matching last year's total (55) and has already matched his assist output (57) of a year ago.
Mance scored a season-high 24 points against Boise State on Jan. 16 and drained 7 of 10 3-point attempts in the Owls' 89-83 loss to SMU a week ago.
He leads an up-tempo Owls attack that thrives in turning their opponent's mistakes into fast-break points.
"We're a little more athletic this year so we're playing a faster style which is something I think is good to our team," Mance said.
On the defensive end, Mance and his teammates will try to break Hawaii's 22-game winning streak at home by slowing down the Rainbows' guard trio of Carl English, Michael Kuebler and Mark Campbell.
"It's a big challenge going against those guys, so we definitely want to key in defensively and make it a little bit tougher for them to score," Mance said. "It's kind of hard to stop them, but we definitely want to make it difficult."
The native of Stone Mountain, Ga., began his college career at Louisiana State and transferred to Rice as a sophomore.
His first season in Houston was cut short by stress fractures in both tibias. He fought through a nagging ankle injury last year and averaged 12.1 points per game and made 55 3-point goals as Rice went 10-19 overall and 5-13 in the WAC.
Mance, whose first name translates to "Warrior King," said he's back at full strength this season as evidenced by his increased output.
"It's more mental than physical," Mance said. "When you're healthy, you don't worry about going all out."
But the stats are only a part of Mance's value to the Owls. Wilson said the leadership of Mance and fellow seniors Brandon Evans and Michael Walton has been vital to Rice's success this season.
"Those guys as a class have shown the urgency that we need," Wilson said. "The team has a sense of urgency that we've lacked the last couple of years."
Jackson fund-raiser Saturday: The UH Letterwinners Club will hold a fund-raiser for Rainbow baseball player Nate Jackson before Saturday's Hawaii-Tulsa basketball game at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Letterwinners Club members and current UH student-athletes will collect money outside the arena from 5:45 to 7 p.m.
Jackson underwent heart surgery last year after being diagnosed with a bacterial infection. The fund-raiser will assist the Jackson family with Nate's medical expenses. He played football at UH from 1998 to 2001 and rejoined the baseball team last week.
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When: Today, 7 p.m. Rice at Hawaii
Where: Stan Sheriff Center
TV: Live, KFVE-TV
Radio: Live, 1420-AM
Internet: uhathletics.hawaii.edu
Tickets: Lower level, $15/$16; Upper level (adult) $11/$12; Upper level (student, UH) $7; Super looter $8
Probable starters
RICE (12-5, 4-3 WAC)
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Omar-Seli Mance (Sr.) 6-2 17.6 3.1 3.6 G Rashid Smith (Jr.) 6-3 3.8 1.5 5.1 F Brandon Evans (Sr.) 6-9 3.4 4.2 0.9 F Jason McKrieth (So.) 6-4 13.3 5.3 4.0 C Yamar Diene (Jr.) 6-9 7.1 4.7 0.4
HAWAII (11-5, 4-4 WAC)
Notes: Rice is one of just two WAC teams with a winning record on the road (4-3) and has won its last three road games. ... Hawaii hasn't lost four consecutive games since January 2001. The Rainbows suffered back-to-back losses for the first time in 56 games with road losses to San Jose State and Fresno State. ... Rice forward Michael Harris is the Owls' second leading scorer. The sophomore averages 14.4 points and 7.7 rebounds off the bench. ... The Owls are without backup guard Michael Walton. He has missed the last three games with a stress fracture in his right foot. Hawaii reports no significant injuries. ... English needs 30 points to become the 10th UH player to reach 1,000 points. ... Hawaii leads the all-time series with Rice 10-2 and has won the last three meetings. ... Hawaii has won 22 consecutive home games and 19 straight WAC games at home. ... Tonight's game is Willis Wilson's 300th as Rice coach. He enters the game at 140-159 in 11 seasons. UH coach Riley Wallace is in his 16th season (254-209).
Ht. Pts. Reb. Ast. G Mark Campbell (Sr.) 6-4 5.4 3.4 6.3 G Michael Kuebler (Jr.) 6-5 12.6 2.8 2.3 G Carl English (Jr.) 6-5 19.9 5.8 2.3 F Phil Martin (Jr.) 6-8 9.4 4.6 0.3 C Haim Shimonovich (Jr.) 6-11 8.8 7.9 2.8
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