Field Level Media
25 Nov 2021, 01:10 GMT+10
Kaiden Rice's role is to knock down long-range shots, and he knocked down seven 3-pointers in the Hoyas' last game.
Rice will aim for a second consecutive strong game when Georgetown (2-1) faces San Diego State (3-1) in the Wooden Legacy at Anaheim, Calif., on Thursday night.
Rice made 274 3-pointers and scored 1,232 points in four seasons at The Citadel before joining Georgetown as a graduate transfer this season. He averaged 17.6 points per game last season.
Things had not gone as well for Rice as the Hoyas split their first two games. He averaged 5.5 points on 4-of-18 shooting and was 3-for-15 from 3-point range.
Things came together last Friday when Rice scored 23 points in an 83-65 home win over Siena. Rice was 8-of-11 shooting -- he made his lone shot inside 3-point range -- to impress Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing.
"He's an elite shooter," Ewing, the former college and NBA great, said of Rice. "I've had the opportunity to play against guys that were elite shooters: Chris Mullin, Larry Bird, Reggie Miller. He's up with those guys."
Rice's formula while working through the funk was to not let his confidence drop.
"I just kept shooting," Rice said. "I knew my teammates were going to give me the ball at the right spots, at the right time. My job was to simply knock it down."
Rice is fourth on the Hoyas with an 11.3 scoring average. Donald Carey is averaging a team-best 15.3, followed by Aminu Mohammed (14.0, team-leading 7.7 rebounds) and Dante Harris (11.7).
San Diego State annually has a reputation of being among the nation's best defensive squads, and this season the Aztecs are holding opponents to just 25.6 percent from 3-point range.
San Diego State's long-range shooting has been a weakness. The Aztecs are shooting just 24.6 percent from behind the arc while scoring only 64.8 points per game. They have yet to reach 70 points in their four games, which include a home win over Arizona State and a road loss to BYU.
Still, coach Brian Dutcher is encouraged with his team's start and is bracing for a big challenge from Georgetown.
"I know they dropped their opener (to Dartmouth). They're playing better basketball (now)," Dutcher said. "They shoot the ball, and they have good point guard play and obviously, Georgetown with Patrick, you're going to have good bigs. They're very balanced and they can hurt you in a lot of different ways."
Cal transfer Matt Bradley leads San Diego State with a 14.5 scoring average. Nathan Mensah contributes 11.3 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds while Trey Pulliam averages 10.5 points per game.
The Hoyas won the only previous meeting, 71-53 at home on Dec. 5, 1981.
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of San Diego Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to San Diego Sun.
More InformationPALO ALTO/TEL AVIV: The battle for top AI talent has claimed another high-profile casualty—this time at Safe Superintelligence (SSI),...
SANTA CLARA, California: Nvidia came within a whisker of making financial history on July 3, briefly surpassing Apple's all-time market...
SACRAMENTO, California: California's multibillion-dollar farms are facing a growing crisis—not from drought or pests, but from a sudden...
SAN FRANCISCO, California: Grammarly is doubling down on AI-powered productivity tools with the acquisition of Superhuman, a sleek...
MENLO PARK, California: Robinhood is giving European investors a new way to tap into America's most prominent tech names — without...
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed Elon Musk's success has been built on government subsidies. Without...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: With just weeks to spare before a potential government default, U.S. lawmakers passed a sweeping tax and spending...
PARIS, France: Fast-fashion giant Shein has been fined 40 million euros by France's antitrust authority over deceptive discount practices...
PALO ALTO/TEL AVIV: The battle for top AI talent has claimed another high-profile casualty—this time at Safe Superintelligence (SSI),...
FRANKLIN, Tennessee: Hundreds of thousands of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles are being recalled across the United States due to a potential...
REDMOND, Washington: Microsoft is the latest tech giant to announce significant job cuts, as the financial strain of building next-generation...
LONDON UK - U.S. stock markets were closed on Friday for Independence Day. Global Forex Markets Wrap Up Friday with Greeback Comeback...