Ahmad Ibrahim, left, and Omar Oraby celebrate after the Owls' 88-74 win over Tulane on Saturday night. (Michael Paulsen/Chronicle)
For the second straight game, Rice coach Ben Braun went with three freshmen – point guard Dylan Ennis and forwards Ahmad Ibrahim and Jarelle Reischel – in the starting lineup.
Wins needed by Ben Braun to reach 600 for his career
The trio didn’t disappoint, as Ibrahim poured in a career-high 23 points, five rebounds and four blocks and Ennis had the first double-double of his career with 10 points and 11 rebounds in the Owls’ 88-74 win over Tulane.
Reischel had eight points and six rebounds.
Braun called Ibrahim the team’s “most consistent defensive player” this season. Ennis’ 11 assists were the most by a Conference USA player this season.
“They’ve earned it,” Braun said. “I really don’t think about whether they are freshmen or not. I just think they are three of our best players. Nobody gave it to them. Nobody made them any promises when they came here. They flat-out earned it by working hard in practice.”
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• The Owls swept the season series from Tulane. Here’s something trivial: it marked the first time since 1916 (four wins) that the Owls beat the Green Wave twice in the same season.
• Guard Connor Frizzelle got hot early, hitting 5 of 8 shots in the first half, including three 3-pointers, for 13 points. He finished with a season-high 22 points.
“When he gets going early he’s tough to deal with,” Braun said. “He played like a senior, which is good to see.”
• Ibrahim, Frizzelle and Oraby combined to shoot 23-of-34 (68 percent) for 61 points.
• Forward Arsalan Kazemi continues to be slowed by a bad left knee. Kazemi is clearly playing through the pain and has found other ways to contribute, most notably with several nice passes that led to points in Saturday’s win over Tulane.
The production from 7-2 center Omar Oraby (16 points and eight rebounds) allowed Kazemi to “step out, beat people off the dribble and find guys that were open,” Braun said.
“He’s one of our best passers and one of our most unselfish guys,” Braun said. “It’s kind of like a point-forward out there. He’s a guy that scores inside but is capable of making plays.”
Kazemi’s final line: six points, seven rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes. He didn’t record his first field goal until five minutes remained in the game and finished things off with a two-handed dunk.
• Oravy had eight rebounds, including six on the defensive end, and a block. He also altered several other shots.
“He really held the paint for us,” guard Connor Frizzelle said.
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