The Texas Longhorns head to Houston tonight for another game in the Toyota Center, this time with the reeling Rice Owls. The last time these two teams met was in the same building back in 2005, when the Longhorns won by an 85-58 count. All-time, Texas leads the series by a lopsided 130-59 margin.

Rice comes into this one without their top two point guards and their top three-point threat. Jasen Williams was the team’s leading scorer, but is not playing this week so that he can focus on finals. It’s unclear whether Williams is dangerously close to an eligibility situation, but his absence certainly won’t make things any easier on the Owls. Chris Hagan was the backup at the point, but ruptured his patella tendon and is out for the season. Behind the arc, Cory Pflieger was the biggest threat, but is currently out until January with an ankle injury.

The rash of injuries and study breaks leaves Rice with only eight scholarship players for tonight’s game. And for a team that was already struggling to replace the huge hole left by Morris Almond and Lorenzo Williams — both who now play in the NBDL — this bad luck makes the mountain even tougher to climb.

By the numbers

Texas is still holding strong to the 3rd-highest RPI in the country, according to Ken Pomeroy. This game with Rice won’t help that ranking, as the Owls check in all the way at 256th. They also run one of the slowest offenses in the country, and that will certainly be the case with such a short bench tonight. Rice cannot afford to get into an up-and-down contest with a more athletic and more talented Texas team.

The starters

Without the top two point guards, the job at the one falls to Bryan Beasley, a former Aggie who was allowed to transfer and immediately play for Rice during the Billy Gillispie/Mark Turgeon changeover. With an inexperienced, third-string guard at the point, the Longhorns could force a good share of turnovers and earn some easy fast break points. Beasley is a pretty quick guard, however, so on defense he might be able to stick with Augustin a little better than most third-stringers would. We all know it’s impossible to hold D.J. down all game, but Beasley could make things a little more difficult.

Sophomore Rodney Foster will likely start at shooting guard, although he is having a rough start from the floor this year. While he is averaging nine points per game, his three-point percentage is an abysmal 21% after sitting above 35% last season. While the Owls have a solid inside game, their offense is not nearly as effective as that of the Longhorns. If they want to stay in this game, they will need some three-point buckets, and that means Foster will need to break out of his slump.

Aleks Perka will probably be slotted at the three tonight, and he is going to be a bit of an oversized one. If he matches up with Justin Mason, he should try using his five-inch height advantage to post up and earn some buckets. Jay Mase is a much quicker player, so Perka won’t be slashing from the wings for any layups.

In the paint, Patrick Britton comes in riding high after a career-best 24 point game against Texas State on Wednesday. While he’s not the biggest threat on the glass, he could definitely create a problem inside for the Horns. Damion James is a much more athletic player and can match up well with him, but Britton might get a few extra baskets when the Longhorn freshmen forwards are in the game.

Paulius Packevicius is a double-double machine for Rice, having reached that plateau in four of his games so far. Last season, he didn’t achieve that statistical feat even once, so it’s quite clear that the kid has made some huge strides in the offseason. He is averaging 11.3 PPG and 10.1 RPG so far this year and should provide another good challenge for Connor Atchley inside. Much like Atchley, Packevicius is not a flashy player, but is fundamentally sound and is easy to coach.

Key reserves

With the bench so thin for Rice, their options are incredibly slim. Lawrence Ghoram is a solid defender in the backcourt and will likely be called upon to stick Augustin and A.J. Abrams when Beasley and Foster need a breather. Freshman big men Suleiman Braimoh and Scott Saunders may also see an increase in minutes if Rice is unable to control the tempo.

What to look for

The deck is extraordinarily stacked against Rice in this one. With the short bench, their only true hope is to slow this one down into an ugly slopfest and limit the potent Texas offense. The Owls will be forced to run a lot of zone to keep their team from getting too fatigued, so this will likely open Rick Barnes’ dangerous three-point shooters. If by chance Rice is still able to frustrate the Texas offense, they will also need a few timely threes to threaten a much better Longhorn squad.