Houston looks to avenge a March 22 loss against rival Rice on Tuesday night. | Kennia Martinez/The Cougar
One of the most storied rivalries in Texas college sports, dating back nearly 70 years, continues Tuesday night when the baseball team takes on the Rice University Owls.
Now in different conferences, the schools have seen matchups in football and basketball decline significantly in recent years.
The teams have not met on the football field since the 2013 season, but the Bayou Bucket Classic is scheduled to kick back up in the 2017 and 2019 seasons. UH football leads the all-time series 29-11, winning by an average margin of 13.5.
On the basketball court, UH has enjoyed tremendous success against their cross-town rival. Winning 62 of their 80 matchups in the Bayou Cup, UH basketball has dominated the Owls on the hardwood accumulating an average point differential of 9.4. The teams did not meet in basketball in the 2015-2016 season.
Overall, Rice baseball has triumphed over the Cougars and led the all-time series 103-76.
The Owls are notoriously successful on the baseball diamond and have finished as the top team in their conference for 18 of the last 19 years.
Last season, Cougar fans everywhere received a stinging memory when baseball’s season was ended by way of a 20th-inning walk-off win by the Owls.
Despite Rice’s success against the Cougars historically, Houston has won the last two Silver Glove Series, but trails in 2016 following a 7-4 loss to the Owls on March 22. The Cougars have an opportunity to tie the series on Tuesday when they head to Rice’s Reckling Park for a midweek matchup where the Owls are 20-7 on the season.
After Tuesday’s game at Rice, both teams will meet again on May 17 for the final game of the Silver Glove Series at Constellation Field in Sugar Land, Texas.
Now a Houston-area tradition, the Silver Glove Series has seen UH and Rice baseball compete every season since 1972.
Houston enters the game with a 29-17 overall record, but has struggled on the road going just 5-9 away from Darryl & Lori Schroeder Park.
Although baseball is ranked 92nd in the nation, having six games against top 30 opponents gives the Cougars a chance for a late season run to improve their seeding in the American Athletic Conference.
Rice enters Tuesday’s matchup against UH as the 25th ranked team in the country with a 31-14 record.
Each game against cross-town rival Rice adds a chapter and sustains the competitive history between the cities’ top two universities since 1948.
