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Rice will replace Ben Braun with highly touted VCU assistant Mike Rhoades. Rhoades has been an assistant under Shaka Smart since 2009 when he made the transition from Division III Randolph-Macon where he amassed a 197-76 mark in 10 years with the Yellow Jackets. Rhoades had Randolph-Macon as the nation's number one team at one point, appeared in the Sweet 16, and garnered several Coach of the Year honors.
Rice only had one winning season under Ben Braun and the Owls were 7-23 this past year. The Owls have not made the NCAA Tournament since 1970 and have not been a contender in Conference USA in quite awhile.