Kris Richard scored 24 points, Kendall Timmons had 19 points and 10 rebounds and Tulane edged Rice 85-81 in the Conference USA opener for both Wednesday night.
Aaron Holmes added 13 points and Jordan Callahan had 12 for the Green Wave (11-3).
Arsalan Kazemi led the Owls (8-7) with 28 points and 13 rebounds.
There were 18 ties and 18 lead changes before Tulane pulled away in the final minutes.
After Kazemi hit a jumper to tie it at 63 with 4:18 to play, Tulane scored eight of the next 10 points and held on for its fifth straight win.
Rice shot 59.3 percent in the second half compared to 52.2 percent for Tulane, but the Green Wave made up for it by hitting all seven of its 3s and 23-of-30 free throws. The Owls were 2 of 6 from the foul line after halftime.
