University of North Texas Athletics
Men's Hoops Renews Rivalry With Sam Houston Tonight
11/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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HUNTSVILLE, Texas (11/20/08) - North Texas re-ignites a former Southland Conference rivalry with a trip to Sam Houston State on Thursday at 7 p.m. Both teams will be looking to rebound from losses to Big XII schools in resuming a rivalry that had lain dormant since 1996.
North Texas and Sam Houston State were Southland foes from 1987-1996, when the Mean Green joined the Big West Conference. NT had a 12-6 advantage over Sam Houston in their nine years of SLC competition, and leads the overall series 31-27 dating back to 1926.
The Bearkats fell 87-76 at Texas Tech on Monday night. Corey Allmond paced SHSU with 23 points on 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.
NT got tripped up by a high-flying Oklahoma State squad on Monday, 100-88, in Stillwater.
What To Watch For
Josh White doesn’t shy away from the nation’s top competition. The sophomore is averaging 25.3 points per game versus three Big XII opponents in his career. White dropped in 23 points and a career-high eight rebounds at Oklahoma State on Monday.
NT led the Sun Belt in every rebounding category last season, and is on pace to do it again. The Mean Green is averaging 49.5 rebounds through two games, which ranks 33rd in the country. North Texas is +10 in rebounding margin and is grabbing 18.5 offensive boards per game, which also ranks in the nation’s top 40.
George Odufuwa led all players at Oklahoma State with 13 rebounds and added 10 points in scoring his first career double-double. Seven of the sophomore’s 13 rebounds came on the offensive glass, and he went 5-of-10 from the floor.
The Bearkats currently own a 45-game non-conference home winning streak. Sam Houston hasn’t lost to a non-conference foe in Johnson Coliseum since a 73-70 defeat to Texas A&M in 1998-99. That streak is second nationally to Duke, who has won 58 straight non-conference games at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Kedrick Hogans posted a career-best four blocks against the Cowboys to bring his season total to a team-high five. Just 33 games into his career Hogans has tallied 24 total blocks, and is nearly halfway to the North Texas career top 10 list.
The Mean Green couldn’t contain a potent Oklahoma State attack in a 100-88 loss on Monday. James Anderson tallied 18 of his 28 points in the second half as OSU connected on 13-of-30 from beyond the arc in the contest. North Texas had its opportunities with 72 shots, but only 33.3 percent scored.
