University of North Texas Athletics
I-95 Road Swing Continues At FAU Saturday
2/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
North Texas (14-10, 7-4 SBC) vs Florida Atlantic (10-14, 6-5 SBC)
Boca Raton, Fla. • FAU Arena (5,000)
Feb. 11, 2012 • 6:00 p.m. CSTTV: None
Radio: MGRN • Hank Dickenson, Steven Bartolotta
Webcast & Live Stats: FauSports.com
Series: NT leads 5-2 (FAU leads 1-0 in Boca Raton)
Last: NT won 78-64 on 3/6/11 (SBC Quarterfinals)
GAME NOTES
BOCA RATON, Fla. – A key 11-point burst from Brandan Walton that lasted just 3:19 turned a one-point game into a 68-61 North Texas win at FIU Thursday. The Mean Green basketball team will be looking for something similar on Saturday when its road swing continues just an hour up I-95 at Florida Atlantic.
Tip off is slated for 6 p.m. Central, and can be heard on the Mean Green Radio Network (88.1 KNTU-FM, 100.7 KWRD-FM).
Tony Mitchell has racked up 15 blocks over the last three games, which are the most blocks in a three-game span in NT history. His 41 total blocks rank fifth in school history for a single season, and he leads the SBC with 3.0 blocks per league game. At 2.7 blocks per game overall Mitchell’s pace ranks just behind Shawnson Johnson (3.0 BPG in 2003-04) for the best blocks average in NT history.
North Texas leads the overall series with Florida Atlantic 5-2, including last year’s 78-64 win over the Owls in the Sun Belt Tournament quarterfinals. The series began in 2006-07 when Florida Atlantic joined the Sun Belt as a full time member.
The most potent scorers in Sun Belt play will face off on Saturday. NT’s Mitchell leads the league with 16.9 points per game, while Florida Atlantic’s Greg Gantt ranks second with 16.1 points.
FAU Arena is the only venue in the Sun Belt that North Texas has yet to win at, although they’ve had just one opportunity. The Mean Green’s lone game in Boca Raton saw the Owls take an 86-81 decision on Jan. 19, 2008. Kedrick Hogans, who was making his first career start that day, is the only player on either roster remaining from that game. A fifth-year senior in 2011-12, Hogans tallied four rebounds and zero points in 24 minutes.
