University of North Texas Athletics
Final Road Swing Starts With Division Leader
2/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
North Texas (15-11, 8-5 SBC) vs UALR (14-14, 11-3 SBC)
Jack Stephens Center • Little Rock, Ark. (5,600)
Feb. 23, 2012 • 7:00 p.m. CST
TV: None
Radio: MGRN • Hank Dickenson
Webcast & Live Stats: UALRTrojans.com
Series: UALR leads 16-8
Last: UALR won 69-66 on Dec. 29, 2011 in Denton
GAME NOTES
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A bye in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference Basketball Tournament is on the line as North Texas heads to UALR for a Thursday night showdown with the West Division leader. Tip off from the Jack Stephens Center is slated for 7 p.m. and can be heard on the Mean Green Radio Network (100.7 KWRD-FM, 88.1 KNTU-FM).
The equation is a simple one for the Mean Green (15-12, 8-6 Sun Belt) – win these final two games at UALR and Denver and you lock up an all-important first-round bye. A split would open NT up to South Alabama and Florida Atlantic, who sit a game behind the Mean Green in the standings.
With an average of 73.0 points per Sun Belt game, North Texas leads the league in scoring. NT finished either first or second in the SBC in scoring in each of the previous six seasons.
North Texas’ high octane offense will be tested by one of the Sun Belt’s top defensive units on Thursday. UALR holds Sun Belt opponents to 60.4 points and 40.9 percent shooting, which ranks second and fourth in the league, respectively. NT leads the Sun Belt with 73.0 points per league game.
If recent history is any indication, fans are in for an edge-of-their-seat game when North Texas and UALR tip off on Thursday. Since joining the Sun Belt in 2000-01, 11 of the 20 meetings between these two schools have either been decided in overtime or by less than five points. As a matter of fact, eight of the last 10 games have been decided by five points or less.
