DFW Showdown

Game Notes
DENTON — The North Texas men's basketball team, who is receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll, is off to its best start (9-1) since the 1976-77 season and looks to extend its active home winning streak to 10 in a row as they host UT Arlington on Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Mean Green are coming off a huge road win at Indiana State on Wednesday where they beat the Sycamores 80-69 and guard Ryan Woolridge recorded UNT's first triple-double since 1993 as he finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Indiana State was riding a five-game winning streak and had beaten Conference USA favorite Western Kentucky earlier in the year.

North Texas, who jumped up 24 spots in the most recent NCAA Net Ranking all the way up to No. 42 and sits 49 spots higher than the next best C-USA team in Old Dominion, is beginning to garner national attention.

With Selection Sunday being 100 days away, college basketball reporter Andy Katz came out with a 2019 NCAA Tournament projection and had the Mean Green as a No. 14 seed.

UNT last made the NCAA Tournament in 2010.

North Texas and UTA (3-6) entered this season with nearly opposite teams. The Mavericks returned just three percent of its offense from a season ago and entered a new era when they hired Chris Ogden as their head coach. On the flip side, UNT retained 75 percent of its offense from last season's College Basketball Invitational championship team and of course is in the second-year of Grant McCasland at its helm.

Saturday's game against UT Arlington is the backend of a double-header with the Mean Green women's basketball team who host Utah State at 3 p.m. The men's game can be seen on C-USA.tv and heard on the radio on the Mean Green Sports Network. The voice of the Mean Green Dave Barnett and Hank Dickenson will be on the call.

Mr. Triple Double
Ryan Woolridge finished Tuesday's win at Indiana State with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. It was UNT's first triple-double since Jesse Ratliff recorded one versus Sam Houston St. on Feb. 18, 1993. Woolridge completed the triple-double with eight minutes left in the game. It was Woolridge's first triple double at any level. It was the 12th triple-double in Division I this season.

9-1
At 9-1, North Texas is one of three teams on Saturday playing with nine wins. No. 25 Furman (9-0) plays USC Upstate at 3:30 pm CT and No. 5 Michigan (9-0) plays South Carolina at 11:00 am CT.

First Time Since 1976-77
Ten games into the season, North Texas is 9-1 for the first time since the 1976-77 season when they also started 9-1. The 1976-77 team started the year 11-1 and beat UT Arlington 105-101 that year.

Home Winning Streak
North Texas owns a nine-game home winning streak, which is tied for the 25th longest in the nation and is the second longest in C-USA to Old Dominion. FIU also owns a nine-game home winning streak. Neither ODU nor FIU play Saturday. The longest home winning streak in the nation belongs to South Dakota St at 24 games.

12 Straight
All-conference guard Roosevelt Smart scored 16 points on Tuesday at Indiana State, extending his streak of consecutive games scoring in double figures to 12 in a row. has scored in double figures in 12 straight games. It's tied with Old Dominion's Ahmad Caver for the longest active streak in C-USA.

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Players Mentioned

Roosevelt Smart

Ryan Woolridge