University of North Texas
East Carolina
Men's Basketball Begins Two-Game Road Trip
1/16/2024 10:51:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Mean Green (10-5, 3-0) and Pirates (9-8, 2-2) are scheduled to tip off from Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the Mean Green Sports Network, presented by Learfield.
It'll be the fourth all-time meeting between North Texas and ECU but the first played at the Pirates' home arena.
UNT heads into the road conference game playing its best basketball so far as the Mean Green have held its previous two opponents, Tulane and Temple, to season low scoring outputs in route to two double-digit victories. The Mean Green own the nation's third-best scoring defense as they've held their 15 opponents to an average of 58.4 points per game. Both Tulane and Temple were held to fewer.
North Texas' defense has led the nation in allowing fewest points per game in each of the last two seasons. Over the years it has been just as stout on the road. Since 2021, UNT is giving up just 58.8 points per game on the road (25 games). No other team in the country is giving up less than 62 points per road game over the same time span.
Defense has been key to North Texas' road success over the years as they enter Wednesday's game owning the nation's best road winning percentage over the last two-plus seasons at .800.
Scoring points will be at a premium on Wednesday as the Pirates are also a strong defensive unit. Their coaching bench features former Texas Tech head coach Mark Adams whose Red Raiders defense became nationally known as the most efficient in the nation. Multiple years Texas Tech allowed less than 85 points per 100 possessions.
ECU can also put the ball in the hoop well as they are led by its sophomore Ezra Ausar who also is a childhood friend of Mean Green guard Jason Edwards. Ausar, a forward, is one of the best in the American at scoring around the rim and gets to the foul line a lot as he draws over seven fouls per game.
Following Wednesday's game at East Carolina, the Mean Green travel to Charlotte to face the 49ers (9-7, 3-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT to conclude the two-game road trip.
For more information on UNT men's basketball tickets, contact the Mean Green Ticket Office at 940-565-2527 or at ticketoffice@unt.edu. Fans can visit the UNT Athletics Ticket Office located at Gate 2 of DATCU Stadium between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
