Beginning Conference USA competition earlier this month, North Texas has found a groove in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
Following a 75-43 win over Rice University on New Year’s Day, the Mean Green faced an early test in the form of preseason favorite the University of Alabama-Birmingham. A back-and-forth game for a majority of the contest, the Blazers were able to pull away with the victory on a 6-4 run in the final three minutes of the contest.
“You have to win every possession is what you recognize,” head coach Grant McCasland said of his team’s loss to the Blazers. “ You have to hang in there together and figure out a way to win the next play and have a mentality you believe you’re going to win.”
Starting with a home victory versus Middle Tennessee State University, the Mean Green began trending in the winning direction immediately after the home loss. They have won five-straight games since the defeat.
Alabama-Birmingham dominated the boards with 39 rebounds to the Mean Green’s 25, a key stat in the close loss. During the five-game win streak, however, North Texas has out-rebounded its opponents 166-139, a facet of the game the team has focused on.
“We key in on that, killing [teams] on the glass,” junior guard Tylor Perry said. “UAB came in here and with how they did us [on the glass], ever since then I think we’ve been on a tear when it comes to that. That’s one thing we’ve emphasized at the beginning of games, end of games. It just helps us get extra possessions.”
While early in the season, North Texas has exceeded expectations set upon them by the preseason coaches poll. It predicted the Mean Green to finish No. 6 in C-USA after winning consecutive conference titles.
“We thought that was very disrespectful since we’ve won back-to-back [conference titles] and they placed us at No. 6,” senior guard Mardrez McBride said. “We just keep that on our shoulders and keep going throughout the season.”
The methodical Mean Green offense has not lit up the scoreboard with scoring, ranking No. 11 in C-USA in points. They have countered with the No. 3 scoring defense in the country, only allowing 56.4 points per game.
On the defensive side, Bell and sophomore forward Abou Ousmane have led the way in averaging right at 1.0 blocks per game. Bell also leads the team in rebounding with 7.0 per contest, including 4.9 defensive boards per game, as an anchor on the inside.
A Coffeyville Community College transfer, Perry has been the Mean Green’s top scoring threat. The Oklahoma native averages 14.3 points per game with a season-high 25 points coming against Middle Tennessee.
Coming off the loss to the Blazers, the team has improved its 3-point shooting. Knocking down 48.0 percent of its 3-pointers during the win streak, North Texas had shot 32.1 percent in the 12 prior contests.
“I feel good but I know we’ve still got some things to improve on if we want to repeat last year and keep moving on,” Bell said. “ As far as right now, we look good but we can be better. Taking away the middle defensively and then rebounding, there’s still some mishaps in that area. We’re not going to be perfect, but when it matters those things need to be executed.”
Sitting with a 6-1 conference record, North Texas is tied at the top of the C-USA West division with Louisiana Tech University and Alabama-Birmingham. The Mean Green will face the Bulldogs on Jan. 29 in Ruston, Louisiana.
“This group, we feel like we have something to prove every night,” McBride said. “We won the championship last year so people come in and give us their best shot, that gets us going as well.”
Featured Image: Freshman Aaron Scott shoots the ball at the Super Pit on Jan. 20, 2022. Photo by Maria Crane.