No. 5 North Texas (17-13) vs No. 9 Arkansas State (14-19)
Hot Springs, Ark. • Summit Arena (6,000)
March 5, 2012 • 6 p.m.
Radio: MGRN - 88.1 KNTU-FM, 100.7 KWRD-FM
TV: Sun Belt Network (ESPN Full-Court Package, Cox Sports, Cox Sports Southeast)
Webcast: ESPN3.com
Series: ASU leads 20-17
Last: NT won 76-64 on Jan. 28, 2012 in Denton
GAME NOTES
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – North Texas has once again advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament semifinals, and will square off against No. 9 seed Arkansas State on Monday at 6 p.m. The game can be seen on the Sun Belt Network and ESPN3.com with Joe Davis and Dave Odom on the call.
The Mean Green has advanced to the semifinals in five of the last six years, and in each of the last four. NT is 3-1 overall in Sun Belt Tournament semifinal games.
The Mean Green advanced this far thanks to a 65-62 win over No. 4 Louisiana-Lafayette on Sunday. Tony Mitchell tallied six blocks against Ragin’ Cajuns, which are the second most by an NT player in a Sun Belt Tournament game, and Brandan Walton knocked down three 3-pointers – including the game winner with 8.3 seconds on the clock.
In the 35-year history of the Sun Belt only two programs have a better winning percentage in the SBC Tournament than North Texas. NT is 15-9 (.625) all-time in the SBC Tourney, which trails only Western Kentucky (43-22, .662) and former Sun Belt member UAB (20-8, .714).
North Texas is 2-1 against Arkansas State in the Sun Belt Tournament, and has won the previous two matchups. NT fell to the Red Wolves, 84-76, in the first round of the 2005 tournament, but knocked off ASU in the 2007 final (83-75) and the opening round in 2008 (85-63).
ASU advanced to the semis thanks to an upset over top-seeded Middle Tennessee, 64-61. Trey Finn led three Red Wolves in double figures with 16 points. MTSU went 11-of-22 from the free throw line in the loss, including a 1-of-6 performance from Sun Belt Player of the Year La’Ron Dendy.
