DENTON (12/2/05) - The North Texas men's and women's basketball teams are back in action on Saturday with back-to-back games in the Super Pit. The Mean Green women host SMU at 5 pm, and the men follow with a match-up against Chattanooga.
The North Texas women's team returns home to begin a three-game homestand against metroplex rival SMU. North Texas is coming off a 68-62 win to Louisiana-Monroe in which the Mean Green rallied from a six-point second half deficit. SMU defeated UTA on Wednesday night 67-58 to even their record at 3-3.
North Texas is off to its best start at 4-1 since the 2000-01 season. North Texas was unbeaten in back-to-back seasons in 1999-00 and 2000-01 through the first six games. That’s a good sign because North Texas went on to win 17 and 19 games respectively those years.
In the win over Louisiana-Monroe the Mean Green had a superb effort from the bench. Of the 68 points scored by North Texas, 37 were notched by the Mean Green bench.
The North Texas men will try to improve to 2-0 at home this season after picking up an 85-48 victory over Hardin-Simmons at the Super Pit in its season opener. Tonight's game is the first of five home games for the Mean Green in the month of December.
Chattanooga went to the NCAA tournament last season after winning the Southern Conference North Division and tournament title. The Mocs finished the season with a 20-11 record and return three starters and seven letterwinners from that team. Chattanooga dropped its first four games of the season, but picked up a 97-60 win over Asbury College in its last outing. The Mocs fell to Mississippi State, Belmont, Minnesota and Middle Tennessee, all by double-figures. They are led by three players averaging double-figure points, including Charles Anderson with a team-best 12 points per game. Alphonso Pugh almost averages a double-double, scoring 11 points and pulling down 8.4 rebounds per game.
The Mean Green played the Mocs for the first time ever last season at the Dr. Pepper Classic Tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Mean Green fell to host Chattanooga 72-56 in its first game of the tournament.
Every North Texas home basketball game this season can be seen on MeanGreenSports.com, the official site of Mean Green athletics, by premium content subscribers. The video will also include the radio broadcast. The premium subscription gives subscribers access to live and on-demand events on a month-to-month basis. The monthly subscription price is $9.95 or an entire year of Mean Green Premium access can be purchased for $99.95.
Tickets begin at just $5 for both games and can be purchased at the gates on Saturday, or by calling the North Texas Athletic Ticket Office at (940) 565-2527. The Jr. Mean Green Fun Zone will be open from 4-5:00 pm and then during the thirty minute window between games.
