Game 19
Thursday, January 24, 2013 5 p.m. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (13-5, 8-1) at North Texas Mean Green (7-11, 6-3)
Denton, Texas The Super Pit (10,000)
Radio: KNTU TV: None
Series Record: MTSU leads 14-4 Last Meeting: MTSU 66 NT 64
On Tap
North Texas dropped its first contest in six games in Boca Raton against Florida Atlantic after a photo finish in Miami at FIU that saw North Texas win in the final seconds. The Mean Green is 6-3 in SBC play and seeking to reclaim first place in the SBC West from Arkansas State. The Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders are riding a seven-game win streak that began back on December 27 against North Texas in Murfreesboro. They are an impressive 8-1 in Sun Belt play.
The Series
North Texas meets Middle Tenessee for the first time since a tight contest last December that saw the Blue Raiders pull it out at home by two points. MTSU also has a lead in the overall series with a 14-4 advantage. The Blue Raiders have taken the last nine meetings including an SBC tournament win in 2010.
Freshmen Fury
North Texas freshman Loryn Goodwin and Alexis Hyder are both on a record breaking pace for different individual offensive numbers, but they pair combined to set a new record of their own. Goodwin poured in a career-high 25 points against FAU while Hyder scored 19 against the Owls. The 44 combined points by the two freshman are the most points scored in a game by two freshman in school history at North Texas.
Go Pink For FIU!
Join our Play 4Kay Team and help us make a difference in the fight against women's cancers. Make sure to wear pink to the Florida International game on February 9th at 5 pm in the Super Pit. North Texas Students get in free with a valid ID and those in youth uniforms will receive a free youth admission to this game.
Sun Belt Spectacle
After notching only one win in non-conference play, the Mean Green has started off 6-3 in Sun Belt action. This is tied for the best start through nine games for the Mean Green in conference play since the 2004-05 team began with the same mark.
Pouring On The Pressure
It is no secret that North Texas plans to press the entire game. In doing so, the Mean Green has held its opponents in the last two games to 17 points in the first half. The last time NT played that kind of the first half defense was the beginning of league play last season when it held ULM to 14 (1/15/12) and followed that up by suffocating Denver to just 16 (1/21/12) through one half of play.
National Rankings
North Texas has players scattered all over the national rankings led by freshman Loryn Goodwin who is 15th in the country in steals with 61. Goodwin is first in the nation among freshman in steals, as freshman Briahanna Jackson of UCF has less with 59. Laura McCoy would rank 69th in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage, knocking down 36.7 percent of her 3-pointers this year if she qualified for the ranking. As a team the Mean Green is the 38th best free throw shooting team in the country at 73.9 percent and the 52nd highest scoring team in the nation at 69.9 points a game. North Texas is also 28th nationally in steals a game at 12 a contest.
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