Saturday, January 1
Denton
5 PM CT
University of North Texas
vs
Rice
Men's Basketball Begins Conference Slate
12/31/2021 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DENTON — The North Texas men's basketball team begins its 18-game Conference USA schedule on Saturday with a home game against Rice.
The reigning C-USA Tournament champs conference opener is scheduled to tip-off at 5 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on YouTube Live and the Mean Green Sports Network, which can be found on the Varsity Network App.
UNT (7-3) and the Owls (7-4) are both entering Saturday's game on winning streaks. The Mean Green's current five-game winning streak ties its longest winning streak all of last year while Rice's current three-game winning streak is its second three-game winning streak this season. Under fifth-year North Texas head coach Grant McCasland, the Mean Green are 4-0 at home versus Rice and 7-1 overall in his five seasons in Denton. UNT swept the Owls last year in its two matchups.
Saturday marks the first time in the McCasland era that North Texas has opened conference play at home and the first time in general in seven seasons.
During North Texas' five-game winning streak the Mean Green are holding its opponents to an average of 50.6 points per game. Rice heads into Saturday's contest averaging almost 81 points per game this season. UNT's third win during the winning streak came over a UMass team that plays a similar style to the Owls. UMass entered that game averaging 82 points per game but the Mean Green held them to a season-low 57 points in a nine-point win in Fort Worth.
Saturday will also be North Texas' first game since Dec. 18 when they beat Wichita State 62-52 in Wichita, Kansas. The Mean Green offensively were led by Tylor Perry who scored a game-high 23 points. But it was once again the Mean Green defense that carried them to the win as they held the Shockers to just 18 points in the second half and held them scoreless for over a 12-minute stretch in the second half.
The reigning C-USA Tournament champs conference opener is scheduled to tip-off at 5 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on YouTube Live and the Mean Green Sports Network, which can be found on the Varsity Network App.
UNT (7-3) and the Owls (7-4) are both entering Saturday's game on winning streaks. The Mean Green's current five-game winning streak ties its longest winning streak all of last year while Rice's current three-game winning streak is its second three-game winning streak this season. Under fifth-year North Texas head coach Grant McCasland, the Mean Green are 4-0 at home versus Rice and 7-1 overall in his five seasons in Denton. UNT swept the Owls last year in its two matchups.
Saturday marks the first time in the McCasland era that North Texas has opened conference play at home and the first time in general in seven seasons.
During North Texas' five-game winning streak the Mean Green are holding its opponents to an average of 50.6 points per game. Rice heads into Saturday's contest averaging almost 81 points per game this season. UNT's third win during the winning streak came over a UMass team that plays a similar style to the Owls. UMass entered that game averaging 82 points per game but the Mean Green held them to a season-low 57 points in a nine-point win in Fort Worth.
Saturday will also be North Texas' first game since Dec. 18 when they beat Wichita State 62-52 in Wichita, Kansas. The Mean Green offensively were led by Tylor Perry who scored a game-high 23 points. But it was once again the Mean Green defense that carried them to the win as they held the Shockers to just 18 points in the second half and held them scoreless for over a 12-minute stretch in the second half.