North Texas Mean Green men's basketball

North Texas Mean Green
North Texas Mean Green
	2020–21 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team
Head coach	Grant McCasland (5th season)
Conference	C-USA
Location	Denton, Texas
Arena	The Super Pit ; (Capacity: 10,500)
Nickname	Mean Green
Colors	Green and White[1];
Uniforms
Home	Away
NCAA Tournament Appearances
	1988, 2007, 2010
Conference Tournament Champions
	1988, 2007, 2010
Conference Regular Season Champions
	1988, 1989, 2010, 2020
Conference Division Season Champions
	Sun Belt West: 2010[2]

The North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team represents the University of North Texas (UNT) in NCAA Division I college basketball, competing as a member of Conference USA.

For most of its history, the Mean Green have had patches of success, starting in the 1970s when the team received its first ever top-20 ranking under head coach Bill Blakeley as well as success in the late 1980s and early 1990s under head coach Jimmy Gales and then again in the mid to late 2000s under head coach Johnny Jones. They have made appearances in the NCAA Tournament in 1988, 2007 and 2010. The Mean Green went on an especially strong run in the 2006–2010 era, with two tournament appearances, two conference championships, and posting more wins over this time period than any other Division I team in the state of Texas[3]

The 2011–12 and 2012–13 teams featured the only 5-star recruit to play for North Texas in Tony Mitchell. In one season, he became the program's all-time leader in blocks.[4] Despite Mitchell being highly touted, his performance in his second year suffered and he ended up struggling under new head coach Tony Benford eventually falling to the 2nd round of the NBA draft.

On April 16, 2012, longtime head coach Johnny Jones was formally introduced as the next head coach of his alma mater LSU. His replacement, Tony Benford, was not able to capitalize on the program's momentum, resulting in a disappointing final year in the Sun Belt Conference and then more struggles in the Mean Green's new conference Conference USA.

Prior to 1973, the Mean Green played in the Ken Bahnsen Gym, nicknamed the Snake Pit. They now play in The Super Pit which derives its name from the Snake Pit.

Championships

Conference tournament

Southland Conference

1988

Sun Belt Conference

2007, 2010

Conference regular season

Sun Belt Conference

2009-10

Conference USA

2019-20

Conference division

Sun Belt Conference (West Division)

2009-10

CBI Tournament

2017-18

Rivals

North Texas in action at UT Arlington

The Mean Green's major rivals within Conference USA include the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and the UTSA Roadrunners.

Non-conference notable rivals include the University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks (games between the schools are well-attended due to geographic proximity and both schools being large universities) and the SMU Mustangs.

Coaches

Years	Coach
1916-20	J.W. St. Clair
1920-21	Theron Fouts
1921-24	J.W. St. Clair
1924-29	John Reid
1929-33	Terrance Myracle
1933-35	Jack Sisco
1935-59	Henry "Pete" Shands (1899-1983)
1959-65	Charles Johnson
1965-70	Dan Spika
1970-71	Harry Miller
1971-75	Gene Robbins
1975-83	Bill Blakeley
1983-86	Tommy Newman
1986-93	Jimmy Gales
1993-97	Tim Jankovich
1997-2001	Vic Trilli
2001-12	Johnny Jones
2012–2017	Tony Benford
2017–present	Grant McCasland

Postseason results

NCAA Tournament results

The Mean Green have appeared in the NCAA Tournament three times. Their combined record is 0–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1988	First Round	North Carolina	L 65–83
2007	First Round	Memphis	L 58–73
2010	First Round	Kansas State	L 62–82

NAIA Tournament results

The Mean Green have appeared in the NAIA Tournament two times. Their record is 3–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1938	First Round Second Round	Morningside Delta State	W 31–29 L 39–48
1942	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals	Wisconsin-Stout York (NE) Hamline	W 60–37 W 51–49 L 41–45

CBI results

The Mean Green have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) once, winning it in 2018. Their record is 5–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2018	First Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals–Game 1 Finals–Game 2 Finals–Game 3	South Dakota Mercer Jacksonville State San Francisco San Francisco San Francisco	W 90–77 W 96–67 W 90–68 L 62–72 W 69–55 W 88–77

Broadcasts

North Texas games are broadcast on the radio by the Mean Green Sports Network, part of Learfield IMG College on 88.1 KNTU and 95.3 KHYI. Former Texas Rangers and Dallas Mavericks announcer Dave Barnett does play by play, along with Hank Dickenson on color commentary.

Television broadcasts are carried by ESPN+, ESPN3, and C-USA TV.

Professional players

Chris Jones (born 1993), basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League

References

"UNT Colors". Retrieved March 24, 2016.
"Sun Belt All-Time Standings" (PDF). 2011-12 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide. Sun Belt Conference. pp. 93–95. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2012-03-06.
"MEANGREENSPORTS.COM - University of North Texas Official Athletic Site University of North Texas Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball". www.meangreensports.com.
"MEANGREENSPORTS.COM - University of North Texas Official Athletic Site University of North Texas Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball". www.meangreensports.com.

External links

Official website

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "UNT Colors". Retrieved March 24, 2016.

[2] "Sun Belt All-Time Standings" (PDF). 2011-12 Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide. Sun Belt Conference. pp. 93–95. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-08-16. Retrieved 2012-03-06.

[3] "MEANGREENSPORTS.COM - University of North Texas Official Athletic Site University of North Texas Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball". www.meangreensports.com.

[4] "MEANGREENSPORTS.COM - University of North Texas Official Athletic Site University of North Texas Official Athletic Site - Men's Basketball". www.meangreensports.com.

North Texas Mean Green men's basketball
Venues	Ken Bahnsen Gym (1950–1973) UNT Coliseum (1973–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21

University of North Texas
Located in: Denton, Texas
Academics	College of Arts & Sciences American Literary Review College of Business College of Education College of Engineering College of Information College of Merchandising, Hospitality & Tourism College of Music College of Public Affairs & Community Service College of Visual Arts & Design Frank W. and Sue Mayborn School of Journalism Honors College Libraries Press Texas Academy of Mathematics & Science (TAMS) Toulouse Graduate School
Athletics	Teams Football Men's Basketball Women's basketball Facilities Fouts Field Ken Bahnsen Gym Mean Green Village Apogee Stadium Lovelace Stadium Mean Green Soccer Stadium North Texas Volleyball Center UNT Coliseum "The Super Pit"
Campus	Hurley Administration Building Library Mall Murchison Performing Arts Center Rafes Urban Astronomy Center Discovery Park
Student Life	Albino Squirrel Preservation Society Denton, Texas Fry Street Green Brigade Marching Band KNTU-FM List of University of North Texas people North Texas Daily NTTV One O'Clock Lab Band Two O'Clock Lab Band UNT Symphony Orchestra
Traditions	Glory to the Green and White History of UNT North Texas Fight Song
Founded: 1890 Commons

Conference USA men's basketball
Current teams	Charlotte 49ers Florida Atlantic Owls FIU Panthers Louisiana Tech Bulldogs Marshall Thundering Herd Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders North Texas Mean Green Old Dominion Monarchs Rice Owls Southern Miss Golden Eagles UAB Blazers UTEP Miners UTSA Roadrunners Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
Championships & awards	Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament Player of the Year
Seasons	1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20