North Texas Mean Green men's basketball

North Texas Mean Green
North Texas Mean Green
	2024–25 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team
Head coach	Ross Hodge (2nd season)
Conference	The American
Location	Denton, Texas
Arena	The Super Pit ; (capacity: 10,500)
Nickname	Mean Green
Student section	Mean Green Maniacs
Colors	Green and white;
Uniforms
Home	Away ;
NCAA tournament round of 32
	2021
NCAA tournament appearances
	1988, 2007, 2010, 2021
Conference tournament champions
	Southland: 1988; Sun Belt: 2007, 2010; C-USA: 2021
Conference regular season champions
	TIAA: 1922, 1923, 1926, 1927; Lone Star: 1938, 1942, 1943, 1948; Gulf Coast: 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954; Southland: 1988, 1989; Sun Belt: 2010; C-USA: 2020, 2022

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 the American Athletic Conference.

For most of its history, the Mean Green have had patches of success, starting in the 1970s when the team received its first 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. Blakeley coached three consecutive 20-win seasons: 1975–76 (22-4); 1976–77 (21-6); 1977–78 (22-6). North Texas has appeared in the NCAA tournament on four occasions: 1988, 2007, 2010, and 2021, recording their first-ever tournament win in 2021. 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.^[2]

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.^[3] 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.

Rivals

While the Mean Green hold a fierce rivalry with the UTSA Roadrunners across athletics in general, the team's most contentious conference rivals in men's basketball currently are the UAB Blazers and FAU Owls. In 2023, the Mean Green and Blazers met four times in which UNT won the series, 3-1. The Blazers knocked the Mean Green out of the Conference USA tournament while the Mean Green defeated the Blazers in the 2023 NIT Championship. During the Grant McCasland era, there was also a stretch where the road team in the series won nine straight games. And while North Texas leads the historical series with FAU, a 2023 Final Four participant, 14-11, the Mean Green have dropped five straight games against the Owls by a combined 21 points, including a 77-71 loss in the 2024 AAC tournament.

The Mean Green briefly restored their rivalry with the SMU Mustangs the one year they shared in the AAC (2023-24), with the home team winning both matchups by an average of 2.5 points. It is unclear if the teams will continue the series once the Mustangs enter the ACC in 2024-25. The teams have only played 19 times since 1949-50.

Notable Non-conference rivals include the University of Texas at Arlington Mavericks, and former Conference USA foes Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, and Western Kentucky.

Coaches

Years	Coach
1916–1920	J.W. St. Clair
1920–1921	Theron Fouts
1921–1924	J.W. St. Clair
1924–1929	John Reid
1929–1933	Terrance Myracle
1933-35	Jack Sisco
1935–1959	Henry "Pete" Shands (1899-1983)
1959–1965	Charles Johnson
1965–1970	Dan Spika
1970–1971	Harry Miller
1971–1975	Gene Robbins
1975–1983	Bill Blakeley
1983–1986	Tommy Newman
1986–1993	Jimmy Gales
1993–1997	Tim Jankovich
1997–2001	Vic Trilli
2001–2012	Johnny Jones
2012–2017	Tony Benford
2017–2023	Grant McCasland
2023–present	Ross Hodge

Postseason results

NCAA tournament results

The Mean Green have appeared in the NCAA tournament four times. Their combined record is 1–4.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1988	#15	First Round	#2 North Carolina	L 65–83
2007	#15	First Round	#2 Memphis	L 58–73
2010	#15	First Round	#2 Kansas State	L 62–82
2021	#13	First Round Second Round	#4 Purdue #5 Villanova	W 78–69 L 61–84

NIT results

The Mean Green have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) three times consecutively, winning it in 2023. Their combined record is 7–2.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2022	First Round Second Round	Texas State Virginia	W 67–63^OT L 69–71^OT
2023	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Final	Alcorn State Sam Houston Oklahoma State Wisconsin UAB	W 69–53 W 75–55 W 65–59^OT W 56–54 W 68–61
2024	First Round Second Round	at LSU Seton Hall	W 84–77 L 58–72

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

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

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

Jeremy Combs (born 1995), basketball player for Israeli team Hapoel Ramat Gan Givatayim
Chris Jones (born 1993), basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
Mike Miller (born 1996), basketball player for the Bristol Flyers of the British Basketball League
Thomas Bell III (born 1998), basketball player for the Bristol Flyers of the British Basketball League
Zach Simmons (born 1999), basketball player for Vitoria BC of the Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol

References

^ "UNT Colors". Retrieved March 24, 2016.
^ "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

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

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

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

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e North Texas Mean Green men's basketball
Venues	Ken Bahnsen Gym (1950–1973) UNT Coliseum (1973–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of 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 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25

v t e 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 DATCU 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	Denton, Texas Fry Street Green Brigade Marching Band KNTU-FM List of University of North Texas alumni 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

v t e American Athletic Conference men's basketball
Teams	Charlotte 49ers East Carolina Pirates Florida Atlantic Owls Memphis Tigers North Texas Mean Green Rice Owls South Florida Bulls Temple Owls Tulane Green Wave Tulsa Golden Hurricane UAB Blazers UTSA Roadrunners Wichita State Shockers
Championships & awards	Conference tournament Player of the Year Rookie of the Year Coach of the Year
Seasons	2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24