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For the rest of the Mean Green men’s basketball season, it is win or go home. The single-elimination Sun Belt Conference Tournament starts tomorrow in Hot Springs, Ark. No. 1 Middle Tennessee State University (27-4, 19-1) is the favorite to win the tournament. With only one conference loss and 16 straight wins, the Blue Raiders have a bye to the second round. Three MTSU players were named to all-conference teams including senior guard Bruce Massey – the Sun Belt’s defensive player of the year. Middle Tennessee awaits the winner of the No. 9 Mean Green (12-19, 7-13) versus the No. 8 University of Louisiana-Lafayette (12-19, 8-12.) ULL has won four of the last five meetings meetings with UNT, including both games this season. The lone Mean Green win came in last year’s Sun Belt tournament quarterfinals, 65-62. Head coach Tony Benford said there is a specific game plan to limit Louisiana-Lafayette. “They have a good team with two all-conference players,” Benford said. “They shoot the ball well with some great three-point shooters. We have to do a great job of keeping them out of transition and contest the three-point shot.” Read more: http://wordpress1.cws.unt.edu/?p=2937

After playing three years at UNT and a year in Lviv, Ukraine, former Mean Green forward George Odufuwa has joined the Texas Legends basketball team – the Dallas Mavericks Developmental League affiliate out of Frisco. Odufuwa played for the Mean Green from 2008-2011 after transferring from Arizona State University and sitting out due to transfer rules. During his time at UNT, the former Dallas-Kimball high school star helped lead the Mean Green to an NCAA tournament appearance. Odufuwa has two of the top five rebounding seasons in school history, pulling down 353 and 333 rebounds in his junior and senior years, respectively. In his final two seasons, he averaged 11.3 points and 10.6 rebounds per game. Odufuwa is six feet eight inches tall and 240 pounds – toward the lower end of the average NBA power forward. Former Mean Green guard Tristan Thompson said if Odufuwa continues to play at a high level, he will work his way up to the NBA. “Even though he was undersized he wouldn’t quit,” Thompson said. “He was relentless. If George keeps doing what he’s supposed to do, he could have the opportunity [to play in the NBA].” Read more: http://wordpress1.cws.unt.edu/?p=2865

GoMeanGreen.com – a website for dedicated fans of UNT athletics – will host its third annual fundraiser basketball game at 11 a.m. on March 23 at the Strickland Middle School gymnasium. All proceeds benefit UNT cheerleading. The fundraiser came to life because of former UNT cheerleader, kinesiology senior Matt Sherman. Sherman cheered for the Mean Green for more than three years. He brought the idea for the fundraiser to the attention of event coordinator Mark Miller, a UNT alumnus and member of GoMeanGreen.com. Sherman said his little sister got him into cheerleading and he learned a lot from the veterans on the UNT squad. “They showed me how it should be,” Sherman “I wanted to leave the program with something that would keep giving back.” The event includes a halftime half-court shot contest, a silent auction and a post-game tailgate. Miller said the fundraiser is important because the Mean Green cheer athletes are not receiving athletic scholarships. “I’ve always been a fan of the cheer squad kids because they do a heck of a job,” Miller said. “They work hard, they’re athletes too. Since they don’t get scholarship money like our athletes do, it was a perfect match for me to do something for these kids that do so much.” Read more: http://wordpress1.cws.unt.edu/?p=2858 This post has been promoted to an article

As a part of the 100th year of football at UNT, Mean Green athletics is hosting a vote for the fans and a specially selected committee to create a UNT All-Century football team. A panel of UNT Hall of Fame members, administrators, media members and others put together a ballot for fans to choose past and current players to represent the All-Century team at their respective positions. “Part of the process was that, in 100 years of football, we needed to put the debate out there as to who was the best football player,” Athletic Director Rick Villarreal said. The fan vote will make up 50 percent of the vote and the other half will come from a separate final selection committee. “A lot of the people that we have selected [for the committee] that have been around North Texas athletics for 40 or 50 years have the best ability to compare those types of players with the current players,” said senior associate athletic director Eric Capper. “The way the committee was selected was we just basically tried to get as much of a cross section of several different eras and several different generations to provide some balance and the other side of it was we are going to let the fans decide.” Read more: http://wordpress1.cws.unt.edu/?p=2583

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The Mean Green’s thrilling 30-23 win over the Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns is a lot more important than an average Sun Belt Conference win. Of course, here at the University of North Texas, every conference win means a lot as head football coach Dan McCarney and company attempt to resurrect the football program from the ashes, but this one stands out as especially significant. It’s important not only because UNT won a conference game on national TV, but also because it did so in such a dramatic fashion. Sure, the Mean Green was only down 13-6 at the half, but halftime was not the turning point in the game. After halftime, ULL drove it down the field and scored a touchdown, making it 20-6. Following that, UNT made a drive of its own but was stopped short of the goal line on fourth down. That was the turning point. Instead of becoming deflated, the Mean Green defense bowed up, the offense started clicking and it turned the game on its head as UNT began a torrential comeback, providing the most exciting Mean Green win in recent history. Read more: http://ntdaily.com/?p=70047

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Tony Benford has only been the UNT men’s basketball head coach for 154 days. Through that offseason span a lot has changed, including a new emphasis on the student half of being a student-athlete. Last year, Mean Green freshmen Chris Jones and Jordan Williams became academically ineligible in the middle of the season. Benford said this season everyone is eligible, and he hopes that under his watch there will be no further academic issues. This summer the team’s GPA was an average 3.03 throughout its collective summer courses, and all five seniors are on track to graduate in May. While losing the coaches who recruited him to UNT was hard initially, the now-eligible Jones said the team developed trust with the new staff. “I’m excited to get back out [on the court],” Jones said. “The thing I like about the new coaching staff is that when they first came in, it was straight academics [and] no basketball at first. I liked that. Having a problem with my academics last year, that really helped me.” Benford and his staff, with the exception of the director of basketball operations Jeff Luster, are spending their first year at UNT. The three new coaches are associate head coach Rob Evans and assistant coaches Bart Lundy and Dave Anwar. Lundy and Evans, both former collegiate head coaches, combine for 416-329 record. “I kind of knew in my mind the guys I was going to hire,” Benford said. “When you look at a staff, you want loyalty and trust. And I have a lot of trust and faith in these guys.” A rule passed by the NCAA also allowed the team to build up the chemistry with the coaches. Read more: http://www.ntdaily.com/?p=68948

Before the Mean Green plays its first home game against Texas Southern on Saturday, you’ll need to know what to expect and who you’ll see out on the field. The NT Daily Sports staff has compiled a detailed scouting report of the team. Here’s a breakdown of the entire team by position, along with one notable quote from a player who plays that position. Quarterback, Wide Receiver, Tight End Redshirt junior quarterback Derek Thompson now has the experience of a full slate of games under his belt heading into this season. Even though the running game carried the brunt of the load last year, Thompson has shown he can limit the turnovers, throwing only six interceptions last year, while still being effective when throwing the ball. In the game against Louisiana State University, Thompson completed both of his touchdown passes to senior receiver Brelan Chancellor against one of the top defenses in the nation. With that being said, someone other than Chancellor will need to step up for the passing attack to be successful this year. Redshirt senior wide receiver Christopher Bynes and senior tight end Andrew Power will need to help lighten Chancellor’s load. Chancellor is clearly Thompson’s top target, and defenses will try to focus in and stop Chancellor from touching the ball. Power had 16 catches last year, but only one went for a touchdown. Even though he’s used for blocking schemes, UNT should take advantage of his 6 feet 5 inches frame in the red zone to help draw defenders away from Chancellor. They said it: “Marcus Smith at tight end [could be a dark horse this year]. He’s a guy that we can flex out at wide receiver. He’s fast, big, and he’s strong. He can do a lot of really good things for us this year,” Thompson said. Running Back The Mean Green football team’s running back slot is a position by committee. Junior Brandin Byrd started as running back against No. 3 LSU and carried the ball 14 times. But redshirt freshman Antoinne Jimmerson and senior Jeremy Brown ran the ball against LSU eight times each. The trio, who gained 74 combined rushing yards in the first game, collectively has only 113 yards in their careers prior to this season. The running backs still need to get a feeling for carrying the ball in game situations. Talent level is high at running back, and growth is fostered by a competitive environment to get playing time. The best description for the position is unproven. The triumvirate faces the pressure of replacing the all-time leading rusher Lance Dunbar. Dunbar had 1,115 rushing yards and an additional 350 receiving yards last season. Byrd, Jimmerson and Brown can’t focus on filling Dunbar’s shoes. They have to find their own pairs. Involvement in the pass game, blocking and receiving gives the backs an immediate offensive value. If the running backs don’t get involved in the passing game, the offense could stagnate. Time – and an opponent who isn’t a national championship contender – will reveal North Texas’ run game capabilities. They said it: “Fans can expect consistency, and we’re trying to keep the tradition going that [Dunbar] left behind,” Brown said. “We’re going to keep running hard. You can never replace [Dunbar.] He meant so much to the program, and all we can do is compete.” Offensive Line, Defensive Line Head coach Dan McCarney does not believe in moral victories, but his offensive line may deserve one after the LSU game. The Mean Green line stood though against LSU by allowing no sacks, committing no penalties and not missing assignments. The starting offensive line for the Mean Green consists of tackles sophomore Antonio Johnson and senior Coleman Feeley. The guards are sophomore Cyril Lemon, sophomore Mason Y’Barbo and the anchor of the line, senior center Aaron Fortenberry. The mix of youth and experience gives the Mean Green the ability to instantly succeed while preparing for the future. On the defensive line, UNT has to replace Brandon Akpunku. Junior defensive end Aaron Bellazin has the skills to constantly rush opposing quarterback to force an intentional grounding in the first game against LSU. Bellazin showed explosiveness and has a great nose for the football. Sophomore Daryl Mason and junior Ryan Boutwell are two highly talented players that are going to need to step up and make plays for this thin defensive line. If both can get healthy at the same time, along with Bellazin and Obi, the UNT defensive line will give other Sun Belt offensive lines fits. They said it: “Physically we have gotten a lot better, bigger on both sides of the ball, and our communication has improved as we’ve matured together,” Lemon said.

:thumbsd: The opening of the pedestrian bridge connecting UNT’s main campus to Apogee Stadium has been delayed until at least October. The bridge, originally scheduled to open Sept. 8, will likely still be under construction during UNT football’s two home games in September, said Helen Bailey, director of facilities management and construction. “We do not have a definitive opening date at this time,” Bailey said. The $2.5 million project, which straddles the highway between North Texas Boulevard and Bonnie Brae Street, began Feb. 29. The university paid $1 million of the bill and donated the adjacent land to the state – the Texas Department of Transportation covered the rest through toll revenue from throughout the region. TxDOT is responsible for the construction of the bridge itself. UNT is responsible for installing lighting and sidewalks, which must be completed before the bridge can officially open to the public. TxDOT shut down Interstate 35E overnight to install the main structure in July but still has to build railings and complete additional welding, Bailey said. “Once TxDOT finishes the bridge, we have to build sidewalks to connect it,” she said. “We plan to start immediately after the bridge is completed, which will hopefully be in the latter half of September.” Read more: http://www.ntdaily.com/?p=67581

Austin Schubert / Staff Writer - The UNT Athletic Department addressed the impact of the university's acceptance of an invitation to join Conference USA in a press conference Friday afternoon, expressing excitement about what the move will do for UNT. "It's a big day for us," UNT President V. Lane Rawlins said. "It's not something unexpected. The right things in life happen when you do the right things and we've been doing the right things." The move to Conference USA helps elevate theuniversity's athletic program to a higher level, UNT Athletic Director Rick Villarreal said. "I always believed that [...] View the full article

Austin Schubert / Staff Writer - UNT took the next step in enhancing its athletics program when it received and accepted an invitation to join Conference USA this morning. The Mean Green will remain in the Sun Belt Conference until July 1, 2013, when the move to Conference USA will take effect. "This is validation that the progress we have made in our athletic programs in conjunction with our university’s academic reputation has made us a suitable fit for the high standards of Conference USA,” UNT Athletic Director Rick Villarreal said in a press release. “Conference USA provides a great [...] View the full article