MeanGreen61

LB Craig Robertson also got honorable mention.

Spoke with four Trojan seniors and got their thoughts. OMAR HAUGABOOK Best place – New Orleans Bowl Worst place – FIU last year Best visitor’s locker room – New Orleans Bowl Worst visitor’s locker room – Western Kentucky. We didn’t have anywhere to put our pads. Everybody’s was on the floor. Classiest team you’ve played – Nobody Dirtiest team – I could tell you a lot of teams, but I can’t pick out just one. There’s a lot of teams especially with me GREG WHIBBS Best locker room - Virginia Worst locker room - FAU (had the defense and offense in two different locker rooms) Best trip - New Orleans Bowl Worst trip—Louisiana-Monroe (in 2005, 27-3 loss) Long drive, bad trip Best bus/plane ride home - It was pretty good after Middle Tennessee last year. Worst ride home - Nebraska (2006 after 56-0 loss). There was nothing good about that one. Dirtiest team you’ve played - I don’t know Classiest team you’ve played - No team we play is classy MARCUS RICHARDSON Nicest place - nicest place was Virginia, but best environment was LSU. Florida State was fun for me because I’m from Florida, but LSU you can’t compare. Worst place - UL Monroe a couple of years ago. They didn’t have any security out there, well they had security but their fans were over the rail all day long. You try to listen to coaches and you hear your name being called. Best locker room - Virginia, that was the best. The shower was spic and span, beautiful, nice towels. Dirtiest team - Western Kentucky - holding and cutting and holding. punching under the pile. That’s football, I wasn’t complaining. I was complaining about the holding, but after I realized we weren’t going to get the calls, I stopped worrying about it. Classiest team - Nebraska. Their fans were clapping for us and all of that junk and rah-rah stuff. SEAN DAWKINS Best place - El Paso, Texas, when we played New Mexico State. It was different because I’m from the south and hadn’t been out of the south. It was different seeing all the different houses and being close to the Mexico border. Worst place - Western Kentucky Best visitor’s locker room - Nebraska, seeing all the history and banners Worst visitor’s locker room - Western Kentucky Dirtiest team - It’s between Florida Atlantic and Florida International. FAU likes to poke your eyes. FULL ARTICLE http://www.gulfeast.com/index.php/troy_blog/index/

OK it's a brick sidewalk, but FAU is selling bricks with the purchaser's name inscribed. http://fauf.fau.edu/NetCommunity/SSLPage.aspx?pid=1379

SMU Appears to Have Its New Football Coach Posted on November 29th, 2007 3:54pm by Scott Farrell Filed under Local News, Sports We’re still trying to confirm this like everybody else around the country, but all sources point to Paul Johnson as SMU’s choice to become its next head football coach. Johnson, currently the head coach at Navy, will be introduced on Monday. Here’s the skinny on Johnson. Johnson has a national reputation as being one of the top coaches in the country. He has improvised his offense around whatever talent he has had at Georgia Southern and now at Navy. His resume includes back-to-back Division I-AA national titles at Georgia Southern and a 14-1 runner-up finish in 1998. His playoff record at Georgia Southern, when the games mattered most, is 11-1. He was 62-10 at that school. At Navy, Johnson took over a moribund program that was 1-20 in the two seasons before he arrived and has totally revived the Midshipmen. His first Navy team was 2-10 (including a 38-7 win at SMU in Phil Bennett’s first game), but his is now 38-16 over the past four seasons and the Midshipmen will play in their fifth consecutive bowl game next month. He has a 102-35 career record. The SMU connection? SMU athletic director Steve Orsini was part of the Naval Academy administration during Johnson’s tenure as offensive coordinator there. He is also a coaching colleague with SMU associate athletic director Mike Vaught. The guy can flat out coach. And SMU is going to pay plenty of cash to pry him from his $1 million-a-year job in Annapolis. SMU is reported to be paying $1.5 million a year for Johnson, which almost triples the highest amount SMU has ever paid a head coach. “Pony Up” indeed.

UNT close to bringing Army to Fouts in 2009 09:53 AM CST on Wednesday, November 28, 2007 By Brett Vito Staff Writer North Texas enjoyed one of its best atmospheres for a game in recent memory earlier this season when it hosted Navy, and appears as if it will have an opportunity to have a similar crowd in 2009. UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said Tuesday that Army is expected to play the Mean Green at Fouts Field that season. The game will be part of a landmark campaign for UNT, which will have six home games for the first time since the 1996 season. UNT was set to host Air Force in 2009 before the Falcons backed out of their contract with UNT in order to be the first team to face Minnesota at the new TCF Bank Stadium. Villarreal said the athletic department has several good prospects for filling the void in its 2009 schedule that was left when Air Force decided not to come to Denton. ‘Our goal in the future is to get to a point where we have six home games every year,’ Villarreal said. UNT attracted a crowd of 26,012 for a shootout that Navy won 74-62. The crowd was the third largest for a UNT game in the history of Fouts. The Mean Green lost to Air Force 34-21 in Colorado Springs in the 2003 season. Dodge: Defense headed in right direction UNT came up with one of its best defensive performances of the season last week in a win over Western Kentucky, an outing head coach Todd Dodge said is a sign the Mean Green is headed in the right direction. UNT limited WKU to six points in the second half and held on late for a 27-26 win. The Hilltoppers drove deep into UNT territory in the final minutes, but had to settle for a 38-yard field goal try that went awry because of a bad snap. ‘The other night was one of the most consistent nights we had,’ Dodge said. ‘It was a good feeling. We didn’t tackle as well as I would have liked overall, but they got into the red zone quite a few times and had to settle for field goal tries. That was huge.’ UNT has struggled throughout the season defensively and still ranks last nationally with an average of 45.7 points allowed a game, but has shown improvement the last two weeks. UNT gave up a game-winning touchdown drive in a last-second 31-27 loss to Arkansas State before coming up with a few key plays against WKU. ‘We have started to put things together defensively,’ Dodge said. ‘Earlier in the year we lost our focus at times in critical situations. We have started to become more consistent.’ UNT allowed 349 yards of total offense against WKU, in its second-best performance of the season. The Mean Green gave up 335 yards during its loss to Middle Tennessee earlier in the season. UNT preparing for FIU QB Younger UNT’s defense will spend part of its practice time this week preparing to face FIU quarterback Wayne Younger, even though Golden Panthers coach Mario Cristobal announced earlier this week that he would miss the game. ‘They played three guys against Florida Atlantic and we never did find where Younger got hurt,’ Dodge said. ‘We are preparing for him. I have been impressed with him. É We are not so sure we won’t see him.’ Younger has started every game this season for the Golden Pan-thers and leads the team with 1,357 passing yards and 536 rushing yards. The redshirt freshman completed five of 10 passes for 73 yards last week against FAU before leaving the game. Paul McCall is listed as FIU’s starter heading into Saturday’s game. The sophomore has thrown for 185 yards on the season. Meaning of Orange Bowl finale not lost on UNT UNT and FIU will play the final college game at the Orange Bowl on Saturday, an honor Dodge and the Mean Green’s players are looking forward to with great anticipation. ‘I started our Tuesday meeting trying to give the players a little history lesson and let them know how important it is,’ Dodge said. ‘I have grown up in this game and have never been in the Orange Bowl, so I am looking forward to it. ‘Between Super Bowls, Miami Dolphins games and Orange Bowls, I have watched a lot of games on television that were at the Orange Bowl. We will be part of a trivia question someday when they ask who were the last [college] teams to play in the Orange Bowl. People won’t guess North Texas and Florida International. It will be a neat deal.’ Men’s basketball Jones: UNT has weapons to beat zones UNT suffered its first loss of the season against UT-Arlington largely because it struggled to knock down shots from the perimeter against a zone defense. Jones does not expect those problems to linger the rest of the season. ‘Any time you don’t shoot the ball well, zones work,’ Jones said. ‘We pride ourselves in knocking down shots and stretching people. When we had Calvin Watson and Kendrick Davis last year we were really good at that and would get excited to see zones. We have a number of guys who can shoot the ball as well. É I look forward to it because I think we have guys who can stretch a defense and knock down shots.’ Jones said the presence of senior forwards Keith Wooden and Quincy Williams will prompt UNT’s opponents to use a zone in an effort to shut down the Mean Green’s inside game. UNT is shooting 32.9 percent from 3-point range this season, down from 37 percent last year. Adam McCoy and Dez Willing-ham, two of UNT’s newcomers at guard, have struggled so far this season. Both are 1-for-11 from behind the arc. Jones will not know for sure how well his team has recovered from its loss to UT-Arlington until Friday, when UNT plays Western New Mexico in the first round of the Lou Henson Classic. Jones: UTA still a good match for UNT UNT’s struggles with longtime rival UT-Arlington continued last week when the Mean Green fell to the Mavericks 72-64, ending a three-game winning streak to open the season. UNT has lost four straight games to UTA, including a heartbreaking last-second loss last season in the Super Pit. The Mean Green went on to post a school record for wins in a season while finishing 23-11. ‘It’s a good game for us because they have a really solid program,’ UNT head coach Johnny Jones said. ‘They have good guard play and good post players.’ Playing the Mavericks also gives the Mean Green added exposure in the Dallas area, which UNT recruits heavily. UNT does not have a game against either SMU or TCU this season. Player of the week Jamario Thomas took advantage of his last chance to go out on top in front of UNT’s fans last week in the Mean Green’s game against Western Kentucky. The senior not only rushed for 147 yards, he scored three touchdowns in the second half to lead the Mean Green to a 27-26 win. UNT trailed 20-7 at halftime before coming back to win just its second game of the season. Thomas scored the game-winning touchdown on a 42-yard run. The former Longview standout has scored five touchdowns in his last two games and is tied with UNT Hall of Famer Ken Bahnsen for third in UNT history with 26 career rushing touchdowns. Thomas will end also his career as the second-leading rusher in school history behind former teammate and current Miami Dolphins running back Patrick Cobbs. Thomas has 3,448 yards. For his performance against the Hilltoppers, Thomas is the Denton Record-Chronicle UNT Player of the Week. BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.

From a Daily Advertiser article. THEY'RE WATCHING: Sun Belt commissioner Wright Waters said Monday it was important for both Troy and FAU to put on a good show Saturday - play-wise and crowd-wise - in what amounts to a league title game. "If FAU wins, you'll obviously see Troy in the at-large pool," Waters said of the possibilities of the league getting a second team into bowl participation. "There are some very good teams out there this year that are going to have seven wins or more, so it's going to really be important for both of those teams to demonstrate they can take a crowd to a bowl game." The at-large pool for the available bowls is complicated by what happens in the BCS games, with those participants to be announced Sunday. The Conference USA slot for the New Orleans Bowl is already determined with Memphis coming to New Orleans to face the Troy-FAU winner. FUTURE SHOCK: The Sun Belt's six wins against teams from the traditional BCS conferences this year didn't come as a surprise to Waters. But he said Monday the league's football members can't afford to rest on recent accomplishments. "We said in the summer that we thought 2006 was the year we turned the corner," he said. "This year has proven that to be correct. There were some great wins, the marquee wins that get a lot of attention and several other good wins. "What we have to guard against is that we're not complacent or happy with just being there. Trust me, if Boise State can go to the BCS, if Hawaii can go to the BCS, then a team from this league can go to the BCS. We can't be happy until we're at that point." FULL ARTICLE- Sun Belt showdown http://www.theadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll.../711280323/1006

Appears they couldn't take the pressure and "folded like a tent" in the second half. Mean Green three TD's to WKwoo's two field goals.

North Texas (2-9) at Florida International (0-11) The Sports Network DATE & TIME: Saturday, December 1st, 7:00 p.m. (et) FACTS & STATS: Site: Orange Bowl Stadium (72,319) -- Miami, Florida. Television: None. Home Record: North Texas 2-3, FIU 0-4. Away Record: North Texas 0-6, FIU 0-7. Neutral Record: North Texas 0-0, FIU 0-0. Conference Record: North Texas 1-5, FIU 0-6. Series Record: North Texas leads, 2-0. GAME NOTES: The Florida International Golden Panthers will have one last chance this season to snap the nation's longest losing streak when they host the North Texas Mean Green Saturday evening at the Orange Bowl. The Mean Green are coming off only their second victory of the season, as the team collected a slim, 27-26 win over Western Kentucky this past weekend. The win snapped a four-game losing skid for North Texas, which came into last weekend with nine losses in its first 10 matchups. Since the beginning of last season, the Mean Green have struggled away from home, posting a mere 1-12 ledger outside of Denton. As for the Golden Panthers, they are coming off a rough, 55-23 setback to Florida Atlantic this past weekend. The loss dropped FIU to 0-11 on the year and extended the team's losing streak to a nation's worst 23 straight games. The last time Florida International tasted victory was back in December of 2005 when the team slipped past Middle Tennessee, 35-31. The Mean Green hold a slim 2-0 lead in the all-time series against FIU. Last season these two schools endured an astonishing seven overtime battle, which finished with a North Texas 25-22 victory. There has not been much offensive success for North Texas through this year, and if there was one area the team could deem a bright spot, it would be the passing attack. The Mean Green are currently averaging 293.0 ypg through the air, and that along with 121.2 ypg on the ground, has led to 25.4 ppg. However, the offensive unit has committed 32 turnovers this year, and 26 have been interceptions. Surprisingly in the recent victory over Western Kentucky, the Mean Green leaned more on the ground attack, as the squad rumbled for 195 yards on 5.7 yards per clip. Jamario Thomas, who has a team-best 618 yards and seven scores on the season, led the way for North Texas, rushing for 147 yards and three TDs. Quarterback Giovanni Vizza had a poor outing, completing just 20- of-42 passes for only 202 yards, while also tossing three interceptions. The signal caller has been inconsistent on the season, completing 58.4 percent of his passes for just 2,135 yards. In nine games Vizza has thrown 16 touchdowns, but that goes along with his 18 interceptions. The only real threat Vizza has had down field is Casey Fitzgerald, who is leading the Mean Green with 104 receptions, 1,264 yards and 12 touchdowns. There is not an adjective in the English dictionary that can describe how poorly the Mean Green have played on defense. The team is currently last in the nation in points allowed (45.7 ppg) and also ranks near the bottom in total defense, surrendering 499.4 ypg. North Texas has been gashed for a whopping 240.0 ypg on the ground, while also being torched for another 259.4 ypg through the air. In the recent win over Western Kentucky, the Mean Green's struggles against the run continued, as the team was pounded for 226 yards on 46 carries. The team was able to force two turnovers in the contest, but finished the game with zero sacks. The team has done a poor job in both areas all season, collecting just 23 takeaways, while recording only 12 sacks. Jeremiah Chapman has been the best player for this unit, as the lineman is leading the squad with 70 tackles, 14.5 TFLs and 4.5 sacks. For the third consecutive contest the Golden Panthers scored over 20 points, but just like the previous two games, FIU still suffered a loss. In the 32- point setback to rival Florida Atlantic the offense for FIU collected 377 yards, including 264 yards through the air. Four different players threw at least one pass in the contest, but the signal-caller who had the most success was Paul McCall, who threw for 181 yards and two scores. McCall entered the game in relief for Wayne Younger, who suffered a shoulder injury early in the second quarter. Younger should be back under center, however, for the finale against North Texas. In 11 games this season Younger has not had much success, completing less than 50.0 percent of his passes for only 1,357 yards. He has thrown nine scores, but has nearly doubled that total with 17 interceptions. Sadly enough Younger has been the main threat for the team's rushing attack as well, as the quarterback is leading the team with 536 yards and two touchdowns. The Golden Panthers are last in the nation with 13.0 ppg and one of the worst offensive units in the nation, averaging just 262.9 total ypg. The defense unit has been just as bad for the Golden Panthers, as the squad is being abused for 40.9 ppg, while surrendering a whopping 456.0 total ypg. The unit has been pounded by the rushing attack for 213.3 ypg, while also being torched for 242.7 ypg through the air. The defensive woes continued this past weekend for FIU, as the team was hammered by the Owls, 55-23. In the loss, FIU was gashed for 228 yards on the ground, and suffered an equally rough outing against the pass, yielding 343 yards through the air. The defense was able to force one turnover in the game, but finished with zero sacks. The team has done a terrible job in both areas this season, collecting just 17 turnovers, while recording only 20 sacks. Scott Bryant has clearly been the best player for this defense, as the linebacker has recorded a team-best 81 tackles to go along with six TFLs. Both teams have played poorly defensively, but the Golden Panthers have been dreadful in nearly every aspect of the game and it is unlikely the team will be able to snap its losing streak against North Texas. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: North Texas 45, Florida International 37

GAME BALL (Final Edition: NT beats classless WKU) a weekly column by Richard White Richard White Issue date: 11/27/07 Section: OPINION Classless WKU can't spoil NT's last laugh REPORT CARD FOR WKU GAME Quarterback (Vizza): F Receiving Corps: D Rushing Game (Jamario): A+ Offensive Line: B- Defense: B- Special Teams: A- Game Ball: Running back Jamario Thomas It turns out not all is lost. On Saturday Western Kentucky did its best job to sour NT's Senior Night with continued classless acts of flagrant disrespect, which resulted in a brief post-game confrontation between the two teams. But NT was not about to be denied as it fought through WKU's antics to seal the Mean Green's second victory of the season. Senior running back Jamario Thomas jumped into his secret time machine Saturday and treated what seemed like a few hundred fans on a cold, rainy late afternoon to arguably his best performance ever, earning him the final Game Ball of the season. "It meant the world to me in my last game," Thomas said. "This is one of my best games ever." NT (2-9) edged past WKU (7-5), 27-26 in front of the smallest home crowd of the season as only a few thousand fans witnessed Thomas' final return to glory. Gone was the mediocre, injured-plagued Thomas of his sophomore, junior and senior year. Present was the freshman year Super Jamario, who led the nation in rushing in NT's final Sun Belt Conference Championship season of 2004. In his gutsy final Fouts Field performance, Thomas rushed for three touchdowns and 147 yards. It was his 13th 100-yard game of his career and his first game with three touchdowns since his freshman season. Thomas will end his NT career in next week's game comfortably in second place all-time in rushing yards behind Patrick Cobbs. Thomas' Saturday performance was something head coach Todd Dodge said he will never forget. "I really love that kid and I'm so proud," Dodge said. "He was the guy tonight and he really stepped up. That last touchdown run he put the team on his back and it was a huge touchdown for us." Thomas was a big reason NT won as the horrid weather conditions dealt a major blow to NT's passing attack. Vizza had one of his poorest showings of the season, missing on over half of his attempts, finishing 20-of-42 with three interceptions and three sacks. WKU scored off of Vizza's first two interceptions, which were in part due to a combination of a wet ball and Vizza's attempt to wear gloves, which he soon took off. Even with a subpar passing attack, star wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald managed to make an impact with 80 receiving yards off only eight catches. Junior Brock Stickler was a distant second with only 38 receiving yards followed by all other receivers. Then there was the game within the game. Even before Saturday's kickoff, the Hilltoppers began what would quickly turn into a pattern of deliberate classless acts which eventually came back to bite them in the end, rightfully costing them the game. WKU is on provisional status this season and won't become an official NCAA Sun Belt Conference team until 2008. Many Mean Green players were shocked that a team serving a provisional status would purposely stir up so much trouble in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. "They weren't very classy," said senior defensive end Montey Stevenson. "They were jumping around on our 50-yard line as we were doing our pregame preparation. They were hoisting their helmets in the air and spinning towels and joking around and saying a few choice words. It was ridiculous, so we just kept fighting and got the win." The Hilltoppers had 11 penalties for a total of 118 yards. WKU even had numerous unsportsmanlike conduct penalties called against them, including two on the same play. After scoring a touchdown, the WKU players circled around one another in the end zone and performed a popular "bomb" celebration where they collapse after a tossed football hits the ground. That resulted in an excessive celebration penalty which cost WKU the game as it added 15 yards to their ensuing point-after-touchdown attempt, which their kicker missed. If WKU had scored the extra point, the game would have eventually gone into overtime with a 27-27 tie. However, their pride got the best of them and they paid for it as their kicker was unable to tack on the extra point, which wound up making all the difference in the world as NT remained calm throughout the game and earned it's second win the entire way. After the game, the tense situation which had been brewing all game long came to a head as the two teams exchanged words and a few blows at midfield. Minutes passed before both teams were able to separate themselves and head off to their locker rooms. Many of the NT players said WKU's antics fueled them to win the game that much more, making it personal, making it more than just a football game. "When I got tattooed across the middle and they were doing their talking, I was like, 'You're going to have to come harder than that,'" said senior wide receiver Brandon Jackson. The Mean Green let their football play do their talking for them. NT's defense had a rare solid performance, with an admirable job of stopping WKU when it mattered most. Although it did bend many times throughout the game, NT's defense didn't break as it allowed only six second-half points. In a season in which it has contributed very little, NT's special teams had its best showing of the year, forcing a blocked punt for a touchdown and a fumble recovery to start the second half. "Of our three units, special teams was huge tonight, when you talk about what they did," Dodge said. After NT got its win, the players said they felt vindicated for enduring WKU's constant abuses. "It was real sweet. Especially with all the noise and crap they were talking for us to get the victory and say, 'Alright, go home, it's your loss,'" Jackson said. On top of all the performances that led to the victory-Thomas, NT's defense and NT's special teams-it was the lack of action that truly earned NT the win as the Mean Green refused to give in to their natural emotions and mimic the Hilltoppers' deplorable behavior. "We've had so many locker rooms this year where you come in and there's not a whole lot to say because you're dejected and you love your kids and you hurt for them," Dodge said. "But today we celebrated and we really let it out. When you're a competitor you need to enjoy the wins as much as those losses rip your heart out." Dodge has stressed all season long that he wants to teach these young men how to build character just as much as how to win. Saturday we saw proof positive that he has achieved just that as NT was able to bring both character and winning together. It was a sweet victory NT and especially the seniors playing in their final home game should relish whenever they think back to their college days. "It feels as good to win this one as it did terrible to lose some of the others," Dodge said. In an historic season full of misery and turmoil, there was a single light of all that is good with college athletics shining brightly from Fouts Field early Saturday evening as Coach Dodge and his players showed that winning with class never goes out of style. NOTE: Since The North Texas Daily does not run during dead week and finals week, there won't be a Game Ball recapping the season's final game when NT opposes Florida International University on the road this Saturday. For the season, the Game Ball totals are as follows: 3 Game Balls: WR Casey Fitzgerald 2 Game Balls: RB Jamario Thomas, QB Giovanni Vizza, the entire starting defense 1 Game Ball: WR Sam Dibrell, WR Brandon Jackson, QB Daniel Meager I hope you have enjoyed reading this weekly column as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Thanks. -RCW.

Rivals 5.3 2-star http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewp...149&sport=1 Scout.com 2-star. Shows 4 offers http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p...amp;nid=3104054

WKwhoo has been a Sun Belt member a lot longer than we have.

WKwhoo does have another board (Scout.com) that you can post on. Yep they are just as delusional as on the Haven. WKwhoo Scout message board http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=468#s=468

SUN BELT ROUNDUP http://cfn.scout.com/2/687626.html Sun Belt Game of the Week North Texas 27 ... Western Kentucky 26 WKU's Chris James hit field goals from 26 and 44 yards away in the second half, but he missed a 38-yarder with just over a minute to play to seal UNT's second win of the year. Jamario Thomas ran for 147 yards with three second half touchdowns from eight, 30 and 42 yards out. Down 14-0 early, the Mean Green got on the board with a Chris Neal blocked punt return for a score, but the Hilltoppers took the momentum going into halftime with a 44-yard Terald Clark interception return for a touchdown. And then Thomas took over even though WKU controlled the ball for most of the second half. The two teams combined for 19 penalties for 198 yards. Sun Belt Player of the Week North Texas RB Jamario Thomas ran 16 times for 147 yards and three touchdowns in the win over Western Kentucky North Texas … Oh yeah, Jamario Thomas. It only took 10.5 games, but the UNT runner came up with a brilliant second half in his final home game to take control in the win over Western Kentucky. There were three interceptions from Giovanni Vizza and eight penalties, but there was, shock of shocks, some clutch defense in the second half. After a lousy year, UNT has a chance to close out with a two-game winning streak that could mean everything to the young Todd Dodge era, but a loss at FIU would mean there's a lot more rebuilding to be done.

Nope, they changed their mind and didn't red-shirt the seniors. Made the decision just before the season opened.

It's all about the Benjamins. Believe AFA will be getting a million to play in Minnesota. As someone posted same as our buying out Miami for LSU.......mo $$$$.

OSU up 42-24 at the half !

Oklahoma State (1-1) v LSU (2-0) at Maui. Sports Network has OSU favored by 3. Vegas has LSU by 3 at one book, other books have OSU by 2. OSU win would be a boost for us !

Box score showed attendance at 421

Ladys win 83-47.

"North Texas is fierce on the glass and plays with a scary attitude in the paint." Comment from the Sports Network comments/prediction for the UNT/Indiana State game.

Indiana State (1-1) at North Texas (2-0) The Sports Network DATE & TIME: Saturday, November 17th, 3:00 p.m. (et) FACTS & STATS: Site: The Super Pit (10,032) -- Denton, Texas. Television: None. Home Record: Indiana State 1-0, North Texas 2-0. Away Record: Indiana State 0-1, North Texas 0-0. Neutral Record: Indiana State 0-0, North Texas 0-0. Conference Record: Indiana State 0-0, North Texas 0-0. Series Record: North Texas leads, 3-1. GAME NOTES: The North Texas Mean Green will try to remain perfect in the early stages of this season when they host the Indiana State Sycamores this afternoon at the Super Pit. The Sycamores opened their new campaign with a convincing, 78-45 victory over Oakland City. Unfortunately, the Sycamores were chopped down this past Wednesday when they were pummeled by 25th-ranked Butler, 76-48. After this contest, the Sycamores will return home for two straight matchups against Northern Illinois and IPFW. As for the Mean Green, they are coming off an impressive 82-73 victory over Big 12 foe Oklahoma State. It was the second win of the season for UNT, which opened its new campaign with a convincing, 106-53 win over Cameron. The Mean Green are coming off one of the greatest seasons in North Texas history, as the team collected a school-record 23 victory, while capturing its first Sun Belt Conference Tournament title. It will get a bit tougher for North Texas as the team will be on the road for its next four games. The Mean Green hold a 3-1 edge over Indiana State in the all- time series. After dropping 78 points in the victory over Oakland City, the Sycamores fell victim to the suffocating defensive play of Butler. In the 28-point loss, ISU struggled offensively, shooting a meager 32.7 percent from the field, and that included an even worse 22.7 percent clip from behind the arc. Jay Tunnell and Gabe Moore were the only two players in double figures for Indiana State, as both finished with 10 points apiece. Marico Stinson and Cole Holstrom both led the team in scoring against Oakland City, but struggled against Butler. Stinson finished with just nine points and seven rebounds, while Holstrom shot just 2- of-10 from the field, finishing the game with only six points. The Mean Green opened their new campaign with a whopping 53-point victory over Cameron, and the squad's high-powered offense was on display again on Wednesday, as North Texas scored 82 points en route to a victory over Oklahoma State. In the win, the Mean Green shot an impressive 50.0 percent from the field, and also connected on 19-of-22 attempts from the foul line. Josh White led the way with 25 points and is netting a team-best 19.5 ppg on the year. Keith Wooden also had a very strong performance against the Pokes, shooting an outstanding 12-of-14 from the field, while also finishing with 25 points. Wooden, who also grabbed eight rebounds in the contest, is currently shooting a sizzling 77.8 percent from the field. One of the main reasons for the team's early success is its play on the glass, as North Texas is currently outrebounding its opponents by 13.5 rpg. The Sycamores will most likely have no answer tonight for the Mean Green. North Texas is fierce on the glass and plays with a scary attitude in the paint. The Mean Green should have little trouble coasting to their third win of the season. Sports Network Predicted Outcome: North Texas 76, Indiana State 59

Quite a few compliments in various threads from the OSU Scout board. Seems they were particularly impressed with Josh. http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=181#s=181&a...1426165&p=1 http://mbd.scout.com/mb.aspx?s=181#s=181&a...6&t=1424812

Maybe not, but Mendoza proved you can turn Buick into a Yugo in less than a season. It's amazing how some attribute coaching (and rightfully so) as the reason for the transition of our offense from bland and unproductive to exciting and productive, but blame our pathetic defense on the players and not the coaching & coaching schemes.

Mean Green set to take on Oklahoma State NT hosts Big 12 team for first time since 2003 Clay Byington Issue date: 11/14/07 Section: SPORTS The Super Pit will be rocking tonight when the Oklahoma State University Cowboys come to town to take on the Mean Green. Tonight will be first time NT has hosted a Big 12 Conference team since they hosted and defeated Baylor University on Dec. 9, 2003. Senior forward Keith Wooden said the Mean Green is aware of the excitement that surrounds a game like this. "Anytime you have an opponent from a big conference like that, you look forward to it," Wooden said. "It's a measuring stick for us." The Cowboys return three players who started at least 23 games on last year's team that went 22-13 after being upset by Marist University in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament. OSU lost a very valuable player in Jameson Curry, a speedy guard who was the only Cowboys player to start every game in the 06-07 season. Curry is now with the Chicago Bulls. Filling his shoes will be freshman guard/forward James Anderson and junior guard Terrel Harris, who scored 28 and 12 points respectively in the season opener against East Central University. Harris, a freshman out of Junction City, Ark., started 26 games last year while averaging 10 points per game. Lincoln High School alumnus Byron Eaton, who averaged 7.7 points last season and led the team with 54 steals, provides a big spark off of the bench. Wooden said he knows the importance of not letting opposing players decide the tempo of the game. "We're going to go out and play our game," Wooden said. "We've got to make them adjust to us." The Mean Green will need production from senior guard Ben Bell and freshman guard Tristan Thompson. Thompson scored 16 points in the opener against Cameron University while pulling down five rebounds. Bell added 10 points and six rebounds. NT's off-the-bench spark plug will be junior guard Collin Dennis, who lit up the floor with 21 points, five rebounds and a steal, while leading the team in three pointers with three. The key match-up in the post will be between Wooden and OSU senior forward Marcus Dove. Wooden averaged 9.2 points and 5.5 rebounds while starting 26 games last year, while Dove averaged 4.7 points and 4.5 rebounds in the same number of starts. The advantage of playing such a big game at home is something the Mean Green players appreciate. Bell alluded to the fact that NT shoots thousands of shots in the Super Pit every day, making the home games that much easier to play in. "We feed off the crowd a lot," Wooden said. "We love seeing the people come out and support us. It gives us that extra energy. They're our sixth man." Bell said he wished he could personally thank everyone in the crowd for their enthusiasm in the game against Cameron and hopes they can continue to have a strong turnout. "That makes us play harder," Bell said. "You want to win for the crowd, the team, everybody."

Oklahoma State -4.5 VEGAS INSIDER http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-basket...odds/las-vegas/