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North Texas’ first-week flop gets worse with loss to Division II Alabama-Huntsville North Texas features potential lottery pick Tony Mitchell and a promising supporting cast. Alabama Huntsville features a roster overlooked by Division I coaches and well off the radar of pro scouts. Surely, Monday night's matchup in the opening round of the NIT Season Tip-off quickly turned into a Mean Green rout, right? Well, not quite. In perhaps the most surprising loss of the opening week of the college basketball season, a highly touted North Texas team lost to Division II Alabama Huntsville 78-75, robbing the Mean Green of the chance to face Kansas State with a trip to New York at stake. North Texas now falls to 0-2, its other loss a 71-51 shellacking at No. 16 Creighton on Friday in a matchup hyped as a duel between Mitchell and Bluejays star Doug McDermott. Perhaps expectations were too high for a North Texas team still unsure of its identity and still adjusting to new coach Tony Benford's system, but there was plenty of reason to be bullish about the Mean Green entering the season. The 6-foot-8 Mitchell, a versatile defender and rebounding machine, opted to return to school as a sophomore in hopes of progressing from fringe first-round pick last spring to lottery pick next June. He's the centerpiece of a talent-landen roster that also includes promising sophomore point guard Chris Jones, high-scoring perimeter shooter Jordan Williams and former Oklahoma State transfer Roger Franklin Jr. What has led to North Texas' early flop? Well, inefficient offense has been the biggest culprit. Read more: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaab-the-dagger/north-texas-first-week-flop-gets-worse-loss-094009710--ncaab.html

Led by veteran head coach Lennie Acuff, Alabama-Huntsville returns eight lettermen, including three starters, from a squad that won 29 games and advanced to the Division II Elite Eight in 2011-12. The Chargers will be led by Gulf South Conference scoring leader Jaime Smith (18.0 ppg.). North Texas, which will be under first-year head coach Tony Benford, returns all five starters from a team that won 18 games and advanced to the Sun Belt Conference Tournament final a year ago. The Mean Green squad includes Lou Henson Award finalist (Mid-Major Player of the Year) Tony Mitchell, who was the only freshman in the country to average a double-double (14.7 ppg., 10.3 rpg.). He was the first freshman since Michael Beasley in 2007-08 to post multiple 30-point, 15-rebound games. The 28th annual NIT Season Tip-Off will include eight seeded teams, including the four top seeds and five-seed Lehigh, six-seed Robert Morris, seven-seed Cleveland State and eight-seed Delaware. Michigan will host Bowling Green, Cleveland State and IUPUI in the North Region, Pittsburgh will host Fordham, Lehigh and Robert Morris in the East Region and Virginia will host Delaware, Fairfield and Penn in the South Region. Individual ticket prices for the preliminary rounds at Bramlage Coliseum will be announced at a later date. Ticket information for the potential semifinal and final games at Madison Square Garden will also be communicated to Ahearn Fund members and season ticket holders at a later date. Kansas State, led by first-year head coach Bruce Weber, returns 12 lettermen, including four starters, from a team that won 22 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in five years. Read more: http://www.wibw.com/sports/headlines/K-State-To-Host-NIT-Season-Tip-Off-Midwest-Region--169389686.html?ref=686