North Texas guard Jordan Williams took note of what happened when Columbia took on national power Michigan State last week.
So did teammate Brandan Walton and UNT head coach Tony Benford.
And they weren’t the only ones. That was how well the Lions played against what is now the top-ranked team in the country.
Columbia led by four at halftime and had a chance to pull off the upset before going scoreless for the final 4:27 as the Spartans pulled away for a 62-53 win.
UNT will face plenty of challenges this week when it plays its final three games in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, but its first game — against the same Columbia team that gave the Spartans fits — could be the biggest challenge of them all. The Mean Green will face the Lions at 4 p.m. today before taking on Idaho on Friday and Portland on Saturday.
All three games will be played at the University of Portland in Portland, Ore.
“We saw Columbia play against Michigan State. They jumped out on them,” Williams said. “It was impressive. We know that we are going to have to play hard.”
Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20131120-men-s-basketball-unt-looking-forward-to-portland-challenge.ece