DRC women, men sit atop SBC standings

[OldTimer]

Basketball: UNT women, men sit atop SBC standings

08:46 AM CST on Saturday, January 28, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Tina Slinker has been around the North Texas basketball program about as long as anyone, and even the longtime women’s coach can’t remember the last time the Mean Green were in a position quite like they are today.

The UNT men are alone in first place in the Sun Belt Conference West Division standings, while the women are tied atop the league with Louisiana-Lafayette. Both teams will have a chance to solidify their position today during a doubleheader with South Alabama at the Super Pit.

The UNT women will face the Jaguars in the opener at 5 p.m. before the men’s game at 7 p.m.

“I don’t remember a time when both teams were in first place this late in the year,” said Slinker, who is in her 17th season at UNT. “It seems like people are starting to get excited about it.”

Both teams owe their rise to the top of the league standings to late-season runs. The UNT men have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games, while the women have posted a 7-3 mark.

The UNT men have set up what appears to be the biggest game of the season thus far in the race for the Sun Belt West Division title with their recent surge. The Mean Green (12-6, 5-2) have a half-game lead over the Jaguars (13-5, 4-2) with just nine games left in the regular season.

“It’s a big game for us,” UNT head coach Johnny Jones said. “We are sitting there with a chance to play for something, even if it is just being in first place for a week midway through the season.”

UNT comes into its showdown with USA off an 84-77 win over Troy. Junior guard Kendrick Davis scored a career-high 27 for the Mean Green in the win to push his season average to a team-high 17.8 points a game.

While the women’s game isn’t a matchup of the top teams in the SBC West, it will be no less important for the Mean Green. The UNT women (14-5, 4-3) come into their game against USA off a 71-46 pasting of Troy in the opener of a season-long five-game homestand.

The UNT women had lost three of four before knocking off the Trojans.

“The win last night gave us momentum and was like a sigh of relief,” senior guard Mian Williams said. “We knew after that game that we would be OK.”

Senior guard Erika Bobo fell just one short of her season high with 18 against Troy and enters the Mean Green’s game against USA averaging a team-high 10.1 points a game.

Both UNT teams are hoping for a repeat performance after they swept Troy to secure their spot atop the league standings. A season-high home crowd of 4,309 watched the UNT men’s game, which helped convince the Mean Green that some enthusiasm is starting to build around the program.

“I am very excited,” UNT senior center Jeffrey Simpson said of the crowd. “I had a big old smile on my face and was very impressed. I think there is a real big buzz about the program now. We are catching people’s eye.”

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com