Mean Green eye Troy to undo Sun Belt skid

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By Michael Neglia

Staff Writer

February 23, 2006

Last Saturday’s loss to Denver was a crushing defeat for more than one reason.

First and most importantly, it extended the Mean Green’s Sun Belt Conference losing streak to six games.

Second, the team found another way to lose an important game in heartbreaking fashion.

This time, they were unable to overcome the free throw disparity as the Pioneers attempted 37 compared to NT’s 12.

“We can’t too much worry about officiating,” said senior guard Isaac Hines. “We just have to go out there and play as hard as we can. What’s going to happen will happen, so we just need to go with it.”

The loss all but eliminated the Mean Green’s chances at a first round bye in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament as Denver is now in second place and two games ahead of NT with two remaining.

“Anybody can win; seeding doesn’t make much of a difference,” Hines said. “We just have to play as best as we can now and we’ll go from there.”

The Mean Green could finish anywhere between third and last (or sixth) in its division as NT is in a three-way tie with Troy and Louisiana-Lafayette, while sixth place New Orleans trails the teams by one game.

NT will break the tie with Troy today on the road. The Mean Green defeated Troy 84-77 on Jan. 26 in the Super Pit. The decision marked the last conference win for NT before its current six-game losing streak. NT won because they were able to dissect Troy’s zone by making 15 3-pointers.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re patient and not take quick shots in areas we don’t usually shoot from,” said NT head coach Johnny Jones. “On the other end [the defensive side] we have to identify their shooters and make sure we don’t give them any easy looks.”

The Mean Green closes out the regular season Saturday night at South Alabama, a team that crushed them 89-67 on Jan.28.

The reason for the Jaguars’ success against the Mean Green was NT’s inability to beat the press that forced them into 18 turnovers.

For NT to win, the team will need to succeed in what it failed to do last time and shoot the ball as well as it had in the past two games.