Big Easy Means Big Fun For Unt

[MeanGreen61]

Big Easy means big fun for UNT

By TROY PHILLIPS

Star-Telegram Staff Writer

The North Texas contingent celebrates the team's announcement in the NCAA Tournament field and a matchup with Memphis.

DENTON -- Several hundred more people in green packed into the Mean Green athletic center's special-events room Sunday than occupied the stands in Lafayette, La., at Tuesday's Sun Belt Conference championship game.

It appears UNT's fans have gotten the message: This really is happening.

Assigned a No. 15 seed, UNT (23-10) was dispatched to New Orleans for the first round of the NCAA Tournament and will face No. 2 Memphis (30-3) at 11:30 a.m. Friday.

Off the bat, it won't be easy for one of the best teams in UNT history. Memphis, ranked fifth in both polls, is on a nation-best 22-game winning streak.

Heavy speculation that UNT would garner a No. 16 seed or be put into Tuesday's play-in game in Dayton, Ohio, for the bottom two seeds, fell by the wayside as the four regions were announced.

As the No. 16s and 15s went by one by one, the elbow-to- elbow packed house at UNT threw up cheers and loud sighs of relief. It came down to the South Region, the last announced, and No. 1 Ohio State vs. No. 16 Central Connecticut flashed up to a roar.

Many in attendance didn't seem to realize that in Memphis, UNT drew about the toughest No. 2 seed it could get.

"They're a program, for the most part, that we're very familiar with," said UNT coach Johnny Jones, who was interim head coach at Memphis in 1999-2000 after two years as associate head coach. "So I guess that's a good thing for us."

Jones said he's gotten to know Memphis coach John Calipari well, so the Tigers will know a little about UNT, too. Both teams use three-guard lineups that funnel the offense through the backcourt, with inside games that rely on rebounding.

For UNT, the New Orleans connection almost fits too well. Jones is from DeRidder, La., in the southwest part of the state and played at LSU. His phone rang nonstop Sunday, friends from the New Orleans-Baton Rouge area vowing to offer support for UNT.

As a tournament destination, UNT will be in familiar territory, with the Sun Belt Conference headquartered in New Orleans and nearby UNO being a Sun Belt member school.

"That's the [site] we really wanted to be at," UNT athletic director Rick Villarreal said minutes after challenging every fan in the room to get over to the ticket office and start booking travel.

UNT, involved in 14 games (7-7) that were decided by four points or fewer, doesn't look or sound ready to shy away from its big moment.

"We know we're the underdog, but we're excited right now," guard Michael Sturns said. "We're going to give it all we've got. Being so close, it'll be great if our friends and family and our fans can come and support us. We really feed off that."

NORTH TEXAS VS. MEMPHIS, 11:30 A.M. FRIDAY

Troy Phillips, 817-390-7760 tphillips@star-telegram.com