U N T Notebook -

MeanGreen61 · January 16, 2008

UNT notebook: UNT men not getting sick of winning

08:37 AM CST on Wednesday, January 16, 2008

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Nothing has been able to stop the North Texas men’s basketball team since it lost its first two games in Sun Belt Conference play.

To keep that roll going, the Mean Green will to have to overcome another obstacle, a flu bug that has decimated its roster and support staff.

Keith Wooden, Collin Dennis, Ben Bell and Jeff Montague were all sidelined with the flu on Monday, when assistant coach Charlie Leonard and trainer Brad Ander-son were also home in bed.

Anderson was the only member of the group to return to practice on Tuesday.

Dennis and Josh White first became sick before the Mean Green’s win over Louis-iana-Lafayette on Saturday, but both played.

UNT head coach Johnny Jones said he hopes to have all of his players back in time for a home game against New Orleans on Thursday. The Mean Green (12-4, 3-2) has won three straight.

“Would we like to have our full complement of guys? Yes, but unfortunately that is probably not going to happen,” Jones said. “If we have them, will they be 100 percent? Probably not. This will give us a chance to see what will happen if we have an injury later in the season and give a chance for one of our other players to step up and play.”

Backup guards Tristan Thompson and Adam McCoy came off the bench to score eight points each in UNT’s win over ULL. Thompson also grabbed five rebounds.

The pair helped UNT win its third straight game and improve its home record to 9-0.

The Mean Green’s recent run has left it just a half game behind Louisiana-Lafayette in the Sun Belt Conference West Division standings.

“Our depth and the quality of players that we have helped us last week,” Jones said. “Some guys had to play extended minutes and did an excellent job with them.”

Perfect week a big boost for UNT

UNT faced a key test early in Sun Belt play last week when it played three games in six days after dropping its first two conference games.

The Mean Green passed that test in fine fashion, winning three straight to get itself back in the race for the Sun Belt West Division title. UNT knocked off Louisiana-Monroe, Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette.

“I thought we had a really good week playing Monday, Thursday and Saturday,” Jones said. “It was a rough schedule for us. There was not a lot of time for preparation, but our guys did an excellent job.”

The streak pushed UNT into a three-way tie for second place in the Sun Belt West Division with Denver and Arkansas-Little Rock.

UNT on roll from 3-point line

UNT has been on a remarkable roll behind the 3-point arc since the start of Sun Belt play, hitting 45.8 percent (38-for-83) of its shots from deep in five league games.

The Mean Green dropped 13 3-pointers in a loss to Troy and has shot over 50 percent in all but one of its games during its current three-game winning streak. UNT went 11-for-20 against Louisiana-Monroe and 6-for-11 at Arkansas State before finishing 4-for-9 against Louisiana-Lafayette.

“We have guys who have done an excellent job of taking good looks and not forcing shots,” Jones said. “The good thing is the guys recognize who is capable of taking those shots and we are efficient.”