Preview: Virginia Cavaliers vs. North Texas Mean Green | NIT Men's Basketball
Game Details
Who: Virginia Cavaliers (20-13) vs. North Texas Mean Green (25-6)
When: Sunday, March 20th at 6pm
Where: Super Pit in Denton, Texas
How to watch: ESPN+ (ESPN.com premium subscription)
All-time series: Virginia leads the all-time series 1-0
Last meeting: Virginia defeated North Texas 80-64 on November 20, 2012
By the Numbers
| Virginia | By the Numbers | North Texas |
|---|---|---|
62.5 | Points Per Game | 65.0 |
60.1 | Opponent PPG | 55.2 |
45.0% | Field Goal % | 44.2% |
42.6% | Opponent FG % | 41.1% |
31.8% | Three-Point FG % | 35.7% |
33.8% | Opponent 3PT FG % | 27.4% |
83rd | NET Ranking | 47th |
79th | KenPom Ranking | 51st |
63rd | Strength of Record | 58th |
6-4 | Last 10 Games | 8-2 |
Opponent Breakdown: North Texas
Notable results: Kansas (71-59 L), Miami (69-63 L), Wichita State (62-52 W), Middle Tennessee (70-63 W), UAB (58-57 W), Louisiana Tech (42-36 L), Texas State (67-63 W)
North Texas and Virginia play a very similar style of basketball. Both teams place a heavy emphasis on defense and enjoy playing at a slow pace. In fact, Virginia and North Texas are the two slowest-paced teams in all of college basketball. Out of 358 teams, Virginia ranks 357th in adjusted tempo at 59.3 possessions per game and North Texas ranks 358th at 59.1 possessions per game according to KenPom.
The Mean Green used a combination of strong defense allowing just over 55 points per game and opportunistic scoring from a few reliable contributors to turn in a 25-6 overall record including a 16-2 record against Conference USA competition this season. Taylor Perry is the team's leading scorer (13.5 points per game) and three-point shooter (41.9%) and is joined by Thomas Bell (12.5 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game) as their two most dependable scoring options. Madriz McBride (10.9 ppg) and Abou Ousmane (10.0 ppg) are also players to keep an eye on.
North Texas entered the C-USA Tournament as one of the field's two No. 1 seeds and a favorite to win the tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to March Madness. Instead, the Mean Green went ice cold in a 42-36 upset loss to Louisiana Tech in the semifinals, spelling the end of their NCAA Tournament hopes - an eerily similar fate as the Cavaliers this season.
North Texas faced Texas State in the first round of the NIT and narrowly escaped with a 67-63 overtime victory. That sets up a second round showdown between two teams that like to play at a slow pace, are prone to extensive stretches of scoring droughts, and lean heavily on their defenses to get them through those periods of offensive struggles.
It should be shocking to no one if this game is played in the low 50s or even the 40s. Both teams have been held to less than 50 points in recent games and also bring very physical and fundamentally-sound defensive units into this game. This matchup will be less about which team can impose its will, since both squads will be playing the same tempo, and more about which team can play at that pace more efficiently. In what is sure to be a low possession game, look for just a few plays down the stretch to determine the outcome.
The winner of Virginia-North Texas will face the winner of Oklahoma and St. Bonaventure in the quarterfinals of the NIT.
See the full 2022 NIT bracket, schedule, and live score updates here: NIT Basketball Schedule and Score Updates | National Invitation Tournament
See more Virginia men's basketball news and content: Virginia Men's Basketball on Sports Illustrated
See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated
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