Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The North Texas Mean Green (14-4, 5-2 C-USA) are on the road Monday for a Conference-USA game in Miami, Florida against the Florida International Panthers (8-9, 2-4 C-USA). North Texas had its four-game winning streak snapped on Saturday when losing to Florida Atlantic 66-62. Nonetheless, North Texas has won 9 of the last 11. FIU lost its second straight when falling to Western Kentucky 70-59 on Saturday. The Panthers have lost 7 of the last 11. North Texas does not have any injuries, while FIU will play without Austin Williams and Dashon Gittens is questionable.
North Texas has one of the best defenses in the nation, allowing an average of only 54.3 points per game which is third best in the country. The Mean Green are allowing a field goal shooting percentage of 38.9% (18th) and a three-point shooting percentage of 30.9% (69th). The North Texas offense has struggled, scoring an average of only 62.2 points per game, while shooting 41.1% overall and 33.7% from behind the three-point line.
Tylor Perry is the leading scorer for North Texas with an average of 17.7 points per game, while shooting 45.4% overall and 46.8% from long distance. Kai Huntsberry is the second leading scorer with an average of 11.2 points per game but is shooting only 35.0% overall and 27.1% from behind the line. Three of the top six scorers for North Texas are shooting 35.9% or less. Huntsberry is the leader in assists for North Texas with an average of 2.6 dishes per contest. On the boards, Abou Ousmane is the leading rebounder for North Texas with an average of 6.1 boards per game. North Texas averages 34.9 rebounds per game. Perry is the leader in steals with an average of 1.5 per game and Ousmane is the leader in blocked shots with an average of 1.4 swats per game. North Texas averages 11.7 turnovers per contest.