Sam Houston at North Texas
National Invitation Tournament second round
When: 3 p.m. Sunday
Where: Super Pit, Denton
Records: UNT 27-7, Sam Houston 26-7
Last game: UNT 69, Alcorn State 53; Sam Houston 58, Santa Clara 56
Tickets: NIT tickets
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Mean Green Learfield IMG College
Projected UNT starting lineup
PG: Kai Huntsberry, 6-3, Sr. — Huntsberry extended his string of games scoring in double figures to three when he scored 10 points in UNT’s win over Alcorn in the Mean Green’s NIT opener. The senior also grabbed eight rebounds and fell just short of posting a double-double. He is averaging 12.1 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
G: Tylor Perry, 5-11, Sr. — Perry hit the 20-point mark for the first time in nearly a month when he tallied 21 against Alcorn. The senior hit four 3s and grabbed six rebounds. He is averaging 16.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game.
G: Tyree Eady, 6-5, Sr. — Eady tied his season high with five assists in UNT’s win over Alcorn and also finished with five points. The senior has been a key reason the Mean Green have thrived defensively all season. He is averaging 3.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
F: Aaron Scott, 6-7, So. — Scott enjoyed a solid all-around game in UNT’s win over Alcorn. The sophomore scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds. He has scored in double figures in three of UNT’s last four games and is averaging 6.9 points and 5.6 rebounds per game.
F: Abou Ousmane, 6-10, Jr. — Ousmane played just more than 11 minutes in UNT’s win over Alcorn and finished with four points and four rebounds. The junior has been one of the Mean Green’s most consistent players all season and is averaging 11.1 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
Scouting Sam Houston State
Sam Houston has won nine of its last 10 games, including a thriller against Santa Clara in the opening round of the NIT.
Cameron Huefner scored in the final minute and the Bearkats came up with a stop in the closing seconds to advance to face UNT.
Sam Houston is a lot like UNT in that it is a defensively oriented team. The Mean Green lead the country in scoring defense with an average of 55.6 points allowed per game. Sam Houston is not far back in fourth at 58.8 points per game.
Senior guard Qua Grant leads the Bearkats with an average of 14.2 points per game.
What you need to know
UNT will look to extend its run in the NIT on Sunday afternoon in a game against Sam Houston at the Super Pit.
Every game UNT plays has the potential to turn into a grinder due to the way the Mean Green approach the game. UNT plays at a brutally slow pace and focuses on the defensive end.
It’s not often the Mean Green face a team with a similar approach. This is one of those times.
Sam Houston will be perfectly content to play a halfcourt game against the Mean Green.
UNT has relied on Perry to power its offense throughout the season and will look to him again on Sunday. He has answered the call over and over throughout the year.
The matchup between Perry and Grant will be one to watch.
The winner of Sunday’s game will advance to face the winner of a game between Oklahoma State and Eastern Washington. OSU is the No. 1 seed in UNT’s section of the bracket.
UNT is the No. 2 seed, while Sam Houston is the No. 3 seed.
Here’s a link to our advance that appeared in the weekend edition of the Denton Record-Chronicle.
