The Memphis Tigers will play in Denton, Texas Thursday night against conference newcomer, the North Texas Mean Green.
Of the teams added to the American Athletic Conference this past offseason, the Mean Green have a case for the strongest basketball program in recent years.
In 2021, North Texas upset Purdue in the first round of the NCAA tournament. They followed their best season in program history with back-to-back NIT appearances, including an NIT championship last season.
Prior to this season, Coach Grant McCasland left for Texas Tech, but his replacement, Ross Hodge, has continued to keep the Mean Green competitive.
This season North Texas (13-10, 6-5) has been up and down. The Mean Green have had competitive losses against several quality teams, including LSU, St. Johns, and Boise State. In conference play, they lost by 3 at FAU and won by 2 against SMU.
North Texas is 1-4 in their last five games, but their starting backcourt of Rubin Jones and CJ Noland have both missed significant time with injuries. Neither player has been ruled out of the game Thursday, and their availability could play a key role in the game's outcome.
Perhaps most importantly for Memphis, North Texas currently sits at number 80 in the NET rankings, just four spots behind the Tigers. A win on the road would be a quadrant 2 victory, and it is very plausible that with a healthy backcourt, North Texas could become a quadrant 1 game for Memphis.
Memphis is coming off their most impressive game in a month, as they controlled the game from start to finish against Tulane last Sunday.
After a disastrous four game stretch, the Tigers (18-6, 7-4) seem to be back on track ahead of a massive week in Texas.
For Memphis, the offensive formula is simple: When Jahvon Quinerly plays well, the Tigers can score against anyone in the country. David Jones continues to be one of the best scorers in the country, and Nae’Qwan Tomlin looks more comfortable each game.
North Texas is a gutsy, defensive-minded team, like the SMU team that Memphis rallied from behind to defeat earlier this season. The Tigers cannot afford to get down early, as North Texas, like several previous Memphis opponents, is pulling out all the stops to get fans in the arena.
Sitting on the outskirts of the bubble, Memphis will look to take advantage of the opportunity in front of them. The game is at 7 P.M. CT on ESPN+.
