The Texas Longhorns return home following a monumental victory over UCLA on Sunday, now sitting at fourth in the AP Poll and fifth in the Coaches Poll. Beginning tonight, they settle into an easier two-week stretch of the schedule, although this crop of non-conference opponents isn’t filled with as many patsies as in years past.

North Texas is one of those stronger mid-major teams that Coach Barnes scheduled this year, and they comes to town just a few months after earning their second NCAA berth in school history. The Mean Green has an experienced roster with five seniors and four juniors, all who are looking to go dancing again this March. When you couple that seasoned squad with the fact that Texas historically comes out flat following big games, this is the recipe for a dangerous game. Let’s hope Rick has them fired up.

By the numbers

North Texas will provide another boost to the strong Longhorn SOS, as they come into this one ranked 19th in Ken Pomeroy’s RPI approximations. After defeating UCLA, the Longhorns moved up to 5th in those same rankings, with their schedule slotted as 34th-toughest in the nation.

UNT has two wins over D-2 schools that won’t be on their resumé come Selection Sunday. They did beat Oklahoma State at home early in the season, and defeated New Mexico State last week on the road in Las Cruces. That victory over the Aggies was the largest comeback win in school history, as the Mean Green overcame a 21-point deficit.

North Texas plays an up-tempo style of ball, as indicated by their 20th-ranked possession numbers. They average 76.1 possessions per game, which is much faster than nearly every team the Longhorns have played this year. Only Tennessee is in the same neighborhood, with 76.6 per game.

The starters

The Mean Green are led in scoring by Josh White, a guard who has started all six games as only a freshman. On a team that generally shoots very poorly from behind the arc, White is one of the few weapons from long range. He is hitting at over 52% from three-point range and gets to the line an average of six times per game.

At only 5’10”, White won’t have the height advantage that most guards do against the Horns, so he will likely have to try to use his speed to beat Abrams, Mason, or Augustin off the dribble. And when you consider that he has 18 turnovers compared to only four assists, the Texas backcourt could certainly force some errors from this guy.

Big man Keith Wooden is already making an impact after transferring from Arizona State. He is third on the team in scoring with twelve points per game and is second on the glass with five boards per contest. Checking in at 6’9″ and 245 pounds, he’s a bit thicker than most of the Longhorn post players, but on Sunday they proved themselves as adept rebounders against bigger, stronger opponents.

Quincy Williams is the other senior forward for Coach Johnny Jones. He leads the team in rebounding, including a 19-board night against the Indiana State Sycamores. He is especially strong on the offensive glass, but is prone to turnovers and has been absolutely abysmal from the line so far this year. Judging from his numbers and size, one would expect him to be matched up with Damion James, who is really hitting his stride lately. This should be an excellent battle on the glass.

At the point, senior Ben Bell is a calm and collected leader. He holds a 2.75:1 assist-to-turnover ratio so far, but is struggling from the floor. He is averaging only six points per game on 28% shooting, including an awful 1-for-12 start from behind the arc. It will be interesting to see how the experienced guard handles the Texas pressure.

The third starting guard for the Mean Green is Tristan Thompson. A teammate of Dogus Balbay at Brewster Academy, Thompson is averaging 8.2 PPG and 4.3 RPG. For a guard, it is troubling that he has more turnovers (7) than assists (5), but those numbers certainly look good for the transition-minded Longhorns. If they can rattle this guy into a fair number of turnovers, the fast break points should follow.

Key reserves

Collin Dennis is the second-leading scorer on the team, despite not starting a single game. The junior guard transferred to UNT from South Florida after his freshman season, and has immediately made an impact in Denton. He is hitting at a 53% clip from behind the arc and is averaging just shy of 15 points per game.

Another transfer for Coach Jones is guard Dez Willingham, who came to the Mean Green from SMU. Willingham is generally a poor shooter, but is often relied upon to relieve Bell at the point. At only 6’0″, he will be a good matchup for the short Texas backcourt.

What to look for

Expect an exciting track meet where the Texas transition game gets a chance to shine. The Mean Green are a better defensive team than most up-tempo squads, so the Longhorns will need to make their possessions count. Of course, if Texas returns to its lights-out shooting from three-point range, they could put this one away early.

After proving themselves against a much larger UCLA team, the Longhorns look to maintain their presence on the glass in this game. North Texas is outrebounding their opponents by roughly nine boards per contest, so this won’t be a walk in the park for the Longhorn frontcourt. Will they take a step backwards or win another war on the glass?

Keep an eye on the minutes for freshmen Clint Chapman and Alexis Wangmene. Both played a good chunk on Sunday, and Chapman had a particularly gutsy performance. Dexter Pittman will not likely see much time in this high-tempo game, so look to see what the freshman forwards can do in their time on the floor.

The big finish

Tonight’s game is on FSN only in the state of Texas, and not in the Dallas or Houston markets. Elsewhere, the game can be seen on the ESPN Full Court package.

For those folks in Austin, free admission can be gained simply by donating a new, unwrapped toy to the Orange Santa program. The free seats are in the general admission section, but since this is the last week of classes and many students are busy with tests and papers, those GA seats could get you into the upper reaches of the sections behind the baskets.

So grab a Cabbage Patch Doll or whatever the kids are playing with these days and come on out to the Erwin Center. We’ll save you a seat.