2018–19 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team

The 2018–19 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team represented the University of North Texas during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mean Green, led by second-year head coach Grant McCasland, played their home games at UNT Coliseum, nicknamed The Super Pit, in Denton, Texas, as members of Conference USA.

2018–19 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball
Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic Champions
Conference	Conference USA
Record	21–12 (8–10 C-USA)
Head coach	Grant McCasland (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Ross Hodge Jareem Dowling Matt Braeuer
Home arena	The Super Pit

2018–19 Conference USA men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Old Dominion †	13	–	5		.722			26	–	9		.743
Western Kentucky	11	–	7		.611			20	–	14		.588
Southern Miss	11	–	7		.611			20	–	13		.606
UTSA	11	–	7		.611			17	–	15		.531
UAB	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
Marshall	11	–	7		.611			23	–	14		.622
FIU	10	–	8		.556			20	–	13		.606
Louisiana Tech	9	–	9		.500			20	–	13		.606
Florida Atlantic	8	–	10		.444			17	–	16		.515
North Texas	8	–	10		.444			21	–	12		.636
Rice	8	–	10		.444			13	–	19		.406
Middle Tennessee	8	–	10		.444			11	–	21		.344
Charlotte	5	–	13		.278			8	–	21		.276
UTEP	3	–	15		.167			8	–	21		.276
† 2019 C-USA tournament winner

Previous season

The Mean Green finished the 2017–18 season 20–18, 8–10 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the first round of the C-USA tournament to Louisiana Tech. They were invited to participate in the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated South Dakota, Mercer, and Jacksonville State to advance to the best-of-three finals series against San Francisco. After losing in game 1, they won games 2 and 3 to become CBI champions. They also had the biggest crowd since 2010 at 6,291.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
A. J. Lawson	1	G	6'5"	195	Sophomore	Bryan, TX	Transferred to McNeese State
Allante Holston	5	G	6'7"	190	Junior	Capitol Heights, MD	Graduate transferred to Indiana State
Bryce Jackson	14	F	6'6"	210	Senior	Keller, TX	Walk-on; graduated
Khalil Fuller	22	F	6'8"	260	RS Sophomore	Moreno Valley, CA	Graduate transferred to Cal State San Marcos
Shane Temara	50	F	6'9"	225	Senior	Syracuse, NY	Graduated

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Abdul Mohamed	5	G	6'7"	190	Junior	Ottawa, ON	Junior college transferred from Gillette College
J.J. Murray	11	G	6'1"	180	Junior	Rowlett, TX	Junior college transferred from Eastfield College. Will join the team as a walk-on.

Recruiting class of 2018

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Larry Wise SG	Waxahachie, TX	Waxahachie High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	May 8, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
Shakeem Alcindor SF	Saint Croix, Virgin Islands	Link Year Preparatory School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jul 11, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.

Recruiting class of 2019

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jalen Jackson PG	San Antonio, TX	Karen Wagner High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	May 7, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 0
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 24, 2018.

Roster

2018–19 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Ryan Woolridge 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Lake Ridge HS San Diego Mansfield, TX G 1 Umoja Gibson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Fr University HS Waco, TX G 2 Jorden Duffy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr James M. Bennett HS San Jacinto College Salisbury, MD G 3 Roosevelt Smart 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Sunrise Christian Academy New Mexico JC Chicago, IL G 5 Abdul Mohamed 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Bell HS Gillette College Ottawa, ON F 10 Jahmiah Simmons 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Pace HS Arkansas State St. Thomas, Virgin Islands G 11 J. J. Murray (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Rowlett HS Eastfield College Rowlett, TX F 13 Mark Tikhonenko 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Mt. Zion Prep Moscow, Russia F 20 Tope Arikawe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Covenant Christian Panola College Lagos, Nigeria G 22 Larry Wise 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Waxahachie HS Waxahachie, TX G 23 Michael Miller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Michigan City HS Shawnee CC Michigan City, IN F 24 Zachary Simmons 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Cedar Hill HS Abilene, TX F 35 Shakeem Alcindor 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Link Year Prep Saint Croix, Virgin Islands G 55 D. J. Draper (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Jr Birdville HS Beford, TX	Head coach Grant McCasland (Baylor) Assistant coach(es) Ross Hodge (Texas A&M–Commerce) Jareem Dowling (Maryland Eastern Shore) Matt Braeuer (Wichita State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, CUSA.tv		Angelo State	W 89–55	1–0	The Super Pit (1,205) Denton, TX
Nov 9, 2018* 9:30 pm		vs. Humboldt State Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic	W 93–48	2–0	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, HI
Nov 10, 2018* 9:30 pm		vs. Portland Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic	W 78–73	3–0	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, HI
Nov 11, 2018* 11:00 pm, BigWest TV		at Hawaii Outrigger Hotels Rainbow Classic	W 68–51	4–0	Stan Sheriff Center (5,037) Honolulu, HI
Nov 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, CUSA.tv		Texas A&M–Commerce	W 102–53	5–0	The Super Pit (2,530) Denton, TX
Nov 17, 2018* 5:00 pm		UMES Wolfpack Classic	W 68–34	6–0	The Super Pit (2,226) Denton, TX
Nov 20, 2018* 7:00 pm		Maine Wolfpack Classic	W 74–63 OT	7–0	The Super Pit (2,358) Denton, TX
Nov 24, 2018* 4:00 pm		Saint Peter's Wolfpack Classic	W 75–66	8–0	The Super Pit (2,031) Denton, TX
Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 pm, FSOK		at Oklahoma	L 57–73	8–1	Lloyd Noble Center (6,553) Norman, OK
Dec 5, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN3		at Indiana State	W 80–69	9–1	Hulman Center (3,113) Terre Haute, IN
Dec 8, 2018* 5:00 pm		UT Arlington	W 63–61	10–1	The Super Pit (4,275) Denton, TX
Dec 18, 2018* 8:00 pm		at New Mexico	W 74–65	11–1	Dreamstyle Arena (9,994) Albuquerque, NM
Dec 20, 2018* 7:00 pm		Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 77–66	12–1	The Super Pit (2,351) Denton, TX
Conference USA regular season
Dec 29, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Rice	W 103–87	13–1 (1–0)	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,735) Houston, TX
Jan 3, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Louisiana Tech	W 63-59	14–1 (2–0)	The Super Pit (4,238) Denton, TX
Jan 5, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Southern Miss	W 65–62	15–1 (3–0)	The Super Pit (3,267) Denton, TX
Jan 10, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at UTEP	W 58–51	16–1 (4–0)	Don Haskins Center (4,451) El Paso, TX
Jan 12, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at UTSA	L 74–76	16–2 (4–1)	Convocation Center (1,192) San Antonio, TX
Jan 19, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Rice	W 76–75	17–2 (5–1)	The Super Pit (3,728) Denton, TX
Jan 24, 2019 7:00 pm, beIN		UAB	L 49–52	17–3 (5–2)	The Super Pit (4,368) Denton, TX
Jan 26, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Middle Tennessee	W 70–53	18–3 (6–2)	The Super Pit (3,418) Denton, TX
Jan 31, 2019 6:00 pm, Stadium		at Old Dominion	L 61–72	18–4 (6–3)	Ted Constant Convocation Center (921) Norfolk, VA
Feb 2, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN+		at Charlotte	W 73–66	19–4 (7–3)	Dale F. Halton Arena (1,510) Charlotte, NC
Feb 7, 2019 7:00 pm, beIN		Marshall	W 78–51	20–4 (8–3)	The Super Pit (4,646) Denton, TX
Feb 9, 2019 5:00 pm, Facebook		Western Kentucky	L 59–62	20–5 (8–4)	The Super Pit (2,111) Denton, TX
Feb 14, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Florida Atlantic	L 47–57	20–6 (8–5)	FAU Arena (853) Boca Raton, FL
Feb 16, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at FIU	L 59–69	20–7 (8–6)	Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,389) Miami, FL
Feb 23, 2019 7:00 pm		at Louisiana Tech	L 53–66	20–8 (8–7)	Thomas Assembly Center (1,147) Ruston, LA
Feb 28, 2019 7:00 pm		Florida Atlantic	L 54–60	20–9 (8–8)	The Super Pit (3,044) Denton, TX
Mar 3, 2019 3:00 pm		Marshall	L 82–85	20–10 (8–9)	The Super Pit (3,108) Denton, TX
Mar 9, 2019 6:00 pm		FIU	L 58–73	20–11 (8–10)	Ocean Bank Convocation Center  Miami, FL
Conference USA tournament
Mar 13, 2019 8:30 pm, ESPN+	(10)	vs. (7) FIU First Round	W 71–57	21–11	Ford Center at The Star (2,704) Frisco, TX
Mar 13, 2019 8:30 pm	(10)	vs. (2) Western Kentucky Quarterfinals	L 51–67	21–12	Ford Center at The Star  Frisco, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source

See also

• 2018–19 North Texas Mean Green women's basketball team