North Texas guard Chris Jones knows what people probably thought when they saw the path the Mean Green must travel if it wants to stay around long in the Sun Belt Conference tournament this week.
UNT drew Louisiana-Lafayette, a team it lost to twice, once by 31 points, in the first round at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Hot Springs, Ark. If the ninth-seeded Mean Green can get past the eight-seeded Ragin? Cajuns, the Sun Belt?s top team will be waiting in round two in Middle Tennessee.
The Blue Raiders (27-4, 19-1) have lost only one Sun Belt game all season and are the top seed.
?We have the hard road and we know that,? UNT head coach Tony Benford said. ?We are looking forward to the challenge.?
It?s a challenge Jones believes UNT is ready to meet.
?Most people are counting us out, but we believe in ourselves,? Jones said. ?We want to send Roger [Franklin], Justin Patton and the rest of our seniors out on a good note.
?We are capable of making a run. We got all of our injuries out of the way. We are ready.?
UNT beat Troy and Florida Atlantic in back-to-back games earlier this month, marking the first time the Mean Green had won consecutive games since December.
That milestone ? and a 74-50 thrashing of Arkansas State in its regular-season finale ? has UNT (12-19) feeling good about its chances of turning the corner in the conference tournament, beginning with its game against ULL (12-19).
UNT will have to win four games in four days to win the tournament title.
The Mean Green hasn?t won more than three games in a row all season, and that three-game run came back in November, before UNT suffered a series of injuries.
UNT won?t have Jacob Holmen, Justin Patton or Brandan Walton ? who was lost with a broken foot after only one game ? available for the conference tournament.
The Mean Green will have Jones, though, which UNT is hoping will make a big difference. Jones missed 16 games with a broken foot before returning for the final two games of the regular season.
UNT?s top playmaker missed the Mean Green?s second game against ULL, when the Ragin? Cajuns rolled to a 105-74 win.
?That game got away from us,? Benford said. ?It was close and then Tony [Mitchell] got into foul trouble. He has not played well against them. We will see. Tony is looking forward to the game. We have to get him going and keep him out of foul trouble.?
Mitchell played only 25 minutes in each of the teams? previous two meetings and scored a total of 10 points. The sophomore is averaging 13.1 points and 8.4 rebounds a game and could be the key against the Ragin? Cajuns for UNT.
ULL has played a sagging defense that collapses around Mitchell every time he touches the ball.
?They do a good job of sagging in there, but with Chris back, we will be able to keep them from doing that,? Benford said.
UNT?s other big concern could be ULL point guard Elfrid Payton, who had 14 points and nine assists in the teams? first meeting before coming back to score 24 points to go along with nine assists in the rematch.
UNT is hoping Jones? return will help turn the tide.
?I am ready to face Payton,? Jones said. ?He is really competitive. I like playing against players like that. It will be a good matchup. I hope it makes a difference that I am back.?
UNT drew Louisiana-Lafayette, a team it lost to twice, once by 31 points, in the first round at 6:30 p.m. on Friday in Hot Springs, Ark. If the ninth-seeded Mean Green can get past the eight-seeded Ragin? Cajuns, the Sun Belt?s top team will be waiting in round two in Middle Tennessee.
The Blue Raiders (27-4, 19-1) have lost only one Sun Belt game all season and are the top seed.
?We have the hard road and we know that,? UNT head coach Tony Benford said. ?We are looking forward to the challenge.?
It?s a challenge Jones believes UNT is ready to meet.
?Most people are counting us out, but we believe in ourselves,? Jones said. ?We want to send Roger [Franklin], Justin Patton and the rest of our seniors out on a good note.
?We are capable of making a run. We got all of our injuries out of the way. We are ready.?
UNT beat Troy and Florida Atlantic in back-to-back games earlier this month, marking the first time the Mean Green had won consecutive games since December.
That milestone ? and a 74-50 thrashing of Arkansas State in its regular-season finale ? has UNT (12-19) feeling good about its chances of turning the corner in the conference tournament, beginning with its game against ULL (12-19).
UNT will have to win four games in four days to win the tournament title.
The Mean Green hasn?t won more than three games in a row all season, and that three-game run came back in November, before UNT suffered a series of injuries.
UNT won?t have Jacob Holmen, Justin Patton or Brandan Walton ? who was lost with a broken foot after only one game ? available for the conference tournament.
The Mean Green will have Jones, though, which UNT is hoping will make a big difference. Jones missed 16 games with a broken foot before returning for the final two games of the regular season.
UNT?s top playmaker missed the Mean Green?s second game against ULL, when the Ragin? Cajuns rolled to a 105-74 win.
?That game got away from us,? Benford said. ?It was close and then Tony [Mitchell] got into foul trouble. He has not played well against them. We will see. Tony is looking forward to the game. We have to get him going and keep him out of foul trouble.?
Mitchell played only 25 minutes in each of the teams? previous two meetings and scored a total of 10 points. The sophomore is averaging 13.1 points and 8.4 rebounds a game and could be the key against the Ragin? Cajuns for UNT.
ULL has played a sagging defense that collapses around Mitchell every time he touches the ball.
?They do a good job of sagging in there, but with Chris back, we will be able to keep them from doing that,? Benford said.
UNT?s other big concern could be ULL point guard Elfrid Payton, who had 14 points and nine assists in the teams? first meeting before coming back to score 24 points to go along with nine assists in the rematch.
UNT is hoping Jones? return will help turn the tide.
?I am ready to face Payton,? Jones said. ?He is really competitive. I like playing against players like that. It will be a good matchup. I hope it makes a difference that I am back.?
