- UTSA faces first-place North Texas on STADIUM on Facebook.
- Roadrunners have won eight of their last 11 games.
- Jhivvan Jackson ranks second in the nation in scoring.
- UTSA beat North Texas last year on a Jackson buzzer beater in San Antonio.
SAN ANTONIO – Winners of three of the last four games, UTSA men's basketball will hit the road for a matchup at first-place North Texas, with tipoff slated for 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Super Pit.
The game will be broadcast live on STADIUM on Facebook, with Chris Hassell (play-by-play), Tim Scarborough (analyst) and Dani Klupenger (sideline) callin the action. The game will also be broadcast live on the Roadrunners Radio Network, with the Voice of UTSA, Andy Everett, calling the action along with Jim Goodman (analyst).
UTSA (9-10, 3-3 Conference USA) will face first-place North Texas (12-8, 6-1 C-USA) on Thursday in Denton, Texas. The Mean Green have won six straight games and sport an 8-2 record at the Super Pit in 2019-20, while owning league wins over FIU, FAU, Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech and Rice, with a setback vs. Western Kentucky in Bowling Green.
The matchup between the teams will mark a battle of differing styles of play. UTSA heads into the matchup with a high-octane offense that ranks No. 22 in the NCAA in pace of play, according to the KenPom rankings. Meanwhile, North Texas allows just 61.5 points per game and ranks No. 349 – out of 353 schools – in pace of play, behind only Navy, Wisconsin, Liberty and Virginia.
The Roadrunners are paced by the nation's No. 2 scorer, junior guard Jhivvan Jackson, who averages 25.8 points per game to rank behind only Marquette senior guard Markus Howard (28.2). Jackson adds 6.1 rebounds per game, the most rebounds per game by a player six-feet and under.
Junior guard Keaton Wallace ranks third in C-USA with 17.4 points per game, adding 4.8 rebounds per outing. Wallace and Jackson combine to score 43.2 points per game to lead the nation among scoring duos. Wallace, who averaged 20.2 points per game last year, is scoring 19.7 points per game in league play.
Junior forward Luka Barisic ranks third on the club with 7.6 points per game, adding 3.3 rebounds per outing. Junior guard Knox Hellums averages 6.1 points and 2.3 rebounds per game off the bench, while senior Atem Bior has been UTSA's sixth man with 4.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Senior Byron Frohnen, who is slated to make his 120th consecutive start on Thursday, ranks fifth in C-USA with 7.2 rebounds per game, adding 3.8 points per outing. Frohnen ranks second in UTSA career history with 826 rebounds, shy of the school mark of 842 held by Jeromie Hill (2010-15).
Thursday marks the first meeting between the schools since Jhivvan Jackson splashed a game-winning jumper in the Convocation Center to secure a two-point win over North Texas last year. UTSA used four players in double figures – led by 17 from Jackson – to post the win over UNT, which entered the game with a 16-1 record and a 4-0 mark in league play. Keaton Wallace went for 11 points and 10 rebounds in the win, with Giovanni De Nicolao adding 10 points and Nick Allen chipping in 16 points and seven rebounds. Adokiye Iyaye had seven points and two rebounds in 22 minutes off the bench.
UTSA trails the all-time series with North Texas, 15-11, including a 7-4 mark in games played in Denton. UNT has won four of the last five meetings with UTSA, with eight of the last nine meetings decided by 10 points or fewer.
North Texas (12-8, 6-1 C-USA) enters the matchup with the Roadrunners winners of six consecutive games, including a win on Monday vs. Rice in Denton, 79-59, after posting a 51-50 win over Louisiana Tech in Ruston. The Mean Green averages 70.1 points, 33.5 rebounds, 13.0 assists and 7.1 blocks per game. Opponents are scoring just 61.5 points per game and shooting 40.5 percent from the field.
UNT is led by 6-foot-1 sophomore guard Umoja Gibson, who averages 14.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, with 6-4 junior Javion Hamlet averaging 12.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per outing. Zachary Simmons averages 8.7 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, with 6-8 forward Den Geu averaging 8.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Thomas Bell averages 5.3 rebounds and 6.5 points per game.
- UTSA -