University of North Texas wins NIT championship

Seconds ticked down in Las Vegas, as the University of North Texas bench could not hold back their celebration. The Orleans Arena erupted as the sounds echoed filled with the band playing and cheers of excitement. Both North Texas and University of Alabama Birmingham played multiple times this year as both schools are a part of Conference USA. The Mean Green from North Texas wins its second NCAA postseason championship under sixth-year head coach, Grant McCasland. In 2018, UNT won the inaugural CBI title.

March will always be a month of magic when it comes to college basketball. With a team led by senior guards, North Texas showed that leadership on and off the court is vital to a team’s success. It seemed that every scoring run that the Blazers of UAB put together, seniors Kai Huntsberry and Tylor Perry were ready for the challenge. Combining for 41 of the Mean Green’s 68 points, it was brilliant and balanced performance. UNT took advantage of free throws by shooting 90.9% from the line in addition to outrebounding UAB 36 to 30, and causing 13 turnovers. Scoring is always a key factor in a game of this magnitude, but there will always be a player that the team and coach will point to as the focal point for the victory. Tonight’s game was all about North Texas’ sophomore, Aaron Scott. Scott added 13 points, but his 7 rebounds always came at a crucial time to secure a needed possession for the Mean Green. Not only did UNT with the NIT in 2023, but also the program has now set a new record for wins in a season, 31 wins. With the attention that the Conference USA is getting in the NCAA Final Four’s representative Florida Atlantic University, it should be noted that the Mean Green will eventually stay in the Conference USA and look to win the conference in 2023-2024.

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