Game Preview: 1/24/19 at North Texas

Tomorrow night the Blazers head down to Denton to battle the North Texas Mean Green. UNT has feasted on a weak schedule so far and comes into this pivotal matchup 17-2, 5-1, tied for first in the conference with Marshall. UAB could jump into that tie with a win, a Marshall loss, and an Old Dominion loss.

UNT Offense
The Mean Green offense presents a significant change of pace. Unlike previous opponent UTSA, which is the 22nd fastest team in the country, UNT runs a slow offense, the 259th fastest. They keep the ball about 18 seconds per offensive possession, so they will get good shots. They run their offense mostly through guards Ryan Woolridge, Michael Miller, and Roosevelt Smart, and forward Zachary Simmons. North Texas is a good shooting team all-around and rely on the 2-point game slightly more then they do the perimeter one, but can still hit open threes (especially Miller, who shoots 43.2% from outside the arc). Even if their shots miss, they get a lot of offensive rebounds, an area in which the UAB defense is strong. Not allowing second-chance buckets will be critical if the Blazers want to win this. One area they are weak in is getting their shots blocked. If Blazer defenders can get their hands up and contest every Mean Green attempt, they will be able to get blocks and deflections. They can also be pressured into turnovers at times, especially Woolridge, the primary ballhandler.

UNT Defense
North Texas has a strong interior defense, only allowing a 46.1% field goal percentage for 2s, 37th in the country. Their perimeter defense is worse, though, allowing 34% of threes to go in. The Blazers will need to make some threes and get space inside for good looks. Their defense also creates a lot of turnovers, ranking 94th in the country in turnover percentage, which means Blazer guards will have to be careful with the ball so UNT doesn’t get easy fast-break buckets. Once again, the offensive rebounding battle will be important here, as the Blazer offense is 35th in the country in offensive rebounding rate and the Mean Green defense is 47th in offensive rebounds allowed.

Keys
1. Try to disrupt Mean Green passes to shake up the flow of their offense.
2. Don’t leave shooters open around the arc.
3. Box out well as to not allow any second opportunities.
4. Contest and close out on all shots to get blocks which can lead to fast break opportunities.
5. Put pressure on opposing guards to try and pressure them into turnovers.
6. Create space for open looks on all three levels.
7. Be careful with the ball against a potent UNT defense.
8. Get second-chance points on offense to swing the balance of the game.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION: UAB 79, UNT 78