Sun Belt Sports Fans

Florida Atlantic 72, North Texas 55

The leader of the Sun Belt’s East Division just flexed its muscles and reasserted control of its domain in this small pocket of the college basketball cosmos.

The leader of the Sun Belt’s West Division is smiling because it won’t lose a game in the division standings.

The Florida Atlantic Owls defeated the North Texas Mean Green in Sun Belt Conference play on Thursday evening from the Super Pit in Denton, Texas. The Owls moved to 9-1 in the Sun Belt and now have a three-game lead in the East Division. The loss dropped the Mean Green to 5-5 and snapped their 17 game home winning streak.

The significance of this victory wasn’t just that it increased FAU’s cushion in the East. The biggest aspect of this 17-point triumph on the road in the Lone Star State was that it injected a fresh dose of belief back into a team that had just stumbled badly a few days earlier. On Jan. 29 in Boca Raton, Florida, the Owls’ offense was stuck in quicksand, and the team suffered a stunning 57-53 loss on its home court to a mediocre Western Kentucky outfit. The abrupt halt to the team’s Sun Belt joyride was one thing; the fact that it occurred against a not-very-distinguished opponent on home hardwood was a much more urgent reason for alarm and concern. Everyone around the Sun Belt was caught off guard by the result; college hoops pundits who follow the realm of the mid-majors were wondering how this team would respond.

Now, we have our answer: It’s exactly what the Owls and their coaching staff were hoping for. Florida Atlantic was led by Raymond Taylor, who scored 17 points. Head coach Mike Jarvis scored his 400th career victory as his club won its ninth game in 10 attempts.

The Owls stretched their lead to 10 points at halftime. North Texas fought back for most of the second half to trim the lead to a single possession on multiple occasions. It simply wasn’t enough. FAU finished the contest on a 14-0 run to seal the victory and remind everyone who the boss of the Belt is… at least to this point in the season. The win is also significant for the leader of the Sun Belt West, the Denver Pioneers. On a night when Denver lost at Arkansas-Little Rock, the Pios will maintain their lead over second-place North Texas in the West. This was a missed opportunity for the UNT crew, which has to be privately fuming over this display on its own home floor.

The Mean Green shot poorly all evening long. North Texas was just 18-of-48 from the field, 4-of-14 from beyond the arc, and were successful on just 15-of-26 free throw attempts. Kendrick Hogans had 14 points while George Odufuwa added a double-double, 11 points and 13 rebounds, to lead head coach Johnny Jones’ ballclub.

Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer