Conference play opened on December 16th, 2006 in the Crescent City. The Privateers and Mean Green battled in a classic double overtime thriller. Unfortunately for NT, we came out on the losing end of a 97-93 score. Bo McCalebb paced the Privateers with 39 huge points. Michael Sturns led the way for the Mean Green with 28 off the bench. Anxiety was high after this loss among much of the fanbase, with Western Kentucky next and a likely 0-2 start in league play.

The Hilltoppers had never lost to North Texas, so we had good reason to worry. Kendrick Davis was still hurt, we were playing in Diddle(perhaps the toughest arena in the Belt to play), and we were just coming off a heartbreaking defeat. North Texas held a 10 point lead in the 2nd half, but the Toppers, led by Courtney Lee’s 20 – fought back. It was really a tough contest, evidenced by seven ties and 13 lead changes. When Keith Wooden banked in a lay up with 5.7 seconds left, we had beaten the historic heavyweight of the league 86-85.

After the five game road swing NT headed back to Denton with a 3-2 mark. Jumping out of Sun Belt play, we took on Jarvis Christian, destroying them 94-70. The Mean Green had five players in double figures in the confidence building contest. We ended our non conference slate by hosting Bellhaven. The biggest news was KD finally returning. He seemed rusty, only scoring two(though he led the team with four assists). Led by Watson’s 23 and huge all around game by Quincy Williams, we dismantled an overmatched squad 93-66.

The Denver Pioneers came calling in our final game of 2006. Once again, a balanced attack led to the victory as the Mean Green had five players in double figures. Davis broke out with 18, but our guys in the paint; Williams and Wooden really led us to victory. Denver was hot shooting in the 1st half, draining 8 3-pointers, but the W’s down low wore them out, as we prevailed 91-79. Quincy continued to rack up blocked shots, as thru this three game stretch he moved into NT’s top 10 all time in that category.

Another road swing was in store as we went to Arkansas. We met the Trojans of Little Rock to open up the New Year. Though the Mean Green played well offensively, we could not stop UALR, as they hit 10 3 pointers and shot over 60% from the floor. The 11 point defeat stalled any momentum we thought we had, but the next game nearly sent Mean Green nation into panic mode. In Jonesboro, we played arguably the worst game of the season as the Indians thrashed us 84-60. ASU led by nearly 20 points the entire second half as they hit nearly 70% from the floor. It was truly a debacle in every sense of the word.

North Texas returned to Denton as he hosted the Ragin’ Cajuns. What followed was another overtime struggle. Kendrick Davis led the way with 22 including 2 clutch three point plays, one to send the game into OT, and the other to win. Neither team led by more than eight, but ULL had just such a lead near the end of regulation. A furious comeback in the last five minutes forced overtime, and then Davis’s heroics won the contest. It was a huge win after the Arkansas disaster, and evened our conference mark at 3-3.

Up next was a trip to Miami to play FIU. Another nail biter commenced in a game full of runs. Unlike the last game which was mostly nip and tuck, this one had wild swings of momentum till the last few minutes. In the final sixty seconds however, the contest was tied when Keith Wooden hit a bucket. Alex Galindo of FIU hit a heartbreaker from behind the arc with 15 seconds remaining and FIU stole the ball when we were trying to put up a game winner. The 67-66 defeat was frustrating, but so many of our games were decided at the wire(good and bad), it came to be expected.

The Mean Green returned home to host the Owls of Florida Atlantic. We shot horribly in the 1st stanza, and were down by four at the break. After KD put us ahead at the start of the second, we never looked back taking it 76-59. Watson hit a career high six 3’s, leading the 2nd half scoring barrage(we shot 60% in the half). Also noteworthy was our defense, as we forced 20 turnovers. Next up was Middle Tennessee. We led wire to wire over the Blue Raiders, and though they closed the deficit to two 7 minutes into the second half, this was an relatively easy victory by our standards this season. Watson continued to play well, pouring in 21 on the night.

We were now halfway through conference season. We trailed Louisiana-Monroe, but we were within striking distance. Our home record was sparkling, but we couldn’t beat anyone on the road, so we weren’t exactly sure what was in store. Some predicted a swoon, and others the opposite. Reasonable fans took a wait and see approach.

Thankfully however, the best was yet to come…

The Mean Green basketball team had high hopes entering 2007. Though the team had played .500 ball for the past several years, many felt this had the potential to be Coach Jones’s breakout season. JJ’s squads had routinely gone on end of conference play swoons, which hung over the fan base throughout most of the 2006-2007 campaign. This however, was mostly avoided, in what was arguably the most successful season in NT Basketball since the Bill Blakely era.

The season tipped off on November 10th, 2006. The victim was Cameron(85-47), in what has become routine under JJ. Coach Jones is undefeated in season openers in his six seasons on campus. We really saw the potential the squad might have in our next contest versus UNC-Charlotte in front over five thousand 49ers fans. The Mean Green had 5 players in double figures led by KD’s 20, as we beat them soundly (90-72). It was the first victory NT had ever posted over an Atlantic 10 school, the first in several milestones we would have throughout the course of the season.

The squad returned to Denton flying high. So far our games had been beat downs, but this was not to last. In the 34 games NT played this season, nearly half were decided by 4 points or less, in overtime, or both. UT-Arlington was the first, as the Moving Mavs fought us tooth and nail. UTA led most of the way, but when Kendrick Davis tied the game with 8.5 seconds, you had to like our chances in overtime. However, Jermaine Griffin hit a shot at the buzzer, which replays on NTV showed to be AFTER the horn. As it turns out, we had no monitors on the court, so the referees awarded the ‘W’ to UTA. KD was so angry he punched thru a glass door and had to sit out the next eight games. This may have been a blessing in disguise - as we would later learn.

The team went down to Houston to play Rice in another down to wire game. Rice’s Dustin Almond, who at season’s end would be named CUSA player of the year, poured in 38, but NT prevailed 71-69. We followed that up with a home victory over Tulsa. Despite the Golden Hurricanes being a shadow of their great teams from 8-15 years ago(having been to the Sweet 16 or further several times), this marked the 2nd consecutive season we had beaten them. A huge statement by our program, most would say. Michael Sturns led the way with 21, but Calvin Watson hit the big shot to seal the 65-63 win. The next victim was Texas State. Despite a tight first half, we put the pedal to the metal in the 2nd and won going away 95-77.

Our next game was a huge setback, as we ended November getting thumped by Nebraska in Lincoln. The game was never competitive as the Huskers opened up 18-2 on the Mean Green and never looked back. The final was 76-57, and probably wasn’t that close. Needing a win badly after that debacle, we got it as we traveled to Nacogdoches to play SFA. The Lumberjacks played tenaciously, especially considering we shot 65.9% from the floor, as we never could put them away. Watson continued to lead in KD’s absence as he lit up SFA for 21. Our interior which had shown some early signs, was also beginning to blossom as Keith Wooden added 15. The inside/outside combo was just deadly enough to hold on for a 76-70 victory. We continued our roadie, heading out to Thibodaux to play Nicholls State. The Colonels were 0-10 entering the game, but had been on the road for them all. In their home opener, they responded with a huge effort in a see saw affair. Watson and Williams provided the inside/outside combo on this night as the two put up nearly half our points. A late 3 by the Colonels went wide, sealing our 74-71 victory. At this point we were 7-2 and thinking big. Despite jumping out of league play twice more in weeks to come, Conference season was upon us and we appeared ready.