We entered the 2008-2009 campaign with high expectations. Despite losing some major cogs, NT was picked alongside UALR to win the Sunbelt Western Division. The season had major ups and downs, but by the end we solidified into a formidable opponent and won the most regular season league games since joining the Belt. North Texas also zoomed past 1000 victories in program history.

The season began November 14th, 2008 as we hosted the Cameron Aggies in the Old Snake Pit. The facility was famous back in the 60’s as one of the most hostile arenas in the nation, and Coach Jones wanted to see what it was like(not to mention the SuperPit was hosting a Robotics convention). The crowd was boisterous, but it didn’t matter for awhile. The team got off to a sluggish start, with many of our newcomers out of sync, and only led by 5 at the break. Early in the second stanza Justin Howerton provided a spark and the Mean Green put on an authoritative run and finally put away Cameron 87-66. Tristan Thompson led four players in double figures. Despite the victory the fan base was very nervous, since for much of the game Cameron proved remarkably feisty.

A few days later NT traveled up to Oklahoma State to fulfill the first part of our 2 for 1 agreement with the Cowboys. Gallagher-Iba arena is one of the more historic gyms in the country, but we came out of the gate well – leading after the first few minutes. Keiton Page for OSU then went on a barrage from the land of 3, and OSU made a major 15-3 push to go up 36-25. We cut the lead to 7 at halftime and then tried to regroup. Josh White was a scoring machine in the 2nd half – eventually totaling 23 for the game. NT also dominated the glass against the Cowboys (with George Odufuwa getting the first of what would be many games with double digit rebounds). However, we could not stop the Cowboys on the defensive end, and they prevailed 100-88.

Next up was Sam Houston State in Huntsville. In a way SHSU was like a conference opponent this season because we had a home and home scheduled with them. Winning in Huntsville is not an easy task as the Bearkats had a 45 game home court winning streak against non conference opponents going in. The game was a true battle throughout. Dominique Johnson got us off to a fast start with 10 early points and we led by a bucket at intermission. SHSU went on a 7-0 run out of the break and from there the game went back and forth. Josh sprained his thumb – which would bother him for nearly the entire season – but still led the team with 19. He also hit huge free throws down the stretch to seal the 76-71 win.

The road trip concluded as NT traveled to Indiana to play the Sycamores of ISU. The Mean Green filled it up from behind the arc hitting 11 treys for the game. NT pushed a 2 point lead at halftime into an 11 point win on the back of a late run. Of note was our free throw shooting (over 80% in the game) – foreshadowing what would be a true strength this season. Johnson, White, and Eric Tramiel all scored in double figures, while Odufuwa once again dominated the boards.

We finally returned home for our first game at the SuperPit as we hosted Jackson State. The Mean Green got out to a quick start building an early 12 point advantage. The Tigers clawed back into it before halftime and the second half was close throughout. Johnson led the Mean Green with 17, but Collin Dennis had the big plays down the stretch including four big free throws to ice the game and a big defensive stop in the last minute. Also worth noting was Josh White’s career high 7 assists. The final was 84-82 and pushed us to 4-1 for the third straight season.

Our next contest was arguably our worst effort of the season. We traveled down to Houston with high hopes and despite playing a close first half (led by Dennis’s 12), were absolutely crushed 84-54. Perhaps this game was used as motivation in practice, and helped us down the line – but it was a very disheartening contest.

SHSU made their return trip in our next game. The Bearkats seemed eager to avenge the earlier meeting a few weeks earlier as they fought back from an early Mean Green lead to have a 6 point advantage at the break. Tristan Thompson’s team high 20 points, led the NT charge in the second stanza as we regrouped. Josh White hit a big 3 down the stretch and we rode our shooting from the stripe to a 68-66 win. This was not without tension in the final seconds as the Bearcats missed a shot to tie with fewer than four ticks left.

We continued our home stand….and our heart stopping down to the wire victories against our old rival NMSU. Tristan Thompson and Collin Dennis both put up 20+ points. After jumping on top early, the game was close throughout most of the way. However NT never relinquished its lead and used a fantastic defensive stop in the closing seconds to hold on for 85-83 win. This was the beginning of Eric Tramiel starting to take over from George Odufuwa as our go to guy in the paint as not only did he put up 16, he led the team in boards. Soon he would prove to be our most consistent performer.

Our last game before starting the Sunbelt season was Houston Baptist. North Texas seized control early, eventually pushing the lead to fifteen - midway thru the 2nd half. The Huskies fought back, eventually pulling to within 5, but we prevailed 88-76. Johnson led the squad with 20, and Collin Mangrum saw his first action since our conference tournament champion team.

Our record now stood at 7-2 as we were about to jump feet first into Sunbelt play. Some of our new players were really coming into their own, but we still seemed to be figuring things out. A wakeup call about how good we were was quickly approaching.