# 2022–23 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team

The 2022–23 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team represented the University of North Texas during the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Grant McCasland, and played their home games at UNT Coliseum in Denton, Texas as a member of Conference USA (C-USA). They finished the season 31–7, going 16–4 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They defeated Louisiana Tech in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament before losing to UAB. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament as a No. 2 seed. They defeated Alcorn State, Sam Houston, Oklahoma State and Wisconsin to advance to the championship game. There they defeated C-USA foe UAB to win the NIT championship.
On March 31, 2023, head coach Grant McCasland left the school to take the head coaching position at Texas Tech. On April 2, the school named associate head coach Ross Hodge the team's new head coach.
The season marked the team's last season as members of Conference USA before joining the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2023.

## Previous season

The Mean Green finished the 2021–22 season 25–7, 16–2 in C-USA play, to finish as regular-season champions. They defeated Rice in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament before losing in the semifinals to Louisiana Tech. As a No. 1 seed who did not win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Texas State in the first round before losing in the second round to Virginia.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Mardrez McBride | 2 | G | 6' 2" | 180 | Senior | Augusta, GA | Graduated transferred to Georgia |
| Thomas Bell | 4 | F | 6' 6" | 205 | RS Senior | East St. Louis, IL | Graduated |
| Jahmiah Simmons | 10 | F | 6' 4" | 220 | RS Senior | St. Thomas, USVI | Graduated |
| JJ Murray | 11 | G | 6' 1" | 179 | RS Senior | Rowlett, TX | Graduated |
| Dylan McKeon | 14 | G | 6' 3" | 180 | Freshman | Garland, TX | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Hameir Wright | 44 | F | 6' 8" | 208 | RS Senior | Albany, NY | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Tyree Eady | 4 | G | 6' 5" | 210 | RS Senior | Middleton, WI | North Dakota State |
| Kai Huntsberry | 10 | G | 6' 3" | 216 | Senior | New Orleans, LA | Mary |
| Moulaye Sissoko | 14 | C | 6' 9" | 240 | RS Sophomore | Bamako, Mali | Dayton |
| Jayden Martinez | 24 | F | 6' 7" | 215 | GS Senior | Cibolo, TX | New Hampshire |

### 2022 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Christian Moore PG | Jacksonville, AR | Jacksonville High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Jul 11, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 15, 2022. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 p.m., YouTube | | Southern Nazarene | W 53–47 | 1–0 | The Super Pit (3,573) Denton, TX |
| November 13, 2022* 7:00 p.m., WCC Network | | at Saint Mary's | L 33–63 | 1–1 | University Credit Union Pavilion (2,878) Moraga, CA |
| November 19, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Fresno State | W 61–52 | 2–1 | The Super Pit (3,657) Denton, TX |
| November 22, 2022* 7:00 p.m., YouTube | | Paul Quinn | W 76–46 | 3–1 | The Super Pit (2,514) Denton, TX |
| November 25, 2022* 4:30 p.m., FloSports | | vs. San Jose State Nassau Championship quarterfinals | W 69–54 | 4–1 | Baha Mar Convention Center (248) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 26, 2022* 7:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Long Beach State Nassau Championship semifinals | W 68–47 | 5–1 | Baha Mar Convention Center (334) Nassau, Bahamas |
| November 27, 2022* 7:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. UNC Wilmington Nassau Championship final | L 51–55 | 5–2 | Baha Mar Convention Center (414) Nassau, Bahamas |
| December 3, 2022* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Omaha | W 75–45 | 6–2 | The Super Pit (3,035) Denton, TX |
| December 6, 2022* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UT Arlington | W 60–57 | 7–2 | College Park Center (1,931) Arlington, TX |
| December 10, 2022* 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Grand Canyon Jerry Colangelo Classic | W 60–58 | 8–2 | Footprint Center (4,781) Phoenix, AZ |
| December 17, 2022* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. UMass Basketball Hall of Fame Classic | W 62–44 | 9–2 | MassMutual Center (3,426) Springfield, MA |
| Conference USA regular season ||||||
| December 22, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTSA | W 78–54 | 10–2 (1–0) | Convocation Center (1,120) San Antonio, TX |
| December 29, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Florida Atlantic | L 46–50 | 10–3 (1–1) | The Super Pit (3,808) Denton, TX |
| December 31, 2022 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 72–57 | 11–3 (2–1) | The Super Pit (2,934) Denton, TX |
| January 5, 2023 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Western Kentucky | W 70–66 | 12–3 (3–1) | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,024) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 7, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | W 56–51 | 13–3 (4–1) | Murphy Center (3,148) Murfreesboro, TN |
| January 11, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech | W 67–65 | 14–3 (5–1) | The Super Pit (3,633) Denton, TX |
| January 14, 2023 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Florida Atlantic | L 62–66 | 14–4 (5–2) | Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,060) Boca Raton, FL |
| January 16, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at FIU | W 64–57 | 15–4 (6–2) | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,183) Miami, FL |
| January 19, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Rice | L 60–72 | 15–5 (6–3) | The Super Pit (4,015) Denton, TX |
| January 21, 2023 3:00 p.m., Stadium | | at UAB | W 63–52 | 16–5 (7–3) | Bartow Arena (5,109) Birmingham, AL |
| January 26, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | | UTSA | W 63–59 | 17–5 (8–3) | The Super Pit (3,948) Denton, TX |
| January 28, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTEP | W 52–42 | 18–5 (9–3) | The Super Pit (4,301) Denton, TX |
| February 4, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Rice | W 74–64 | 19–5 (10–3) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,246) Houston, TX |
| February 9, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UAB | W 82–79 $^{2OT}$ | 20–5 (11–3) | The Super Pit (3,873) Denton, TX |
| February 11, 2023 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Charlotte | W 67–43 | 21–5 (12–3) | The Super Pit (4,123) Denton, TX |
| February 16, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana Tech | W 72–62 | 22–5 (13–3) | Thomas Assembly Center (2,640) Ruston, LA |
| February 18, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTEP | W 80–72 $^{OT}$ | 23–5 (14–3) | Don Haskins Center (4,838) El Paso, TX |
| February 23, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Charlotte | L 49–55 | 23–6 (14–4) | Dale F. Halton Arena (3,015) Charlotte, NC |
| March 2, 2023 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Middle Tennessee | W 64–50 | 24–6 (15–4) | The Super Pit (4,076) Denton, TX |
| March 4, 2023 2:00 p.m., Stadium | | Western Kentucky | W 67–33 | 25–6 (16–4) | The Super Pit (5,002) Denton, TX |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2023 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (10) Louisiana Tech Quarterfinals | W 74–46 | 26–6 | Ford Center at The Star (2,765) Frisco, TX |
| March 10, 2023 2:00 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | vs. (3) UAB Semifinals | L 69–76 | 26–7 | Ford Center at The Star (2,005) Frisco, TX |
| NIT ||||||
| March 15, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) | Alcorn State First round – Oklahoma State Bracket | W 69–53 | 27–7 | The Super Pit (4,308) Denton, TX |
| March 19, 2023 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) | (3) Sam Houston Second round – Oklahoma State Bracket | W 75–55 | 28–7 | The Super Pit (3,130) Denton, TX |
| March 21, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN | (2) | at (1) Oklahoma State Quarterfinals – Oklahoma State Bracket | W 65–59 $^{OT}$ | 29–7 | Gallagher-Iba Arena (4,807) Stillwater, OK |
| March 28, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN | (2) | vs. (2) Wisconsin Semifinals | W 56–54 | 30–7 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| March 30, 2023 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (4) UAB Championship | W 68–61 | 31–7 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Source: