# 1987–88 North Texas State Mean Green men's basketball team

The 1987–88 North Texas State Mean Green men's basketball team (often referred to as "North Texas" or the "Mean Green") represented the University of North Texas as a member of the Southland Conference during the 1987–88 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jimmy Gales and played their home games at the Super Pit in Denton, Texas. After winning the conference regular season title, the Mean Green followed that success by winning the Southland tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Making the school's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament and playing as the No. 15 seed in the West region, the Mean Green were beaten by No. 2 seed North Carolina in the opening round. The team finished with a record of 17–13 (12–2 Southland).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1987* | | at Oral Roberts | W 88–80 | 1–0 | Mabee Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Dec 1, 1987* | | Baylor | L 63–72 | 1–1 | Super Pit Denton, Texas |
| Dec 4, 1987* | | at No. 8 Missouri Wadsworth Show-Me Classic | L 56–64 | 1–2 | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| Dec 5, 1987* | | vs. Alcorn State Wadsworth Show-Me Classic | L 64–70 | 1–3 | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| Dec 7, 1987* | | Montana State | L 55–65 | 1–4 | Super Pit Denton, Texas |
| Dec 9, 1987* | | TCU | W 79–54 | 2–4 | Super Pit Denton, Texas |
| Dec 12, 1987* | | at Colorado State | L 56–65 | 2–5 | Moby Arena Fort Collins, Colorado |
| Dec 19, 1987* | | vs. Southern Miss | L 80–83 | 2–6 | |
| Dec 22, 1987* | | at New Mexico State | L 71–91 | 2–7 | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Dec 26, 1987* | | at New Mexico | L 69–77 | 2–8 | University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Dec 27, 1987* | | vs. Long Beach State | L 88–89 | 2–9 | |
| Jan 14, 1988* | | at Alcorn State | W 85–80 | 3–9 | Davey Whitney Complex Lorman, Mississippi |
| Southland Regular season ||||||
| Jan 16, 1988 | | at UT Arlington | W 77–68 | 4–9 (1–0) | Texas Hall Arlington, Texas |
| Non-conference Regular season ||||||
| Jan 18, 1988* | | at Oklahoma State | L 82–92 | 4–10 | Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| Southland Regular season ||||||
| Jan 21, 1988 | | Northwestern State | W 87–75 | 5–10 (2–0) | Super Pit Denton, Texas |
| Jan 23, 1988 | | Louisiana-Monroe | L 69–79 | 5–11 (2–1) | Super Pit Denton, Texas |
| Feb 25, 1988 | | at Louisiana-Monroe | W 67–65 | 13–12 (10–2) | Fant-Ewing Coliseum Monroe, Louisiana |
| Feb 27, 1988 | | at Northwestern State | W 76–61 | 14–12 (11–2) | Prather Coliseum Natchitoches, Louisiana |
| Mar 3, 1988 | | UT Arlington | W 83–74 | 15–12 (12–2) | Super Pit Denton, Texas |
| Southland tournament ||||||
| Mar 9, 1988* | | McNeese State Semifinals | W 82–61 | 16–12 | Super Pit Denton, Texas |
| Mar 10, 1988* | | Louisiana-Monroe Championship game | W 87–70 | 17–12 | Super Pit Denton, Texas |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 17, 1988* | (15 W) | vs. (2 W) No. 7 North Carolina First Round | L 65–83 | 17–13 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from Coaches Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. ||||||