
Coach Austin Claunch’s UTSA Roadrunners are averaging 89 points in their last two games going into Saturday’s date with the North Texas Mean Green. – File photo by Joe Alexander
By Jerry Briggs
Special for The JB Replay
Like reddened eyes irritated by pollen blowing in the wind, the gnashing of teeth among UTSA basketball fans over the impending arrival of the North Texas Mean Green seems like a natural phenomenon.
“I haven’t been here long, but I’ve been here long enough,” first-year UTSA men’s coach Austin Claunch said Friday. “Any of the Texas teams we play, there’s a little extra edge to it. It certainly seems we have a little extra spice to it when it comes to North Texas.
“But that makes it fun, right?”
Well, it seems fun today, at least, because Claunch’s team has been playing well and seems capable of springing an upset when they host the Mean Green at 3 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center.
But, lately, North Texas has been hogging most of the fun, having won 10 of the last 13 meetings between the teams, including five of seven in San Antonio, since the 2015-16 season.
For the Roadrunners to transfer some of the joy to their own fans, they’ll need to be on top of their game from the outset against one of the better teams in the American Athletic Conference, ranked No. 57 nationally.
The Mean Green are led by Ross Hodge, in his second season as head coach after moving up to replace Grant McCasland, who is now at Texas Tech.
“Obviously, they have a really good program,” Claunch said. “You look at what they’ve been able to do the last six or seven years…I have a ton of respect for those guys. Kind of similar to what happened at Nicholls (State) when coach (Richie) Riley was there and I was an assistant.
“Coach (Riley) built it and we were able to keep going. Ross has done an unbelievable job. Last year I think he was a national coach of the year finalist. When you’re playing North Texas, you’re playing a program that’s not just about personnel. Obviously, they have a good winning pedigree over the last couple of years.
“So, I’m excited … because we feel like we’re playing well. We’re making shots. We’re not near where we need to be. But tomorrow’s a great opportunity to take a huge step.”
UTSA (8-8, 2-2 in the AAC) has won two games in a row and five of its last eight. The Roadrunners have had double-digit leads in each of their last three. Buoyed by the resurgent shooting of guard Marcus “Smurf” Millender, they’ve scored 178 points combined against Wichita State and Rice in their last two.
“We’re confident,” Claunch said, “but we know tomorrow is going to be a rock fight.”
North Texas (12-4, 3-1) has won two straight games and six of its last seven. The Mean Green’s only loss in that stretch came on the road at nationally-ranked Memphis.
Anchored by 6-foot-9 center Moulaye Sissoko, North Texas plays a man-to-man defense that ranks among the best in the nation, yielding an average of 58.8 points. Opponents shoot only 42.1 percent from the field and 33.1 percent from three against the Mean Green.
“First and foremost, it’s their mentality,” Claunch said. “It’s how they recruit. It’s how they built their program. I’m not at their practices or their summer, but I would imagine it starts with that. I mean, you go to North Texas knowing what you’re going to do. You’re going to guard and get stops.”
North Texas will face one of the hottest offenses in the AAC when they contest the Roadrunners, who have a number of players who are currently in a good rhythm. Primo Spears is fifth in the nation in scoring at 21.7 points per game.
But Millender is coming on, and so is Raekwon Horton, who is averaging 15.6 points and 7.8 rebounds over his last five. Millender has come off the bench in his last two games, a wrinkle in the rotation that likely will stick as long as the Roadrunners stay hot.
Asked if UTSA is hitting on all cylinders now just because the newcomers have had time to mesh since the summer, Claunch said the answer is yes and no.
“I know this team has had it in us, to be able to score and share the way we’re doing it,” he said. “But, it’s decision making. You got to do it every day. It’s not just something that’s going to be there. When you start doing it, you got to embrace it. You got to understand that’s what makes us a really good team.
“We’re not scoring points because we’re playing really fast or anything. We’re scoring points because we’re taking good shots and we’re making better decisions.”
Millender, a sophomore transfer from South Alabama, sparked a second-half surge at Rice with 12 points in the last nine minutes of a 90-84 victory. Claunch said he “just tried something a little different to give our team a spark” in his decision to bring the Houston-area native off the bench.
“Clearly it worked, stayed with it against Rice. We’ll stick with it tomorrow,” the coach said. “But, for us, I don’t get too caught up in who’s starting. Like I say, we’re one of two teams in the league with five guys in double figures, so whether you start or not, in this program, it shouldn’t matter.”
Records
North Texas 12-4, 3-1
UTSA 8-8, 2-2
Coming up
North Texas at UTSA, Saturday, 3 p.m.
UTSA at UAB, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
Notable
Claunch declined to discuss a timetable for the return of power forward Jaquan Scott, who has played only six games and has missed seven of the last eight. Scott has been away from the team for the past three attending to a family matter, a spokesman has said.
Center Mo Njie has sat out the past five with a foot injury, and his return date is uncertain, as well. “It’s not going to be anytime soon,” Claunch said. Guard Paul Lewis, also down with a foot injury, won’t return this season after playing only twice in early November. “He’s redshirting,” the coach said.
With forward Skylar Wicks sitting out Friday’s practice, UTSA is down to nine scholarship players going into the North Texas game. “It’s that time of the year, man,” the coach said. “Everybody’s kind of banged up, and we just got to figure how to make it work.”
Curious about what happened to Skylar Wicks? He is not listed on the roster at UTSA any longer. UTSA needed another player for depth last night in their loss at home to Tulane. He could have given some minutes with Joseph & Spears out.