By Jeysla Gonzalez

4 1 2025

GAME NOTES

https://meangreensports.com/documents/2025/3/30/4.1.25_UNTMBBGameNotesNITSemifinals.pdf

INDIANAPOLIS — For a second time in three years the UNT men’s basketball team is in the National Invitation Tournament semifinal. The Mean Green will face UC Irvine in this year’s semifinal on Tuesday from Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

UNT (27-8) and UCI (31-6) are scheduled to tip off at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be broadcast on the Mean Green Sports Network, presented by Learfield and on ESPN.

North Texas, the 2023 NIT champions, are facing an Anteaters team that has had a historic season. UC Irvine has tied the program record for single season wins (31) and has already broken the school record for road wins (14). This is the first time the Anteaters have ever reached the semifinal round of the NIT.

UNT and UCI were conference mates in the Big West from 1996-2000. Tuesday will be the fifth ever meeting between the two programs but the first since North Texas left the league in 2000.

The Mean Green and Anteaters have split the first four meetings.

The winner of Tuesday’s semifinal game will play for the championship on Thursday at 8 p.m. CT from Hinkle Fieldhouse. Chattanooga and Loyola Chicago are in the other semifinal game.

COURTESY NORTH TEXAS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

No. 1 Seed UC Irvine Set For NIT Semifinals Against North Texas

IRVINE, Calif. — Top-seeded UC Irvine treks out to historic Hinkle Fieldhouse for the final four of the NIT. In their first ever semifinal, the Anteaters will take on the second-seed North Texas from the Dallas Region on Tuesday Apr. 1, televised nationally on ESPN.

[2] North Texas vs. [1] UC Irvine
Tuesday, Apr. 1 | 4:00 p.m. PT (7:00 p.m. ET)
Hinkle Fieldhouse | Indianapolis, In.
Live Stats | Watch (ESPN) | Tickets | UC Irvine Game Notes | North Texas Game Notes

ABOUT NORTH TEXAS
> North Texas enters the contest with a 27-8 overall record and finished 14-4 in the American Athletic Conference standings
> Comfortable at the NIT, UNT won the title in 2023
> The Mean Green have gone 4-1 in their last five outings with the lone loss to a common opponent UAB in the conference tournament semifinal
> UNT’s longest win streak of the season came between Feb. 8-Mar. 6, winning four at home and three on the road
>  The Mean Green finished their non-conference schedule with a 13-4 record, 2-2 on the road and 2-2 at neutral site locations
> North Texas also faced another familiar Anteater opponent in Northern Iowa during the non-conference season and defeated them 68-48 at a neutral site
> The last two Mean Green NIT results have ended in a two-point margin (vs. Arkansas State, 65-63, and at Oklahoma State, 61-59)
> UNT has two players averaging double figures
> Atin Wright, a former CSUN Matador, ignites the Mean Green offense with 14.9 points per game (521 total)
> Wright is shooting 40 percent from the field overall (156-399, 0.402) and from three-point range (97-242, 0.401) and has only missed seven shots from the line all season (112-119, 0.941)
> Brenen Lorient rounds out the double figure scoring with 11.8 points a contest as he connects 57.7 percent of his overall shots (153-265) and has reached the free throw line the most out of any UNT player (97-134, 0.724)
> Lorient leads the team in blocks (39) and is second on the team with 4.9 rebounds per game
> Jasper Floyd comes in with 8.8 points and a North Texas best 138 assists and 46 steals
> A trio of Mean Green players contribute seven or more points a game: Johnathan Massie (7.8), Moulaye Sissoko (7.5), and Latrell Jossell (7.3)
> Sissoko is an efficient 109-170 (0.641 from the field and grabs a team-best 6.5 boards a game
> Jossell is second on the team in both assists (53) and steals (38)
> North Texas has only used two starting lineups this season with their primary lineup showcased 34 times

MOVING ON! INDY BOUND
With the 81-77 overtime victory over UAB on Wednesday (Mar. 26) in the quarterfinals of the NIT, UC Irvine earned their fifth ever win in the postseason tournament. Also, UCI marked the trip to Indianapolis for the program’s first ever appearance in the tournament semifinal round. The Anteaters won three this year and the other two wins in the NIT came on Mar. 12, 1982 to San Diego State (W, 70-69) and Mar. 13, 1986 to UCLA (W, 80-74), both in the first round.

UC IRVINE POSTSEASON HISTORY IN THE NIT
UC Irvine clinched their ninth postseason appearance in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) as an automatic bid and their first ever No. 1 seed ranking for the Irvine Region. The Anteaters hold a 5-8 record in the tournament. UCI makes their third consecutive appearance in the postseason invitational and it is the first time where they are making three straight trips.

REPPING THE BIG WEST
UC Irvine, who won three straight games in the NIT, became the first Big West school to advance to the semifinals of the postseason tournament since Fresno State did so in 1983 when they eventually claimed the title. This is the farthest a Big West team has gone in the postseason since UNLV had four wins on their way to playing Duke in the 1991 NCAA Championship game.

IN THE HUNT: 32-WIN SEASON
Currently holding a 31-6 record on the season, UC Irvine has earned their second 30-win season in program history and second under head coach Russell Turner. One more victory would set a new school record in wins, passing the 2018-19 squads mark of 31-6.

RARE AIR (30 WINS)
As they earned their 30th win of the season on Sunday (Mar. 23), UC Irvine joined UC San Diego as the second team in the league to reach that mark. The Big West became the second conference to have multiple 30 win teams this season meeting the SEC (Florida 32-4 and Auburn 30-5) in this feat. On the coaching side of things, head coach Russell Turner is one of 32 active Division I coaches that have multiple 30-win seasons with 21 of them completing their multiples all at the Division I level. Diving further, four of the 32 coaches completed the feat at mid-major schools and three of the four are currently at the mid-major level (Bryce Drew–Grand Canyon/Valprasio, Turner–UC Irvine, and Ben Jacobson–UNI).

SHOWING OUT FOR THE GOLDEN STATE
After the completion of second round contests on Sunday Mar. 23, UC Irvine became the last remaining men’s Division I program in NCAA sponsored postseason tournaments. Both Saint Mary’s and UCLA took second round exits in the NCAA March Madness tournament while San Francisco, Stanford, and Santa Clara dropped their second contests in the NIT.

ROAD WARRIORS
UC Irvine has won 14 true road games this season, setting a new school standard for road wins. The Anteaters 14 wins away from Irvine is the top mark nationally this season. Similarly, UCI sits second nationally in most wins away from their home court with 18 (14 road and four neutral) behind Auburn’s 19 (eight road and 11 neutral). Duke and Houston both sit even with the Anteaters at 18 wins away from home.

OLD CONFERENCE FOE’S
UCI and North Texas used to compete against each other in the Big West from 1996-2000 before the Mean Green left the conference. The two teams are tied 2-2 in the all-time series history with the Anteaters winning the last two meetings.

DEFENSE VS. DEFENSE
Two strong defensive teams in UC Irvine and North Texas go head-to-head on Tuesday evening. Both teams rank top 50 nationally in scoring defense, the Mean Green sitting third at 59.9 points allowed per contest while the Anteaters are 38th at 66.5. UCI’s strength comes from holding opponents to a 39.6 field goal percentage while UNT is 43rd in the nation in the category (45.1).

THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
The Anteaters have been sharp at the free throw line this season with 617 makes in 768 attempts and leads the Big West in free throw percentage (0.803) which is also the nation’s third best shooting clip at the line. 617 makes sets the new single season record in the stat, passing the 1971-72 team’s standard of 616. UC Irvine went a perfect 13-13 at the charity stripe on Mar. 15 versus UC San Diego, their third time doing so this season (13-13 at Long Beach State on Jan. 30 and 14-14 vs. Pepperdine on Nov. 16).  UCI shot a season high 33-40 from the charity stripe on Dec. 5 in the win over Cal State Bakersfield. Additionally, UC Irvine has played 20 games where opponents to just single digit makes from the line, the last versus Northern Colorado (Mar. 19). In the national standings, Bent Leuchten ranks sixth in made free throws (200) and ninth in free throw attempts (243) while Myles Che is 45th in free throw percentage (0.871).

SHARING THE BALL WELL
UC Irvine dished out 26 assists on 34 made baskets in the win over Cal Poly (Mar. 14). It is just the sixth time this season where the Anteaters have dished out 20 or more assists in a game. The ‘Eaters had their best assist rate game against CSUN on Feb. 20 with 86.4 percent of their baskets assisted (19-22). UCI is second in the Big West in both assists per game (15.73) and in conference games (16.00). Justin Hohn and Myles Che are the top distributors for the ‘Eaters, combining to give UCI a 23-4 record when either one or both of them dishes out four or more assists a game (Hohn 13-4, Che 10-0).

SINGLE SEASON REBOUNDING HEIGHTS
Senior Bent Leuchten has added another milestone onto his season as an Anteater with his 12 rebounds at UC Davis. Entering Wednesday’s contest, Leuchten has 334 season rebounds which is third in the all-time single season rebounding ladder. The center is three boards away from matching Kevin Magee (337, 1980-81) for second and needs 19 to tie the record of 353, also set by Magee (1981-82). It is the first time in 43 years that an Anteater had 300 or more rebounds in a season (last was 353 in 1981-82).

PLACING IN THE SINGLE SEASON SCORING RANKS
With 570 points in 2024-25, Bent Leuchten has scored the most points in a single season since 2010-11 when Darren Moore poured in 544, the previous tenth all-time points scored in a single season with Jeff Herdman (1990-91). Leuchten is one point away from meeting Jerry Green (571, 2000-01) for ninth, 19 from catching Jeff Cunningham (589, 1968-69) for eighth, and 29 from reaching Johnny Rogers (599, 1985-86) for seventh.

NO. 1 SEED UC IRVINE WINS NIT QUARTERFINAL IN THRILLING OT FASHION
Forward Devin Tillis scored five of his game-high 22 points in the final 1:23 and grabbed a big rebound with three seconds left in No. 1 seed UC Irvine’s 81-77 victory over UAB in the quarterfinal of the National Invitation Tournament Wednesday at the Bren Events Center. A 6-0 run by UAB gave the Blazers a 77-74 lead with 1:33 to play before Tillis drained a three-pointer to tie the game at 77 all with 1:23 left. The Blazers were a perfect 13-13 from the line until a miss with 51 seconds left opened the door for UCI. Center Bent Leuchten hit a jumper in the paint with 31 seconds on the clock then on the other end UAB missed two layups, the second rebound was pulled down by Tillis who was fouled with two seconds left solidifying the win with a pair of free throws, 81-77. Tillis recorded his sixth double-double of the year, with 22 points and team-high 11 rebounds. The redshirt senior went 7-15 from the floor, including three three-pointers, and 5-6 from the line. He added three assists and a steal in his 34 minutes on the floor. The Anteaters improve to 31-7, tying the school record for most wins with the 2018-19 squad who went 31-6.

ANOTHER RECORD FALLS
As mentioned, the Anteaters have made 617 free throws so far this season. The 2024-25 squad sets the new single season standard, passing the mark of 616 made at the stripe that was set in 1971-72 (616-873 in 28 games).

EFFICIENCY IN IRVINE
Bent Leuchten is one the Big West’s most efficient player with a 29.2 grade, sitting second. Leuchten ranks first in offensive rating (131.7). The center also ranks second in defensive rating (90.4), offensive box plus/minus (6.3), and overall box plus/minus (9.3).

THIS JUST-IN!
Justin Hohn is a UC Irvine squad leader with 434 total points and 12.1 points per game scoring. The graduate student has 65 double figure scoring games in his career, the most of any player on the Anteater squad, Hohn reached 1,300 career points in his 18-point outing versus UC San Diego on Mar. 15. The guard leads the Anteaters in both assists (133) and steals (51).

DOUBLE TROUBLE
Devin Tillis is a threat both on offense and defense for the Anteaters. The forward coverts at a high rate from the floor (184-345, 0.533) and has 24 double digit scoring games on the season. Additionally, Tillis is second on the squad in rebounds with 277 total (7.7 rpg). Tillis is second on the team with 12 career double-doubles, posting his sixth of the season versus UAB on Mar. 26 (22 pts, 11 rebs).

THE GERMAN PAINTER
Bent Leuchten dominates at the post or in the paint whether it is scoring baskets or grabbing the ball off the glass. The center is the team’s leader off the glass, averaging 9.0 rebounds a game in 37 contests played, and paces the scoring at 15.4 points per game. Leuchten has posted double-figure scoring games in 31 games this year, the latest versus UAB (Mar. 26) where he put up 18 points. The German has scored at least 10 or more points or pulled down at least 10 or more rebounds in 32 of those contests. Additionally, Leuchten’s career best 15 grabs off the glass against Pepperdine and reset against Belmont are an Anteater first in the 15-19 rebounds in a game category since Collin Welp pulled down 19 on the road at LMU on Dec. 17, 2020. The center is just one of seven players who have eight or more 20 point, 10 rebound efforts this season.

CHE-SANITY
At the top of the formation for the Anteaters, Myles Che helps lead the distribution effort with his 97 total assists. Che adds to the scoring effort with his 12.1 points per game and recorded his first double digit scoring game in an Anteater uniform at Northern Iowa on Nov. 10 with his ten points. The guard had his 23rd double figure scoring effort of the season, 13 points in the NIT quarterfinals against UAB (Mar. 26). Che previously had a 13-game double figure scoring streak that ended on Feb. 15.

FITTING RIGHT IN
Redshirt freshman guard Jurian Dixon entered the UC Irvine starting lineup on Dec. 14 at Oregon State and has proved himself on both the offensive and defensive ends. The guard averages 8.7 points per game and 2.8 rebounds per game in 36 contests. Dixon continues to have career performances or break through nights, his latest at UC Santa Barbara (Mar. 8) with personal bests in points (23) and made free throws (9).

BRICK WALL
The big men down low of Bent Leuchten, Kyle Evans, and Elijah Chol pose a threat in the defensive paint for opponents. The three trio combine to average 9.5 defensive rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. All three big men have double figure blocks on the season: Leuchten (48), Evans (46), and Chol (20). In conference contests, the trio average 9.9 defensive rebounds and 3.2 blocks per game.

OLD RELIABLE
With a veteran team that has won multiple championships in the last few seasons, three UC Irvine veteran starters are averaging double figures. Bent Leuchten leads the way with 15.4, Devin Tillis behind at 13.4, and Justin Hohn next at 12.1. While not a veteran who has played their whole career at UC Irvine, Myles Che is the fourth player on the team to average double digits with 12.1 points.

1,000-POINT CLUB
Graduate student Justin Hohn etched his name into the UC Irvine record book as the 33rd Anteater to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. The guard reached this milestone in the victory over Towson (Nov. 30) and has 1,351 career tallies. Hohn begins his ascent in the ranks and is 34 points away from passing Will Davis II (1,384–2011-15) for 10th. Senior Bent Leuchten etched his name into the UC Irvine record book as the 34th Anteater to eclipse the 1,000-point mark. The center reached this milestone in the game against CSUN (Feb. 20) and has 1,151 career tallies. Leuchten begins his ascent in the ranks, sitting at 26th, and is 57 points away from surpassing Chris McNealy (1,207–2010-14) for 25th. Additionally, redshirt senior Devin Tillis placed his name into the UC Irvine record book as the 35th Anteater to eclipse the 1,000-point mark and third player to do so this season. The forward reached this milestone in the game against Northern Colorado (Mar. 19) and has 1,044 career tallies. He is just 18 points away from reaching Jaron Martin (1,062–2013-17) for 34th, 20 from catching Daman Starring (1,064–2010-13) for 33rd, and 38 from matching assistant coach Michael Wilder (1,082–2009-13) for 32nd.

500-REBOUND MACHINES 
Redshirt senior Devin Tillis put his name into the UC Irvine record book as the 28th Anteater to reach the 500-rebound achievement. The forward reached this milestone in the win at California Baptist (Dec. 30) and has 684 career boards. Tillis continues his ascent in the ranks and is 13th in the all-time rebounding list, just one from meeting Tommy Rutherford (685, 2016-20) for 12th, six from matching Kevin Magee (690, 1980-82) for 11th, 10 from equaling Brad Greene (694, 2016-21) for tenth, and 15 from reaching Wayne Engelstad (698, 1984-88) for ninth. Additionally, senior Bent Leuchten became the 29th Anteater to pull down 500 rebounds in their UCI career. The center accomplished this feat at UC Riverside (Jan. 23) and has 658 career rebounds. Leuchten lands 15th and is 12 boards away from chasing down Ben McDonald (670, 1980-84) for 14th and is 26 behind Tillis’ 14th spot.

STEALING THE LEAD
Guard Justin Hohn entered the top 10 in the program for steals with five takeaways at Cal Poly (Jan. 2). He ranks fifth with 148 in his career and needs seven more in order to move in front of Alex Young (154, 2012-16) for fourth.

THREE-POINT SNIPER
Justin Hohn placed his name in the record book for the third time this season, entering the top 10 in career made three-pointers made with his three triples against Hawai’i (Jan. 25). He is fifth with 203. Hohn needs 19 more three-pointers to reach assistant coach Michael Wilder (224, 2009-13) for fourth.

PUT IT IN THE PAINT
UCI has outscored their opponents by 252 points when scoring in the paint (UCI 1,236, Opp. 984). The Anteaters average 33.4 points in the paint per game and have scored 40 or more points in 11 games so far (Chapman–42, at Northern Iowa–48, at Weber State–44, Kennesaw State–44, at Belmont–42, at California Baptist–46, at Cal Poly–42, Cal Poly–46, UC Santa Barbara–40, at UC Santa Barbara–50, and versus UAB–40).

HIGHLY EFFICIENT SHOOTING
UCI has shot over a 0.500 clip in 11 contests this season (at Northern Iowa–0.550, at Weber State–0.508, versus Kennesaw State–0.516, versus Towson–0.522, at Belmont–0.525, at California Baptist–0.500, versus Cal Poly–0.531, at Cal State Fullerton–0.500, at UC Davis–0.588, at UC Santa Barbara–0.567, and against Cal Poly–0.557).

KENPOM LEADERS
Out of 2306 eligible players, Bent Leuchten is 14th in free throw rate (74.8), 17th in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (7.0), 29th in defensive rebound percentage (25.6), and 30th in true shooting percentage (65.0). Out of 364 teams, UC Irvine ranks second in two-point percentage defense (43.2), fourth in free throw percentage offense (80.7), seventh in free throw attempt/field goal attempt defense (22.2), 11th in block percentage offense (6.8), 11th in effective field goal percentage defense (46.0), 19th in adjusted efficiency defense (95.2), 25th in assists per field goals made (60.3), 28th in average possession length defense (16.8), 37th in offensive rebound percentage defense (26.5), and 46th in free throw point distribution offense (21.7).

LEADING THE BIG WEST
Several Anteaters sit in the top ten of the Big West individual statistical rankings: scoring (9th, 15.4–Leuchten), rebounding (2nd, 9.0–Leuchten and 3rd, 7.7–Tillis), field goal percentage (4th, 0.548–Leuchten and 5th, 0.533–Tillis), free throw percentage (3rd, 0.871–Che and 6th, 0.823–Leuchten), three-point field goals per game (9th, 2.0–Hohn), assists (5th, 3.7–Hohn), blocks (2nd, 1.3–Leuchten and 4th, 1.2–Evans), and steals (9th, 1.4–Hohn).

NATIONAL STATISTICS THROUGH 03.30.25
UC Irvine is ranked top 50 nationally in free throw percentage (3rd, 80.3), defensive rebounds per game (5th, 28.84), field goal percentage defense (10th, 39.6), free throws made per game (25th, 16.7), scoring margin (25th, 9.4), scoring defense (38th, 66.5), and rebounds per game (45th, 38.16).

NET WORTH
The first NET ranking of the season was released on Monday Dec. 2. The ‘Eaters are the second highest ranked team in the Big West. UC San Diego tops the league at a 35 rank with the Anteaters next at 62.

COURTESY UC IRVINE ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS