Automatic Bids to the NCAA Tournament: North Texas

Nobody loves NCAA Championship Week more than I do. I have every intention of sitting on my couch as much as possible until Selection Sunday comes. I've decided that I'm going to track the teams from smaller conferences who win their conference championship and therefore earn an automatic bid. I shall then write my thoughts on these teams and determine just how far they will make it in this year's tourney. We all remember George Mason last season. Will there be another small conference Cinderella in 2007?

North Texas is going dancing for the first time since 1988. Chances are it won't be for very long.

The North Texas Mean Green earned an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament by winning the Sun Belt conference championship, defeating Arkansas State 83-75. North Texas had to win the championship game as there was no way possible the Mean Green were going to receive an at-large bid. Even with an overall record of 23-10, North Texas is an unimpressive team overall.

Watching them play in the title game last Tuesday was my introduction to North Texas. Examining the Mean Green shows why I haven't heard about them until now. They have no wins that could be called "key victories" in boosting up their RPI. The biggest name they faced all season was Nebraska, not really a powerhouse in basketball. Not that it mattered; North Texas lost the game by 19.

North Texas is led by a group of upperclassmen. Guard Calvin Watson scored 15.8 points a game and leads all scorers for the Mean Green. Fellow guards Kendrick Davis and Michael Sturns are not far behind. Davis puts up 13.2 points a game while Sturns is good for 12.4 points. Forward Quincy Williams scores 10.5 points and brings down 7.0 rebounds per contest.