North Texas defeated UAB 68-61 in the finals of the 32-team 2023 NIT hosted at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. It's the program's first NIT championship. The Mean Green defeated Alcorn St., Sam Houston, Oklahoma St., Wisconsin and the Blazers in route to the NCAA national postseason title.
Senior Tylor Perry was voted the 2023 NIT Most Outstanding Player and senior Kai Huntsberry was also voted to the five-player NIT All-Tournament team.
With the win, UNT finished the season with a program record 31 wins.
NIT CHAMPIONSHIP (W, 68-61)
For the first time in program history, the UNT men's basketball team won the National Invitation Tournament title, taking down UAB 68-61 Thursday night inside Orleans Arena. The Mean Green continued its impressive stretch of winning titles as they have now won a championship in four consecutive seasons and will close the season at 31-7 overall, setting a school record for wins in a single-season. The Mean Green also became the first team in Conference USA to win the NIT since 2002. Senior Tylor Perry put on a show as he scored 20+ points for the fourth time in five NIT contests to be named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Perry finished the night with 20 points, a season-high five steals and three assists to lead UNT to its third win over the Blazers in four tries this season. Kai Huntsberry was also fantastic in the win, scoring a game-high 21 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists.
NIT SEMIFINALS (W, 56-54)
The UNT men's basketball team held Wisconsin to no points over the final nine minutes of the game to beat the Badgers 56-54 in the National Invitation Tournament semifinal at the Orleans Arena and advance to the championship game. The Mean Green were led by Tylor Perry who scored 16 points. But it was Rubin Jones who scored all 12 of his points in the second half to lead the team to the 14-point come from behind win. On the defensive end, UNT held Wisconsin's Chucky Hepburn to zero points in the second half after he torched them for 15 in the first half. The Badgers made just one of their final 16 shot attempts.
NIT QUARTERFINALS (W, 65-59 OT)
The UNT men's basketball defeated Oklahoma State 65-59 in overtime to advance to the semifinals of the 2023 National Invitation Tournament at Gallagher-Iba Arena. Tylor Perry led all scorers with 23 points and was 6-for-6 from the free throw line. He added five rebounds and one assist in a team-high 43 minutes. Perry hit a deep three-pointer with 1:49 remaining in overtime to give North Texas a 61-58 lead. Moulaye Sissoko recorded his first career double-double with a personal-best mark of 12 points and 15 rebounds. He finished 6-for-9 from the field and added a steal.
NIT SECOND ROUND (W, 75-55)
In the definite final home game of the year, the UNT men's basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2023 National Invitation Tournament with a 75-55 win over the nation's No. 4 scoring defense, Sam Houston, Sunday afternoon at the Super Pit. The Mean Green made a season-high 16 3-pointers in the 20-point win. Conference USA Player of the Year Tylor Perry led all scorers with 23 points and was 6-of-9 from deep. Perry also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out six assists in the win. Furthermore, the senior had no turnovers and committed no fouls while drawing nine fouls in the 32 minutes he played. Rubin Jones scored a career-high 17 points versus the Bearkats and was 5-of-5 from 3-point range. His five made 3-pointers were a single-game career-high for the junior from Houston.
NIT FIRST ROUND (W, 69-53)
The North Texas men's basketball team advanced to the second round of the 2023 National Invitation Tournament with a 69-53 win over Alcorn State at the Super Pit. It's the second straight year the Mean Green have advanced to the second round of the NIT and third straight year they've won a game in a national postseason tournament. UNT opened the second half on a 13-3 run, which gave them some breathing room over the SWAC regular season champion Alcorn State. North Texas was paced by Conference USA Player of the Year Tylor Perry who scored 15 of his 21 points in the second half. He was 6-of-12 from the floor and 4-of-8 from 3-point range on the night.
I can't put it into words, this feeling. You can never explain what it feels like, to win a championship, cutting the nets down. And to be able to do it with this group, it's unbelievable. We in the history books forever. Can't take this from us. - Tylor perry
Kai Huntsberry was named to the 2023 NIT All-Tournament team. He scored a game-high 21 points in the finals win over UAB. He dished out 20 assists in the tournament, which was tied for the third most. He gave North Texas the final lead at Oklahoma St. in the quarterfinals with a late 3-pointer with less than three minutes to go.
Credits:
Zach Del Bello