Subscribe
Follow Us
The MTSU Blue Raiders take on the North Texas Mean Green. Check out our college basketball odds series for our MTSU North Texas prediction and pick. Find out how to watch MTSU North Texas.
This game is going to be fascinating. It's a key one for North Texas. The Mean Green are 14-4 in Conference USA, trailing first-place Florida Atlantic by two games in the standings with two games left in the conference regular season. If the Mean Green want any chance of sharing the conference title, they have to win this game and hope FAU will lose twice. North Texas won't be the No. 1 seed for the Conference USA Tournament because it lost both games against Florida Atlantic, but if the two teams do attain the same conference record, UNT would get a split of the conference title. North Texas is very likely out of the running for an NCAA Tournament at-large bid, but if the Mean Green want to have any slight chance, they have to win this game, win their next game on the weekend, and then make a run to the C-USA Tournament championship game.
North Texas coach Grant McCasland is one of the best defensive coaches in the country, but his team is coming off a dreadful offensive performance last week against Charlotte and needs to be able to generate enough shotmaking for its defense to carry a maximum effect.
Courtesy of FanDuel, here are the MTSU-North Texas College Basketball odds:
College Basketball Odds: MTSU-North Texas Odds
MTSU Blue Raiders: +6.5 (-102)
North Texas Mean Green: -6.5 (-120)
Over: 121.5 (-105)
Under: 121.5 (-115)
How To Watch MTSU vs. North Texas
TV: Local/regional cable
Stream: FuboTV
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET, 5:00 p.m. PT
*Watch MTSU-North Texas LIVE with fuboTV (Click for free trial)*
Why MTSU Could Cover the Spread
The North Texas Mean Green are prone to crippling scoring droughts and shooting slumps. We saw this last week in a 49-point clunker against Charlotte. North Texas led 40-34 with just over eight minutes left and then scored only nine points for the remainder of the game. The Mean Green went cold and wasted a good peformance by their defense. Allowing 55 points — as UNT did against Charlotte — should always translate into a win in college basketball, but North Texas's offense was uniquely bad. The Mean Green don't merit full trust.
Middle Tennessee recent defeated Florida Atlantic and has shown that it can beat anyone in Conference USA. A team which could handle FAU is certainly capable of handling North Texas, even on the road in Denton, Texas. MTSU has to feel good about its chances here.
Why North Texas Could Cover the Spread
This is a must-win game for North Texas in terms of the Conference USA race. The Mean Green have to win to have any shot at a split title with FAU, which plays its last two conference games on the road and might stumble. North Texas has to be ready to capitalize on the opportunity if it presents itself. The Mean Green are excellent on defense and should be able to slow down Middle Tennessee. North Texas might have offensive limitations, but its defense is so good at setting a tone and dictating the terms on which a game will be played. That's a powerful advantage for UNT. Playing at home is another clear advantage against Middle Tennessee, which has lost seven C-USA games this season and has shown that it is less consistent than North Texas.
Final MTSU-North Texas Prediction & Pick
Stay away from this game. These teams are good but fundamentally unpredictable.
Final MTSU-North Texas Prediction & Pick: MTSU +6.5
