North Texas will battle Louisiana-Monroe tonight at 8:45 in the Sunbelt Conference Championship Tournament going on at the Hot Springs Convention Center located in Little Rock, Arkansas. The winner will be a step closer to the championship game and the automatic bid for the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

ULM earned the right to face UNT by hitting a three point game winning shot to dump University of Louisiana-Lafayette 76-75.

The Mean Green faced UL-M (11-18, 6-13) at The Super Pit back on Dec. 13^th  handing the Warhawks a 79-62 loss. Tristan Thompson poured in 20 points, Josh White and Eric Tramiel both recorded 15 points and G.O. George Odufuwa added 13 points. UNT held the Warhawks to just 36% shooting.

It was a little more than a week ago on Feb. 27^th. UNT (21-8, 13-5) swept the season series between the two teams by dumping UL-M in Monroe 74-71. It was a history making game as the Mean Green claimed the West Division title for the time.

White poured in 18 points, Odufuwaha ten points and 16 rebounds.

Now the two face each other for the most important game between the two. The loser will go home, the winner will earn the right to advance in the Sunbelt Tournament trying to get the automatic NCAA bid.

The question is simple, can UNT win three games over a conference opponent in the same season?  That is a tough task in any conference.

Once again look for a defensive game by both teams. The key to the game will be UL-M’s ability to hit the three point shot. If they are on, UNT is going to have to disrupt the long distance shooting to keep control of the game. If the Mean Green is unable to do so,they could be making an early exit from the tournament.

Prediction, UNT moves on.