North Texas Head Basketball Coach Johnny Jones is trying to put together the pieces to his basketball teams puzzle after losing two key components to his offense. It looked like he may have found the key to winning again even though he lost 66-68 to a Middle Tennessee team (21-4, 10-1) which, at the time, was knocking on a national top 25 ranking. North Texas could have sent the game into overtime but three or four shots with just seconds left in the game refused to fall.

It looks like he has his players believing in themselves and can hold their own against anyone. There are six more regular season games left before the Sun Belt Tournament and now is the time for Jones' crew to make a run before going into the tournament. The close loss at Middle Tennessee is a loss and not a moral victory either but it should prove to the players there is enough talent on the team to compete with almost anyone. Now they have to prove it on the road this Thursday against Florida International (7-15, 4-6). The Panthers have not done well at home going 1-6 while North Texas (13-10, 6-4) has not done well on the road going 3-6.

This will be the third season for FIU's Head Coach Isiah Thomas, former NBA great player and coach. In the first two years at the helm his teams were named the “Most Improved Teams in 2011” by the NCAA. Last year his team averaged 71.7 points a game one of the best in the Sun Belt and was #28 in the nation in steals. Thomas will get to see a player he was recruiting to join his team in North Texas' Tony Mitchell.

FIU has four players in double figures and the rest of the team adds 4.4 points or less per game.

No. 14 DeJuan Wright, G, 6-4, 185, Sr., puts in 16.1 points a game, #11 Phil Taylor, G, 5-10, 160, So., is adding another 14.2, with #32 Jeremy Allen, G, 6-4, 190, Sr., putting in 13.7 and #3 Dominique Ferguson, F, 6-9, 210, So., putting in 10 a game. The team relies mainly on these four players from start to finish. All four are logging 31 minutes or higher per game. In their win against George Mason, Taylor, Wright, and Allen all logged above 41 minutes in the game. This can explain why they are in their games in the first half scoring 647 total points to the opponents 649 total points but in the second half they are outscored 757 to 694.

Last year FIU was a scoring machine putting in over 71 points a game but they have dropped off this year averaging 62.1 points per game while giving up 65.2.

Wright leads the team in rebounds with 7.6 with Ferguson in second with 6.7. Allen is the reason FIU out-steals their opponents, he has a total of 59 steals this year. Arkansas transfer, #22 Brandon Moore, F, 6-10, 213, Jr., has a total of 27 blocks shots with Ferguson getting 25.

North Texas should be able to out-rebound, out-block and out-assist FIU. The Panthers should lead in steals since they have won that category against other opponents.

Jones' group can't play a close game but have to get a good lead on FIU and stay there. In their wins, FIU won 79-76, 64-62, 58-56, 81-63, 65-62, 63-50 and 78-56. They average losing by ten points a game. Right now they are on a two game winning streak beating Florida Atlantic 76-56 and Troy 63-50 and have won three of their last five.

As noted FIU generally wins the close games but lose when outscored by around ten points. North Texas has to get a strong lead and stay there. North Texas fans should not be concerned if the game is close at half-time but red flags should go up if the game is close near the end of the game. With so much time on the court during the game, FIU's starting four are generally tired late in the second half. Look for Jones to use a lot of bench players to take advantage of this weakness.

This will be a nationally televised game on the Sun Belt Network, ESPN Full Court Package and webcast on ESPN3. This will be the only time the two teams will face each other in the regular season. North Texas beat FIU 87-77 last year on January 13^th. North Texas holds a 10-3 lead in the series. Tip-off is 7 PM at FIU, 6 PM in Denton. This will be a lightly attended game with slightly over 1,100 fans expected in the 5,000 seat U.S. Century Bank Arena.