North Texas stuns Purdue for program’s first NCAA Tourney win, faces Villanova next
The Mean Green have done it.
North Texas’ men’s basketball team notched the program’s first NCAA Tournament victory with a 78-69 upset overtime win over the Purdue Boilermakers in a first-round South Regional game Friday night at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis.
No. 13 North Texas advances to the Round of 32 and on Sunday and will face No. 5 Villanova, who defeated Winthrop, 73-63, in the late game Friday night.
The Mean Green were making the fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history. Its previous three appearances, in 1988, 2007 and 2010, all ended in lopsided first-round defeats. But that’s ancient history now.
North Texas (18-9) had the advantage over No. 4 Purdue (18-10) most of the way. Despite having a size disadvantage inside, the Conference USA tournament champs kept the Boilermakers’ big men off balance pretty much all night long, using frequent double teams on defense. On offense, North Texas’ hot shooting — 47.5% from the field, 42.9% from three and 86.7% from the line — gave the team a cushion of a few possessions for a good portion of the night.
North Texas senior guard Javion Hamlet, a player who received no scholarship offers, registered a complete all-around game, scoring 24 points, grabbing 12 rebounds and doling out five assists. He was 2 of 4 from three and 8 of 8 from the line.
The Mean Green took a 4-3 lead 2:37 into the game and it extended the advantage to eight points, taking a 32-24 lead into halftime. In the second half, Purdue freshman Jaden Ivey, who led all scorers with 26 points, hit a free throw to close it to a 47-46 game with 10:42 remaining. North Texas extended the lead back up to eight points only to see Purdue bounce back to tie at the game at 57 on an Ivey jumper with 3:42 remaining.
A Thomas Bell (16 points, 5 rebounds) layup gave the Mean Green a 61-57 lead with 1:29 left to play in regulation, but Purdue’s Trevion WIlliams (14 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists) made two buckets in the paint to make it a 61-61 game. The Mean Green had a chance pull out the win with a buzzer-beater, but James Reese’s shot was off the mark.
In overtime, the Mean Green came out on a mission. It scored the first 11 points of overtime, taking a 72-61 lead after Hamlet sank his fifth and sixth free throws of the game with 35 seconds left to play. Purdue would chip away, but by that point the outcome was not in doubt.
The Mean Green’s victory was one of five upsets on Day 1, but it was far from the biggest. No. 15 Oral Roberts nipped No. 2 Ohio State, 75-72, earlier in the day.
This story was originally published March 19, 2021 at 8:53 PM with the headline "North Texas stuns Purdue for program’s first NCAA Tourney win, faces Villanova next."