North Texas and Sam Houston State have a lot in common when it comes to their men's basketball teams.

Both have enjoyed a great deal of success over the last few years and no one wants to venture to their home courts for nonconference games. That dilemma resulted in an unusual home-and-home series between the two Texas mid-major powers that will conclude with a game tonight at the Super Pit.

"You don't like to schedule outside your conference twice in one year," UNT head coach Johnny Jones said. "What happens is that it becomes difficult to get teams to come to your place. It's difficult for Sam Houston to get people to go to their place and it's difficult for us to get teams to come here unless it is a guarantee game."

About the only guarantee tonight is UNT will face a solid team looking for revenge after a loss to the Mean Green earlier this season. On Nov. 20, UNT handed Sam Houston its first nonconference loss at home since 1998, when the Mean Green hung on for a 76-71 victory at Johnson Coliseum.

The Bearkats had won 45 straight nonconference home games.

The victory sparked a three-game winning streak for the Mean Green that came to an end on Saturday in a disappointing 84-51 shellacking at the hands of Houston.

UNT was down just six at halftime before the Cougars outscored the Mean Green 50-23 in the second half.

"The first half we were able to hang around while not playing well," Jones said. "The second half we didn't do what were capable of doing in terms of defending and didn't do a good job of taking care of the basketball. They did what good teams do and took advantage."

UNT had one of its better defensive games in its win over Sam Houston and is trying to find that form on a consistent basis after struggling in several games this year. Oklahoma State beat the Mean Green 100-88, while each of UNT's last two opponents has scored more than 80 points.

"We have to get better and take pride in defending and stopping the guy you are guarding," Jones said. "We have to make sure we put ourselves in position to get stops. … We will get better because we have guys who are capable of defending."

UNT has relied on its offense that has seven players averaging at least seven points a game so far this season. Sophomore guard Josh White (14.5) and junior guard Dominique Johnson (11.5) are UNT's top two scorers heading into its game against Sam Houston.

Both will face the challenge of helping slow down Bearkats guard Corey Allmond. The junior guard scored 15 points in Sam Houston's loss to UNT earlier this year and is averaging 18.2 points a game.

A second win over Sam Houston would be a boost for a UNT team aiming to win 20 games for the third consecutive season, a milestone the Bearkats reached last year.

Tramiel could get more opportunities

UNT forward Eric Tramiel is knocking down just about every shot he puts up this season, not to mention catching the eye of Jones.

Tramiel is shooting 78.3 percent from the field, but is tied for seventh among UNT players with 23 shots on the season.

"Eric plays within the game," Jones said. "We don't try to get people looks. We try to let the defense dictate what shots we take. Eric has done a great job. We need to possibly find him more minutes so that he can take advantage of the opportunities that are out there. He is continuing to get acclimated to our system."

Tramiel came to UNT after a standout career at Paris Junior College, where he earned NJCAA All-America honors.

Western's win impresses Jones

Western Kentucky posted one of the biggest nonconference wins for a Sun Belt team in recent years last week when the Hilltoppers knocked off No. 3 Louisville 68-54 in Nashville.

"It was a really big win for them," Jones said. "They did an excellent job in playing a high-powered team like Louisville. I was really happy for Western and our league."

Women's basketball

Stephens: James’ big night a sign of talent

Brittney James has shown an ability to break out for a big game at any time during her career at UNT, but never had a performance quite like the one she put together last week in a loss to Charleston Southern.

James scored 34 points while hitting 11 of her 19 shots from the field, including four from 3-point range. One of her few misses came in the final seconds of a 97-95 loss when her 3-pointer that would have won the game for UNT came up short.

The performance is one UNT head coach Shanice Stephens believes James is capable of producing on a regular basis. James has been fairly consistent this season, but did go scoreless in a game against UT-San Antonio.

Stephens said one of the challenges in her first year as UNT's head coach is figuring out a way to help James be more consistent

"If I could put my finger on that, we would be in great shape," Stephens said. "She is a phenomenal scorer. We are trying to make sure that she is a consistent scorer. She has the capability to be one of the top guards in our league and our state. I am trying to get her to a place where she knows what her capabilities are, is confident every night and tries to put her best foot forward defensively and offensively."

James has displayed a scorer's mentality throughout her career and has taken at least 11 shots in all but one of the Mean Green's games this season.

"She doesn’t have any reservations about putting the ball up," Stephens said. "She is feeling free in the system and is understanding where she can attack."

Stephens is challenging James to not only become a dominant scorer, but become a solid defensive player as well.

"What Brittney brings defensively is yet to be seen," Stephens said. "She has the ability to control the tempo of the game and other players."

Duo fitting in after suspensions

Senior guard Yari Escalera and freshman post Brittani Bailey have performed well both on and off the floor since returning from what head coach Shanice Stephens originally said was an indefinite suspension earlier this season.

Both players missed the Mean Green's season opener at Marshall, the first game on a five-game road trip.

“It's going pretty good," Stephens said. "They served their punishment and are on the right track now. We took a step forward and got that behind us. They did everything it took to get back on the team. Playing is not a right, it’s a privilege, and you have to do certain things to be a part of the team. They have a better understanding of that."

Both Escalera and Bailey played a key role in the Mean Green's win over UT-San Antonio last weekend. Escalera finished with 10 points, while Bailey pulled down nine rebounds.

Stephens: Effort will determine playing time

The playing time afforded to several of UNT's players has varied widely in the first few weeks of the season.

Senior guard Kelli Buckley has played as many as 26 minutes and as few as eight, while Bailey has played as many as 22 and as few as nine. Escalera played 28 minutes in a win over Missouri-Kansas City and five in a loss to Charleston Southern.

Stephens said those swings could continue, depending on her players' performance both in games and practices.

"Sometimes it is a matchup and sometimes it is effort," Stephens said. "When people show effort in practice and in games, that is what keeps them on the floor and helps make us a successful team."

Time change for Valpo game

UNT has changed the start time for its game against Valparaiso on Saturday at the Super Pit.

The game will now tip at 5 p.m., a half-hour later than originally planned. The UNT men will play New Mexico State in the second half of the doubleheader.

Player of the week

Junior guard Brittney James posted one of the more impressive performances of her career last week in a loss to Charleston Southern

James scored 34 points and hit 11 of her 19 shots from the field, including four from 3-point range. The former West Orange-Stark standout had scored in double figures in all but one game this season heading into a game against Houston late Tuesday night and was averaging 17.6 points a game.

For her performance against the Buccaneers, James is the Denton Record-Chronicle UNT Player of the Week.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com.