1987–88 North Texas State Mean Green men's basketball team

The 1987–88 North Texas State Mean Green men's basketball team (often referred to as "North Texas" or the "Mean Green") represented the University of North Texas as a member of the Southland Conference during the 1987–88 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jimmy Gales and played their home games at the Super Pit in Denton, Texas. After winning the conference regular season title, the Mean Green followed that success by winning the Southland tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Making the school's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament and playing as the No. 15 seed in the West region, the Mean Green were beaten by No. 2 seed North Carolina in the opening round. The team finished with a record of 17–13 (12–2 Southland).

1987–88 North Texas State Mean Green men's basketball
Southland Regular season champions Southland tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Southland Conference
Division	West
Record	17–13 (12–2 Southland Belt)
Head coach	Jimmy Gales (2nd season)
Home arena	Super Pit

1987–88 Southland Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
North Texas State †	12	–	2		.857			17	–	13		.567
Northeast Louisiana	10	–	4		.714			21	–	9		.700
Sam Houston State	9	–	5		.643			14	–	14		.500
Northwestern State	7	–	7		.500			16	–	12		.571
Texas State	6	–	8		.429			9	–	22		.290
Stephen F. Austin	4	–	10		.286			10	–	18		.357
McNeese State	4	–	10		.286			7	–	22		.241
Texas-Arlington	4	–	10		.286			7	–	22		.241
† 1988 Southland Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1987–88 North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 10 Ricky Robertson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr G 11 Kevie Gulley 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Fr G 12 Robert Greene 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Fr F 15 Reco McCarter 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr G 20 Tim Duryea 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Sr F 21 Andrien Choplick 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — So G 22 Deon Hunter 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) — Jr G 32 William Smith 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Jr F 33 Wendell Williams 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Jr G 34 Dave Whittington 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Sr F 42 Tony Worrell 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr Goldsboro, North Carolina F 44 Tony Northcross 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Fr F 50 Ronnie Morgan 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Fr	Head coach Jimmy Gales Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference Regular season
Nov 28, 1987*		at Oral Roberts	W 88–80	1–0	Mabee Center  Tulsa, Oklahoma
Dec 1, 1987*		Baylor	L 63–72	1–1	Super Pit  Denton, Texas
Dec 4, 1987*		at No. 8 Missouri Wadsworth Show-Me Classic	L 56–64	1–2	Hearnes Center  Columbia, Missouri
Dec 5, 1987*		vs. Alcorn State Wadsworth Show-Me Classic	L 64–70	1–3	Hearnes Center  Columbia, Missouri
Dec 7, 1987*		Montana State	L 55–65	1–4	Super Pit  Denton, Texas
Dec 9, 1987*		TCU	W 79–54	2–4	Super Pit  Denton, Texas
Dec 12, 1987*		at Colorado State	L 56–65	2–5	Moby Arena  Fort Collins, Colorado
Dec 19, 1987*		vs. Southern Miss	L 80–83	2–6
Dec 22, 1987*		at New Mexico State	L 71–91	2–7	Pan American Center  Las Cruces, New Mexico
Dec 26, 1987*		at New Mexico	L 69–77	2–8	University Arena  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 27, 1987*		vs. Long Beach State	L 88–89	2–9
Jan 14, 1988*		at Alcorn State	W 85–80	3–9	Davey Whitney Complex  Lorman, Mississippi
Southland Regular season
Jan 16, 1988		at UT Arlington	W 77–68	4–9 (1–0)	Texas Hall  Arlington, Texas
Non-conference Regular season
Jan 18, 1988*		at Oklahoma State	L 82–92	4–10	Gallagher-Iba Arena  Stillwater, Oklahoma
Southland Regular season
Jan 21, 1988		Northwestern State	W 87–75	5–10 (2–0)	Super Pit  Denton, Texas
Jan 23, 1988		Louisiana-Monroe	L 69–79	5–11 (2–1)	Super Pit  Denton, Texas
Feb 25, 1988		at Louisiana-Monroe	W 67–65	13–12 (10–2)	Fant-Ewing Coliseum  Monroe, Louisiana
Feb 27, 1988		at Northwestern State	W 76–61	14–12 (11–2)	Prather Coliseum  Natchitoches, Louisiana
Mar 3, 1988		UT Arlington	W 83–74	15–12 (12–2)	Super Pit  Denton, Texas
Southland tournament
Mar 9, 1988*		McNeese State Semifinals	W 82–61	16–12	Super Pit  Denton, Texas
Mar 10, 1988*		Louisiana-Monroe Championship game	W 87–70	17–12	Super Pit  Denton, Texas
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 1988*	(15 W)	vs. (2 W) No. 7 North Carolina First Round	L 65–83	17–13	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from Coaches Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time.