No. 13 seed North Texas (18-9) vs. No. 5 seed Villanova (17-6)
NCAA Tournament Second Round, Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis; Sunday, 11 a.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: North Texas and Villanova are set to square off in a NCAA second round matchup. Villanova earned a 73-63 win over Winthrop in its most recent game, while North Texas won 78-69 in overtime against Purdue in its last outing.
SAVVY VETERANS: Both of these teams have depended heavily on their seniors this year. Jermaine Samuels, Collin Gillespie and Caleb Daniels have combined to score 45 percent of Villanova’s points this season. For North Texas, Javion Hamlet, Zachary Simmons, Thomas Bell and James Reese have combined to account for 67 percent of all North Texas scoring, including 87 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.
FUELING THE OFFENSE: Hamlet has either made or assisted on 56 percent of all North Texas field goals over the last five games. The senior guard has accounted for 34 field goals and 33 assists in those games.
WINNING WHEN: North Texas is a perfect 11-0 when it scores at least 74 points. The Mean Green are 7-9 when scoring any fewer than 74.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Mean Green have recently created baskets via assists more often than the Wildcats. Villanova has 32 assists on 64 field goals (50 percent) across its previous three outings while North Texas has assists on 36 of 69 field goals (52.2 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Villanova has turned the ball over on just 13.5 percent of its possessions this season, which is the third-best rate among all Division I teams. The Wildcats have turned the ball over only 8.9 times per game this season and just 6.7 times per game over their last three games.
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