Struggling to find its rhythm, Florida Atlantic (15-13, 8-7 AAC) fell to a talented North Texas (21-6, 12-3 AAC) team 71-61 on its home floor on Thursday night in Boca Raton, Florida. The Owls have now lost three straight games after a five-game winning streak.
Not only did North Texas shoot 63% from beyond the arc in the first half, but the Mean Green also responded defensively to every move. The Owls had just six made shots and, at one point, went nearly 11 minutes without scoring a single basket.
“Nine assists on 20 baskets, you need ball movement to beat them,” said Florida Atlantic head coach John Jakus. “I thought a lot about the iso stuff, we didn’t handle those things as well. So that’s half on them and half on us.”
Junior guard Leland Walker and junior forward Baba Miller sparked the Owls in the first half. Walker drained three triples in a row, allowing him to have 19 points for the Owls. Miller contributed near the rim, with alley-oops and putbacks leading him to record 15 points.
“The stretch was most definitely important, staying confident in myself and in my teammates,” Walker said.
North Texas is a sharp-shooting team. Outscoring the Owls by 20 in the second half, North Texas also has the best defense in the country and was on full display.
“So, you can’t beat them because they’re so good at defense without ball movement, and we didn’t have enough of it,” Jakus said.
North Texas successfully attacked the Owls by dishing it out for 3-point opportunities. The Owls countered with man-to-man traps, but North Texas responded by finding the open man and hitting 3s.
“We were just trying to trap them and they were making the right decisions by passing it out,” Miller said.
North Texas beat the Owls with their high shot-making efficiency and energy. The Owls lacked ball movement, which was the key to cracking down on North Texas. North Texas executed a lockdown defense, completely shutting down the lane and leaving no openings to the basket.
“We got to do a better job of coming into the game with more energy, especially at halftime. Sometimes we just don’t, and then it gives them a little run where it hurts a lot,” Miller said.
The Owls have lost their last two games by double digits. These past two games have been challenging for the Owls, as their energy has been off, allowing their opponents to dictate the game’s tempo. Bouncing back, the Owls travel to play USF at noon ET Sunday in Tampa.
“There’s two things that are going to be drastically different next game, and we’ll address that going forward,” Jakus said.
