After finishing their 2024-25 season with a loss to UAB in the AAC Championship semifinal, the North Texas Mean Green men's basketball team failed to reach the NCAA tournament.
Their 24-8 record across the campaign did, however, earned them a spot as a No. 2 seed in the annual NIT tournament. After two straight home wins, they headed on the road for a quarterfinal matchup against the 17-18, No. 4 seed Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Wait what?
That's right. Despite holding a higher seed and a better record than Oklahoma State, the Mean Green had to move what was supposed to be a home game at the UNT Coliseum—a.k.a. the Super Pit—to Stillwater, Okla. due to a scheduling conflict.
The scheduling conflict? A staff appreciation lunch.
"We worked with campus to explore alternative venues but, for a number of reasons, weren’t able to find another suitable venue for so many attendees," North Texas athletic director Jared Mosley said to the . "There is no guarantee even if the staff appreciation luncheon could have been moved that we would have been selected to host due to other planning the NIT does and not knowing if television would have slotted our game for Tuesday or Wednesday."
While having to hit the road was unfortunate, the Mean Green still took down the Cowboys 61-59 and are now headed to the NIT Semifinals on Monday.
Thankfully, this one's at a neutral site.