FAU, N. Texas meet in CUSA quarters

No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic (17-15, 9-10) vs. No. 1 seed North Texas (20-11, 14-4)

Conference USA Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Ford Center at The Star, Frisco, Texas; Thursday, 6 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: A spot in the CUSA semifinals is on the line as Florida Atlantic and North Texas match up. The only meeting between the teams this season came on Jan. 11, when the Mean Green shot 57.1 percent from the field while holding Florida Atlantic to just 38.6 percent en route to an 81-58 victory.

SENIOR STUDS: North Texas has relied heavily on its seniors this year. Javion Hamlet, Umoja Gibson, Zachary Simmons and Deng Geu have collectively accounted for 64 percent of the team’s scoring this year and 72 percent of all Mean Green points over the last five games.

FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Hamlet has either made or assisted on 50 percent of all North Texas field goals over the last five games. The senior guard has 34 field goals and 25 assists in those games.

UNBEATEN WHEN: The Mean Green are 9-0 when they record eight or more steals and 11-11 when they fall shy of that mark. The Owls are 5-0 when they make 12 or more 3-pointers and 12-15 when the team hits fewer than 12 from long range.

ASSIST RATIOS: The Mean Green have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Owls. North Texas has an assist on 35 of 70 field goals (50 percent) across its past three outings while Florida Atlantic has assists on 38 of 86 field goals (44.2 percent) during its past three games.

STIFLING DEFENSE: North Texas has held opposing teams to 63.3 points per game, the lowest figure among all CUSA teams.