GAME NOTES: The Charlotte 49ers hope to get back on track as they host the North Texas Mean Green at Halton Arena for a Conference USA battle.

Charlotte enters Thursday's action one-game below the .500 mark, but it also endured one of the most difficult non-conference slates in the nation. The 49ers also had to begin their league schedule with top-notch competitors in Old Dominion and Western Kentucky, before improving to 1-2 with a 77-72 road win over Marshall. Coach Alan Major's squad suffered setbacks to Miami- Florida, Davidson, George Washington, Georgetown and Georgia Tech. The 49ers also defeated the likes of Penn State, South Carolina and the College of Charleston.

The Mean Green ended a four-game slide their last time out with a 66-63 road victory at Rice. NT's only notable win came over Creighton (62-58) on Dec. 21 as its strength of schedule fails in comparison to that of the 49ers'. NT is holding its opponents to 39.6 percent shooting, which is the lowest mark in recorded in school history. Coach Tony Benford's squad lost home games to Texas-El Paso (85-71) and Texas-San Antonio (71-61) before edging Rice for its inaugural C-USA win of the campaign.

This will be just the fourth meeting in history on the hardwood between these schools. Charlotte owns a 2-1 all-time series lead, although barely as Pierria Henry threw an alley-op at the buzzer to Terrence Williams to give the 49ers a narrow, 76-74 decision when these schools met last January.

Charlotte is ranked second in the C-USA in scoring offense with 73.6 ppg despite ranking last in the conference in free-throw percentage (.607). Henry led the way versus the Thundering Herd with 19 points, nine assists, six steals and five boards. Freshman guard Keyshawn Woods also made his mark, tallying a career-high 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the floor, while Torin Dorn and Williams netted 12 and 11 points, respectively. Dorn, who has been selected as the C-USA Freshman of the Week twice, leads Charlotte with 12.4 ppg after recording 10 double-figures scoring games on the campaign. Henry ranks among the C-USA and nation's leaders in steals per game (2.6), steals (39) and assists per game (5.8). Woods leads the conference in 3-point field goal percentage (.591).

NT is ranked ninth in the C-USA in both scoring offense (64.9 ppg) and scoring defense (67.4 ppg). The Mean Green have limited their opponents to 39.6 percent efficiency from the floor to rank second in the C-USA. In their win over Rice, freshman forward Jeremy Combs spearheaded the charge with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field. Jordan Williams supplied 15 points and Maurice Aniefiok provided a spark off the bench with 13 points. Williams is the clear go-to-guy for NT with 14.9 ppg. Combs is posting 9.3 ppg, but his scoring has been streaky and very unpredictable with four 15-plus point outings and 11 single-digit point finishes.

Charlotte should be prepared to compete for the C-USA crown after surviving its incredibly difficult non-conference slate with a winning record. The 49ers got off to a slow start in league play, but this is a game they are capable of dominating from beginning to end.