North Texas was eliminated in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament in 1988, 2007 and 2010.
March was kind to North Texas for the first time on Friday when the bracket-busting Mean Green knocked off Purdue in the first round of the men's NCAA tournament 78–69 in overtime, the program's first win in the competition in school history.
The No. 13-seeded Mean Green had appeared in the fabled tournament only three times before, but lost in every first-round appearance. Unlike in 1988, 2007 and 2010, the Mean Green live to see the Round of 32.
The No. 4-seeded Boilermakers found themselves on the wrong side of history, though, after they missed their first nine shots in overtime.
North Texas had four players score double digits in the win. Senior Javion Hamlet led the charge with 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Senior Thomas Bell and junior Mardrez McBride both had 16 points while senior James Reese had 13.
Purdue freshman Jaden Ivey poured in 26 points to lead all scorers. The next leading scorer for the Boilermakers was junior forward Trevion Williams with 14 points and 13 rebounds. Despite no other Purdue player scoring double digits, it went down to the wire.
Williams had the ball with his team down by two with less than 30 seconds to go in the fourth quarter. He missed on a post move but was able grab his own miss and scored on the second attempt to tie it up at 61 with 21 seconds to go in regulation.
After a tipped pass and a missed mid-range jumper from Reese, the Mean Green had to fight for history in overtime.
But Purdue went scoreless for the first 4:32 of overtime and its offensive slump gave way to a North Texas dance party.
North Texas will face the winner of Villanova/Winthrop game that immediately followed.
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