GoMocs.com kicked off the summer top 10 on Tuesday with the Top 10 Plays of 2015-16
here. Thursdays are reserved for the Top 10 Moments series.
The countdown begins with a perfect slate in the month of December. Six games, six wins. Four at home, two on the road. It was the first unblemished month since January 1997.
How difficult is it to go undefeated over such a period? It was just the sixth time it's happened in the DI era. Here's the list:
- December 2015: 6-0
- January 1997: 8-0
- January 1985: 8-0
- December 1983: 8-0
- February 1983: 9-0
- January 1982: 10-0
Just twice in the last 31 years. Over that span, we've won 540 games. But just two undefeated months. So it begged the question of coach
Matt McCall, how hard is it to go undefeated over 30/31 days?
It all started with a 91-63 win over Tennessee Wesleyan after finals ended. Then the biggest win of the season as the Mocs snapped Dayton's 26-game home winning streak. The Flyers went on to share the Atlantic 10 title with St. Bonaventure and VCU earning an at large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Chattanooga led early before Dayton flipped the score in the second leading by as many as eight. The visitors from the Scenic City battled, scraped and fought their way back to the lead before the game was tied in the final minute.
Two
Greg Pryor free throws with 5.3 seconds remaining proved to be the winner, but this
Justin Tuoyo slam on a nice feed from
Chuck Ester was a late lift.
via GIPHY
There was no resting on laurels for this crew. Three nights later, they set a Roundhouse record shooting 60 percent from 3pt range (12-20) in an 80-69 win over Tennessee Tech.
Eric Robertson (5-7), Pryor (3-4) and
Tre' McLean (3-3) each made three or more in the onslaught. The fifth by "3-Rob" made it an 18-point game (76-58) with 3:28 to go. A recurring theme for a season of unselfishness was the nice pass by McLean.
via GIPHY
Tuoyo's 21 points and 12 rebounds led his squad past Kennesaw State before a meeting with Radford. The Highlanders boasted wins over Georgetown and Penn State before arriving in Chattanooga. It was a hard-fought battle between the two.
UTC led basically from start-to-finish but couldn't shake Radford. An eight-point halftime lead was cut to one, 55-54, after Cameron Jones' three with 10:35 to go.
Pryor was undaunted. As you see below, he nails a triple on the ensuing possession, gets fouled and completed the 4pt play as the Mocs never relinquished their advantage.
via GIPHY
The final contest of the month was a short drive up the road to Lipscomb in Nashville. The Mocs played the right tune that night rolling to an 80-56 limiting their hosts to a meager 32.8 percent from the field.
The play of the game began our top 10 plays series.
Jackson White came off the bench late to set up the alley oop rim rattling by
Duke Ethridge.
via GIPHY
There it is…6-0 for the month of December. These Mocs made sure it was a happy holidays for all, except their opponents of course.
