GAME NOTES | MEDIA CENTER | WESTERN CAROLINA
 
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball squad navigated the non-league schedule with a 9-3 record. It marked just the second time in program history with nine wins at the holiday break (10-2, 2015-16). But those games are in the rearview as the Southern Conference slate emerges over the horizon.
 
The 18-game, round-robin SoCon schedule begins Saturday at Western Carolina. It marks the fourth straight year the Mocs open on the road. The squad looks to continue its trend with second, second and first place finishes over the previous three campaigns.
 
5 Notes to Know

• 22-17 (.564) in SoCon openers, 9-11 (.450) on the road. Three straight wins in SoCon openers, all on the road.
• 27-7 (.794) during the 2016 calendar year. Marks back-to-back 25-plus win years and for just the sixth time: 1983 (29-3), 1977 (26-6), 1982 (26-4), 1993 (25-5) & 2015 (25-6).
• 12th in the nation in steals per contest (9.3)…Tre' McLean (2.0) and Greg Pryor (1.8) are 46th and 85th individually.
• 18th in the country in FG Percentage shooting 49.7 percent…Casey Jones (67.9%) and Justin Tuoyo (64.8%) are 1-2 in the league in FG percentage.
• Tuoyo is 4th nationally averaging 3.6 blocks per game. He's currently fifth all-time in SoCon history with 224 career blocked shots.

 
Matt McCall on…
Starting league play at Western Carolina:
"It's a place we haven't had a lot of success at the last couple of years. We've had a good couple of days of practice this week. I think as a coach, your biggest concern is the amount of time between games. It's been awhile (Dec. 21) since we've played someone else, so how do we respond when the ball's thrown up in the air? It's a difficult place to play and against one of the more physical teams in our league. It'll be a great challenge for us."
 
The 9-3 non-conference mark:
"I told the guys after the Jacksonville State game that I was really proud of how they've approached our non-league season. It's easy when you come into a season, with as many expectations that have been put on this team, to get complacent, especially in the non-league, and they didn't do that. Our guys battled the complacency, the human nature part of it and handled their business. No it's time to start a new season, I think our guys are really excited about it."
 
The Series

• 88th meeting…63-24 vs. Western Carolina…20-20 in Cullowhee.
• 51-21 in regular season SoCon matchups.
• 2-1 vs. Western Carolina (1-0 in Cullowhee) in its first league game of the season. The last time the Mocs opened SoCon play in Cullowhee was an 83-62 win on Jan. 5, 1991.
• 6-4 in the last 10 meetings.
• Matt McCall is 2-1 vs. the Catamounts…0-1 in Cullowhee.
• Last year's games: Home | Away | SoCon Semis

 
STAT TO FOLLOW: WCU is 2nd in the SoCon in FG% Defense (41.1%), while the Mocs shoot a league-best 49.7 percent.
 
WATCH the game online via the WatchESPN App (ESPN3).
 
LISTEN on Real 96.1 FM in Chattanooga or through the iHeart (search Real 96.1) and TuneIn (search Chattanooga Mocs) radio apps.
 
LINKS to tickets, live stats, video (ESPN3) and audio (Mocs Sports Network) are on GoMocs.com's men's basketball schedule page.
 
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ABOUT CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
- The Mocs are by far the most successful program in the Southern Conference since joining the league in 1977-78. The team has won 30 titles with 11 regular season, 11 tournament and eight division.
- 16 NCAA Tournament Appearances (11 DI): 1961 (DII), 1973 (DII), 1975 (DII), 1976 (DII Runner-up), 1977 (DII National Champs), 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 (Sweet 16), 2005, 2009, 2016
- 11 SoCon Tournament Crowns: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2009, 2016
- 11 SoCon Regular Season Championships: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 2016
- 8 Division Titles: 1995, 1997, 1998, 2002, 2005, 2008, 2009, 2011
- The 1997 team went to the NCAA Sweet 16 with wins over Georgia and Illinois.
- 5 SoCon Players of the Year: Willie White (1981-82), Keith Nelson (1991-92), Tim Brooks (1992-93), Chad Copeland (1993-94) and Johnny Taylor (1996-97).
- 3 SoCon Defensive Players of the Year: Z. Mason (2014), Justin Tuoyo (2015, 2016).
- 4 SoCon Coaches of the Year: Murray Arnold (1982, '83), Mack McCarthy (1986, '92, '93), Will Wade (2014) and Matt McCall (2016).
- 9 NBA Draft Picks: Walter "Moose" McGary (1973 & '74), William Gordon (1977), Wayne Golden (1977), Russ Schoene (1982), Nick Morken (1982), Willie White (1984), Gerald Wilkins (1985, 13 seasons) and Johnny Taylor (1997 1st Round).