2015-16 CHATTANOOGA MOCS BASKETBALL PREVIEW
Samford (13-17/4-13) at Chattanooga (24-5/13-3)
Game 30 | Sat., Feb. 27, 2016 | 5 p.m. | McKenzie Arena (10,995) | Chattanooga, Tenn.
 
LINKS
Story | Notes | Tickets (Home) | Samford
 
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
LINKS: Access links for video, audio and live stats on the men's basketball schedule page on GoMocs.com.
TV/VIDEO: ESPN3 - Pete Yanity (PxP) and Dean Keener (Analysis).
RADIO: The Mocs Sports Network flagship station is 96.1 the Legend FM in Chattanooga. Jim Reynolds is in his 36th year as the play-by-play "Voice of the Mocs".
 
PROMOTIONS
DH - Women face ETSU at 2 p.m.
 
Military Appreciation: Active & Retired military personnel, police, fire and first responders (& families) free.
 
Kids Free Saturday with free GA ticket for youth with paid adult.
 
Chick-Fil-A Chicken Biscuits for first 500 students.
 
SOCON CHAMPIONSHIPS CURRENT SEEDS & SCENARIOS
1 - CHATTANOOGA
2 - ETSU
3 - Furman
4 - Wofford
5 - Western Carolina
6 - UNCG
7 - Mercer
8 - Samford
9 - VMI
10 - The Citadel
 
1/2: UTC clinches 1 seed with a win over Samford or at VMI Monday or an ETSU loss. The Bucs are no worse than the 2 seed and gets 1 seed only if it is outright SoCon Champ.
 
3/4: Furman holds tie-breaker over Wofford based on series split with the Paladins' win over UTC getting it the nod.
 
5/6/7: UNCG has to win Sunday to clinch a bye. It gets the 5 with a win & Western loss.  A loss to Mercer gives the Bears the 6, while the Spartans drop to 7. Western Carolina gets the 5 with a win over Furman OR a UNCG loss to Mercer OR a 3-way tie at 9-9.
 
8/9/10: No. 8 plays No. 9 so here are the scenarios for the 10 seed. The VMI/Citadel loser is the 10. Samford cannot be the 10 based on its season sweep of The Citadel. In a possible 3-way tie at 4-14, Samford is 8, Citadel 9 and VMI 10.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the action on Twitter @GoMocsMBB. Get interactive using the hashtags GoMocs and ReptheC.
 
NEXT UP         
Monday, Feb. 29 at VMI, 7 p.m.
March 5-7 – SoCon Championships – Asheville, N.C.
 
RANKINGS
Chattanooga is No. 15 in this week's CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25. The poll is announced on Mondays here.
 
STARTING FIVE
- Chattanooga leads the SoCon at 13-3. ETSU (13-4) is second with Furman and Wofford (11-6) tied for third. Western Carolina and UNCG (9-8) are tied in fifth with Mercer (8-9) a game behind in seventh. Top six seeds earn a first round bye at SoCon Championships. Complete SoCon standings, current seeding and possible scenarios are on page 8 of the notes package.
- Senior Day is celebrated with four honorees: Alex Bran (2013-16), Duke Ethridge (2015-16), Dee Oldham (2016) and Eric Robertson (2013-16). This signing class (4-year period) is 77-49 (.611).
- The Mocs are tied for third for the nation's wins lead with 24. Xavier and Little Rock lead with 25. Complete NCAA statistical rankings are on page 9 of the notes package.
- UTC clinches at least a share of the SoCon Regular Season title with a win. Complete schedule on page 2 of the notes package.
- Chattanooga is 20-0 when scoring 70 or more points this season. Samford is 7-12 when allowing 70 or more, 2-9 in SoCon play. Check out the indicators on page 10 of the notes package.
 
OPENING TIPS
- Chattanooga is fifth nationally in winning percentage (.857).
- 24 wins is a school record for REGULAR SEASON victories (23, 1992-93). It's the most triumphs overall since 24 during the 1997 NCAA Sweet 16 run. The last time with 25? 1992-93 (26-7).
- Three shy of the school record (27) set by the 1977 DII National Champions (27-5) and 1982 SoCon Champs (27-4).
- 24-5 is the best opening to a season since 1982-83 (26-3).
- 54-36 series lead, 11-4 in regular season SoCon matchups. Bulldogs are the Mocs most faced opponent. More series notes on page 6 of the notes package.
- Won 11 of 13, 19 of 22 and 21 of last 25.
- 40-10 (.800) in league play since start of the 2013-14 slate. They're 22-3 (.880) at home over that span.
- 400-223 (.642) in regular season SoCon games, 243-68 (.781) at home.
- Leading the SoCon in scoring margin (+9.8), FG% (46.6), 3pt% defense (32.9) and blocks (4.5).
- Individual league leaders: Justin Tuoyo in blocks (2.2). Complete SoCon stat rankings (overall & league games only) are on page 9 of the notes package.
- Greg Pryor is two rebounds shy of 200. He has 809 points, 198 boards, 251 assists and 116 steals.
- Eric Robertson is arguably the best 3pt shooter in school history. He is the only Moc in the top 3 in 3pt made (3rd, 183) and percentage (2nd, 41.8%).
- Tre' McLean last 21 games (since Casey Jones injury): 13.7 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 2.3 apg & 1.7 spg. Shot 50.2percent from the floor, 41.2 percent from beyond the arc, while converting 80.8 percent at the FT line.
- Chuck Ester averages since last meeting with Samford (8 games): 9.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg and 1.6 apg shooting 54.7 percent from the field including 45.5 percent from 3pt range.
- Justin Tuoyo is three blocks shy of 100 against SoCon opponents.
- Dee Oldham is averaging 9.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in eight February outings. He's shooting 50.0 percent (23-46) from the field, 40.9 percent (9-22) from long range and 88.9 percent (24-27) from the free throw line.
- For more information, click the notes link above to access game notes for both programs.
 
HEAD COACH MATT MCCALL
- Head Coach Matt McCall is 24-5 in his first season as a head coach. He comes to Chattanooga from Florida where he was an assistant to Billy Donovan over the last four years. He is 12-1 at home.
- First Mocs ball coach to start his tenure 24-5 or better. Next best through 29 games? 21-8 by Mack McCarthy (1985-86) and Jeff Lebo (2002-03).
- McCall is a 2004 graduate of Florida. He spent 10 seasons with Billy Donovan working as a student manager (2003-06), director of basketball ops (2006-08) and assistant coach (2011-15). He spent three seasons as an assistant to Mike Jarvis at Florida Atlantic (2008-11) culminating with a school-best 21-11 mark in 2010-11.
- McCall's staff includes a former head coach, Reggie Witherspoon (Buffalo, 1999-2013), fellow former FAU assistant Peter Gash and Jesse Bopp, a former prep school head coach that most recently served as director of basketball ops for Shaka Smart at VCU. Former Gator SEC Legend Eddie Shannon is the director of basketball ops, while Jacob Kurtz is video coordinator after completing his playing career in 2015 at UF. Jordan Clark returns as graduate manager.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS    
- 13-17, 4-13 in the Southern Conference. They're 5-10 on the road, 1-7 in league play.
- Head Coach Scott Padgett is 27-35 in his second season as a collegiate head coach, all at Samford. He is 11-24 in SoCon games and has a 0-3 mark against the Mocs, 0-1 in Chattanooga.
- Darius Jones-Gibson is the top scorer with a trio averaging in double figures for the Bulldogs. He posts 14.9 points per game while ranking second on the squad in assists (3.4) and tied for third in steals (0.9).
- Christen Cunningham leads the team in assists at 4.0 per contest. That ranks third in the SoCon. He adds 14.0 ppg and is second to Iman Johnson in steals (1.0). Cunningham is the top FT shooter (82.1%).
- Freshman Wyatt Walker chips in 10.8 points along with a team-high 6.1 boards per game.
- Samford is third in the conference in field goal percentage overall at 45.8 percent. In games against just SoCon competition, it's just percentage points (47.803%) behind Furman (47.821%) in second.
 
LAST MEETING           
Chattanooga 63, Samford 56 - Full box score.
5 Notes from the Jan. 30 meeting in Birmingham:
- +11 advantage on the glass (43-32)…season-high 17 offensive rebounds.
- Came into the game leading the SoCon in 3pt percentage (39.5%)…shot 16.7 percent (3-18)…season-low for threes made...made just 1-11 (9.1%) in the first half…teams combined to shoot 6-32 (18.8%) from beyond the arc.
- Second time this season UTC's won shooting less than 40 percent from the field (39.3% vs. Mercer, Jan. 5)…2-2 in those instances.
- First career double-double for Tre' McLean with 12 points and a then-career-best 10 rebounds as well as a career-high four steals.
 - Justin Tuoyo tied for game-high honors with 15 points in 23 minutes played…5th straight game in double figures…averaging 17.4 per contest over that span…added seven rebounds.
 
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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 28 titles with 10 regular season, 10 tournament and eight division.
- 15 NCAA Tournament Appearances: 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
- 10 SoCon Tournament Crowns: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1988, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 2005, 2009
- 10 SoCon Regular Season Championships: 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
- 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).
- 2 SoCon Defensive Player of the Year: Z. Mason (2014), Justin Tuoyo (2015).
- 3 SoCon Coaches of the Year: Murray Arnold (1982, '83), Mack McCarthy (1986, '92, '93) and Will Wade (2014).
- 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).