LINKS: Notes | Tickets (Home) | VMI
 
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
LINKS: Access links for video, audio and live stats on the men's basketball schedule page on GoMocs.com.
TV/VIDEO: ESPN3 - VMI Production.
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".
 
SOCON CHAMPIONSHIPS CURRENT SEEDS & SCENARIOS
1 - CHATTANOOGA
2 - ETSU
3 - Furman
4 - Wofford
5 - Western Carolina
6 - UNCG
7 - Mercer
8 - VMI
9 - Samford
10 - The Citadel
 
The only remaining question is the eight and nine seeds. VMI needs a win Monday night to secure the eight. It is all semantics since the Keydets face Samford regardless on being the eight or nine.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Follow the action on Twitter @GoMocsMBB. Get interactive using the hashtags GoMocs and ReptheC.
 
NEXT UP         
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 clinched at least a share of the regular season Southern Conference Championship with Saturday's win over Samford. It's the 11th such title (20 tries) since the Mocs joined the league in 1977-78. History notes on page 5 of the notes package.
- The seeds are nearly set for this weekend's SoCon Championship. The only question is at No. 8 and 9, but they play each other in round one: (1) Chattanooga, (2) ETSU, (3) Furman, (4) Wofford, (5) Western Carolina, (6) UNCG, (7) Mercer, (8) VMI/Samford, (9) Samford/VMI and (10) The Citadel. Complete SoCon standings, current seeding and possible scenarios are on page 8 of the notes package.
- Most SoCon Championships since 1977-78 (Reg Season/Tournament/Division): Chattanooga 29 (11/8/10), Davidson 22 (2/12/8), ETSU 13 (3/4/6), App State 12 (3/7/2), Marshall 8 (3/2/3), Coll. of Charleston 8 (0/7/1), Wofford 6 (1/2/3), Furman 4 (2/0/2) and Western Carolina 3 (0/3/1).
- The Mocs are shooting for their 11th road win of the season. That easily eclipses the school record of eight done four times: 1981-82 (8-3), 1991-92 (8-5), 1992-93 (8-3) and 2002-03 (8-5).
- UTC earns its first out-right SoCon title since 1994 with a win over VMI. Of the 10 previous regular season championships, only three were shared.
 
OPENING TIPS
- Chattanooga is tied for eighth nationally in winning percentage (.833).
- 25 wins is a school record for REGULAR SEASON victories (23, 1992-93). It's the most triumphs overall since 26 during the 1993 (26-7) SoCon Championship run.
- Two shy of the school record (27) set by the 1977 DII National Champions (27-5) and 1982 SoCon Champs (27-4).
- 25-5 is the best opening to a season since 1982-83 (26-3).
- 40-11 series lead, 35-9 in regular season SoCon matchups. More series notes on page 6 of the notes package.
- Won 12 of 14, 20 of 23 and 22 of last 26.
- 41-10 (.804) in league play since start of the 2013-14 slate. They're 18-7 (.720) on the road over that span.
- 401-223 (.643) in regular season SoCon games, 157-155 (.502) away.
- Leading the SoCon in scoring margin (+9.9), FG% (46.5) and blocks (4.6).
- Individual league leaders: Justin Tuoyo in blocks (2.3). Complete SoCon stat rankings (overall & league games only) are on page 9 of the notes package.
- Greg Pryor has already set career highs for assists (110), steals (44), FT made (106) and FT attempted (131) in a season.
- Eric Robertson drilled four treys in the win Saturday. He's made three or more in 27 career games.
- Tre' McLean ranks among the league's top 15 in 10 of 12 categories missing on 3pt/game and A/TO ratio.
- Chuck Ester is averaging 9.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game in February.
- Justin Tuoyo is shooting 73.3 percent (77-105) from the FT line in SoCon contests
- Dee Oldham is averaging 10.0 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game in nine February outings. He's shooting 49.1 percent (26-53) from the field, 40.0 percent (10-25) from long range and 90.3 percent (28-31) from the free throw line.
- Duke Ethridge is posting 7.2 points and 3.5 boards in 15.7 minutes per game.
- Johnathan Burroughs-Cook is averaging 6.2 points per game largely at the one.
- Alex Bran (50.0%) and Peyton Woods (46.2%) provide strong 3pt shooting in reserve.
- For more information, click the notes link above to access game notes for both programs.
 
HEAD COACH MATT MCCALL
- Head Coach Matt McCall is 25-5 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 10-4 on the road.
- First Mocs ball coach to start his tenure 25-5 or better. Next best through 30 games? 21-9 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 KEYDETS
- 9-19, 4-13 in the Southern Conference. They're 8-5 at home, 4-4 in league play.
- Head Coach Dan Earl is 9-19 in his first season at VMI after a stint as the associate coach at Navy. He is 0-1 against the Mocs.
- 2nd in the league in blocks (3.9) and 3pt made per game (8.8).
- Q.J. Peterson leads the SoCon in scoring (19.5) and his team rebounding (6.1), assists (2.6) and steals (1.4). He is second in the conference in 3pt made per game (2.8) and FT shooting (91.8%). He had 24 points, six assists and two steals in the first meeting.
- Julian Eleby also scores in double digits at 14.4 per game. He leads the squad in 3pt percentage (39.6) and is one assist behind Peterson. He had 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the narrow double OT loss to the Mocs at VMI last season.
- Phillip Anglade adds 8.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game shooting a team-best 52.6 percent from the field.
 
LAST MEETING
Chattanooga 85, VMI 59 - Full box score.
5 Notes from the Feb. 18 meeting in Chattanooga:
- 33-59 from the field (55.9%) … 11th time shooting 50%+ from the field this season … most since 2004 … has not lost when shooting 50% or better from the field.
- Chattanooga opened the contest on a 20-3 run …closed the first half on 20-3 spurt …started second 20 10-0 … 50-6 over 15-plus minutes of play.
- Most wins in the regular season in school history … 24 wins is a new school record for the regular season … most total wins since 1996-97 NCAA Sweet 16 team won 24 ... that teams also counted victories over Georgia and Illinois … three wins shy of the school overall record of 27 set in the 1977 (27-5) and 1982 (27-4) seasons.
- Chuck Ester tied his career high with 13 points ... shot 5-7 including 2-3 from 3pt range.
- Greg Pryor topped the 800-point mark for his career ... game-high six assists.
 
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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).