GAME NOTES | MEDIA CENTER | FURMAN
 
CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team is back in action Saturday night with a visit from Southern Conference leader Furman. Tipoff is at 5 p.m., in McKenzie Arena.
 
Furman is 10-6 overall, 3-0 in league play. That's a half-game clear of ETSU in second at 2-0 with the Mocs, Samford and UNCG all lurking at 2-1.
 
With the student body still away for the holiday break, the Mocs ticket and marketing gurus bring back a well-received promotion from a season ago. The student section is being sold to alumni to return to their roots with $5 tickets. The first 100 receive a t-shirt.
 
Game View
Furman (10-6/3-0) at Chattanooga (11-4/2-1) – 5 p.m. – WatchESPN (ESPN3)
 
5 Notes to Know

• 80-35 (.696) over last four seasons (18-15/22-10/29-6/11-4). That ranks No. 1 in the state of Tennessee and the SoCon.
• Won 26 of the last 27 home games.
• Senior Justin Tuoyo is second nationally in blocks per game (3.7). He's 5th all-time in SoCon history with 236 in his career.
• The Mocs are top 50 in the nation in steals (17, 8.7), blocks (29, 5.4), FG% (29, 48.6) and TO margin (3.1). Individually, along being second in blocks, Tuoyo is 12th in FG percentage (62.6%).
• Looks to be a defensive battle with the Paladins leading the league in scoring defense for the year (64.5 ppg), while the Mocs are No. 1 in SoCon games only (62.3).

Matt McCall on…
Matchup vs. Furman:
"It seems like every time we get into the Southern Conference schedule, you always have a team coming in here undefeated, in first-place and that present great challenges for us. Niko Medved is doing a terrific job there. Every year his teams have gotten better and better. They present a lot of problems all over the floor. We have to match their physicality and toughness."
 
On facing one of the top defensive squads in the country:
"It starts with how hard they play and how physical they are as a unit. At the end of the day, that's what makes them such a good defensive team. I think you'll have two of the better defensive teams in the conference squaring off. It's going to boil down to who can get stops. We need to make stops and get out on the break."
 
The Series

• 81st meeting with Furman.
• UTC leads the series 53-27 (29-7 in Chattanooga).
• 47-23 in regular season SoCon matchups.
• Won six of the last eight meetings.
• 6-4 in the last 10 matchups.
• McCall is 1-1 vs. the Paladins…1-0 in Chattanooga.
• Last year's games: Home | Away

Stat to Follow
Furman is No. 40 in the country in scoring defense limiting opponents to 64.5 points per game. UTC averages 78.5 points per contest and is 9-1 this season, 33-2 over last two, when scoring 70 or more.
 
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.
 
GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the UTC Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.
 
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).