GAME NOTES | MEDIA CENTER | UNCG
 
CHATTANOOGA---McKenzie Arena hosts a big weekend for the Chattanooga Mocs basketball programs. Back-to-back doubleheaders await the Mocs faithful beginning Thursday night. The men welcome UNCG to town in a matchup of two teams with a game of first-place in the Southern Conference.
 
The Mocs, 15-6 overall and 6-3 in league play, begin the second half of the SoCon race a game behind co-leaders Furman and ETSU at 7-2. UNCG is sandwiched in between the trio at 7-3.
 
The first meeting between the two was a five-point Spartans win, 73-68, in Greensboro. A 16-0 run put UNCG ahead 50-42 with 13:52 left in the game. The Mocs battled back and closed to within one, 69-68, with just over a minute to play. It went to the final possession with a turnover in the lane at the nine-second mark providing the home team the ability to ice the game at the free throw line.
 
The Mocs have had a 20-point scorer in three straight games. Tre' McLean tallied 23 in the Samford win followed by Pryor with 23 and 21 against VMI and ETSU, respectively. The last time the program had four straight games featuring with at least 20-point performances was Feb. 4-23, 2014 courtesy of three different student-athletes: Z. Mason, Gee McGhee and Casey Jones.
 
Tre' McLean leads the Mocs with a 14.0 point-per-game average followed by Justin Tuoyo's 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest. Francis Alonso (13.9 ppg), Diante Baldwin (13.1) and R.J. White (11.8) pace the Spartans.
 
The game is the second half of a doubleheader following the Mocs women's team taking on SoCon co-leader Mercer at 5:30 p.m. A ticket purchased for either contest is valid for both. It serves as a general admission seat for the opposite game. For instance, if you have a reserved seat ticket for the men's game, it is good for a GA seat for the women's, which is all the non-padded seats reserved seats on either side of the court.
 
Game View
UNCG (16-7/7-3) at Chattanooga (15-6/6-3) – 7:30 p.m. – WatchESPN (ESPN3)
 
5 Notes to Know

• Two games separate the top five teams in the SoCon standings. UNCG is third at 7-3, a half-game behind Furman and ETSU (7-2), while the Mocs are fourth at 6-3. Samford is fifth at 5-4.
• Shooting 50.9 percent (37.5% 3pt) from the floor at home.
• 21-4 (.840) in last 25 SoCon home matchups.
• 36 SoCon wins since 2014-15 is six shy of school-record (42) for 3-year period (1982-84/1992-94). The 36-9 (.800) mark leads Wofford (31-14) by five games and is seven clear of ETSU (29-16).
• Justin Tuoyo is 28 points shy of 1,000 at UTC.

 
Matt McCall on…
Thoughts on high-level SoCon matchup with five teams so closely bunched together in the standings:
"I think it's the next game on the schedule. There's no 'must win'...you can't look at it that way. You have to look at as we have to do our job in THIS game. That's the bottom line. Once you get past this, do your job in the next game. Paying attention to where we are in the standings gets us off what we need to do against Greensboro. Whatever else is going on doesn't matter."
 
Thoughts on first half of SoCon race as we turn to the second nine games:
"This is what college basketball is all about. Getting into league play…fighting, scratching and clawing for every victory. That's what makes college basketball what it is. Especially in a one-bid conference, every game matters, every possession matters. You have to focus on each-and-every possession, getting better every possession and making strides towards the end of February and into March."
 
The Series

• 41st meeting.
• 22-18 series lead – 12-6 in McKenzie Arena.
• 18-15 in regular season SoCon matchups.
• 4-6 in the last 10 meetings.
• McCall is 1-2 vs. the Spartans…0-1 in Chattanooga.
• Previous Meeting this season: Story | Stats | Notes | Quotes

 
Stat to Follow
UNCG is 12-0 when its opponents shoots less than 45 percent from the field this season.
 
WATCH the game on 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).