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CHATTANOOGA---The Chattanooga Mocs turn their attention to an old friend. The oldest in fact in terms of meetings. No other school has lined up vs the Mocs more than Samford. This is the 104th matchup.
 
Most ancient rivalries around the country involve teams that have shared a conference for a long time. This one, which started in 1926 with a 23-12 triumph in Birmingham, only includes 27 contests in the Southern Conference, after the Bulldogs entry in 2008. To be fair, there's the sharing of the Dixie Conference way back when. That was then, this is now.
 
The Mocs are looking to bounce back from a tough start in SoCon play. After sweeping the 9-game non-conference schedule, close losses to Furman (77-73) and at VMI (84-79) have the squad seeing red. Samford comes to town 5-4, 1-1 in league play, with a win over VMI (84-71) and a loss at Wofford (94-84).
 
David Jean-Baptiste leads the way at 19.6 points per game, a 23.5 average in the first two league contests. Malachi Smith provides 16.3 points and 11.0 rebounds per outing, the latter ranking tops in the SoCon and 11th in the nation. Stefan Kenic adds 13.1 points per game and is an unlikely third on the squad with 22 assists, one fewer than he tallied in 27 appearances a year ago.
 
Myron Gordon paces four in double digits at 17.0 per game for the Bulldogs. Christian Guess adds 15.8 points and 10.0 rebounds playing five of the nine games, while A.J. Staton-McCray (11.8) and Logan Dye (10.0) joining the duo.
 
Watch on ESPN+ along with WFLI 97.7 FM/1070 AM in Chattanooga as well as the TuneIn app.
 
Game 12: Chattanooga (9-2/0-2) vs. Samford (5-4/1-1)
Jan. 6 | 7 p.m. | McKenzie Arena (10,995)
 
MEDIA AVAILABILITY
TV: ESPN+. Chris Goforth (PxP) & Todd Agne (analysis)
 
RADIO: WFLI 97.7 FM/1070 AM. Jim Reynolds is in his 41st year as the "Voice of the Mocs". The audio broadcast is also available on the TuneIn app.          
 
vs. SAMFORD
104th meeting | Record: 64-39 | Home: 40-12 | Away: 22-27 | Neutral: 2-0 | SoCon Regular Season: 17-7
- Won five of last six in the series.
- 15-1 vs Samford in Roundhouse.
- 40 home wins in the series is the most against any opponent followed by Western Carolina (37-6), The Citadel (36-6), Tennessee Wesleyan (36-8), Furman (30-11), App State (28-7) & ETSU (25-12).
- 5-1 in Lexington over that span.
- The Mocs shot 46.3 percent (31-67) from 3pt range in last year's series sweep.
 
LAST MEETING
92-84 win at Samford on Jan. 20, 2020: STORY | STATS | NOTES | QUOTES
 
COACHES
Chattanooga: Lamont Paris (Wooster '96) | UTC: 51-58 (4th season) | Career: Same | vs. Samford: 5-2
Samford: Bucky McMillian (Birmingham-Southern '06) | Samford: 5-4 (1st) | Career: Same | vs. UTC: 0-0
 
3 NOTES TO KNOW
- A win would mark the ninth 10-2 start in school history: 1927 (13-2), 1972-73 (10-2), 1974-75 (13-2), 1976-77 (13-2), 1981-82 (18-2), 1982-83 (12-2), 1993-94 (11-2) & 2015-16 (13-2). The all-time best start more than 10 games came in 1973-74 beginning the campaign 19-1 and rising to No. 1 in the AP College Division (DII) poll.
- Malachi Smith earned SoCon December Player of the Month leading the Mocs to a 7-1 mark over that span. It's the second league honor of his young career earning Player of the Week on Dec. 22 for keying the squad in late-game triumphs over UNC Asheville and at UAB.
- David Jean-Baptiste is 30th all-time at UTC with 1,062 points. 38 points separate him from 25th Ronrico White (1,100) with Gary Stitch (1,084), James Jones (1,081), Stephen McDowell (1,075) & Johnny Taylor (1,070) in between.
 
3 STATS TO KNOW
- Chattanooga leads the SoCon in defensive rebound percentage (77.5%) and ranks among the national leaders in fouls per game (11th), FT percentage (26th), FT made (37) and 3pt percentage (37th). The school record for defensive rebound percentage is 76.4 percent set last season. The fourth (72.9%) and sixth (72.5%) best were done in Lamont Paris' first two campaigns in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
- Malachi Smith leads the nation in double-doubles (8) and needs four rebounds Wednesday night to recapture the top spot in total boards.
- Jamaal Walker (48.5%) and A.J. Caldwell (46.7%) have been consistent long-range threats for the Mocs combing for 37-78 (47.4%) beyond the arc.
 
NEXT 3 OPPONENTS
Jan. 9: at The Citadel, 1 p.m. | Current Record: 7-0/0-0 | Next Opp: at Mercer (Jan.6)
Jan. 13: Mercer, 7 p.m. | Current Record: 7-3/0-2 | Next Up: The Citadel (Jan. 6)
Jan. 16: Wofford, 2 p.m. | Current Record: 5-3/2-0 | Next Up: UNCG (Jan. 6)
 
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