GAME NOTES ∙ WATCH ∙ LISTEN ∙ LIVE STATS
 
CHATTANOOGA (Jan. 2, 2024) --- The Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team opens Southern Conference play on Wednesday night with a matchup against a streaking Samford squad inside the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham, Alabama. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
 
Chattanooga (8-5, 0-0 SoCon) looks to bounce back from consecutive road losses at Milwaukee and Auburn which rounded out its non-conference slate for the 2023-24 season. The Mocs aim to avoid first-half struggles that have hindered the team over the past three games. UTC has been outscored 126-76 in the first half during the stretch which has allowed for less than two minutes of leading time over the last 125 total minutes of game time.
 
Samford (11-2, 0-0 SoCon) enters Wednesday's contest riding an 11-game winning streak which is currently tied for the second-longest active streak in NCAA Division I hoops. The Bulldogs feature the nation's sixth highest-scoring offense with a 90.2 points per game average while ranking ninth in the country in three-point percentage at 40.1%.  

Full game preview including coverage links, notes, and more can be found below.

GAME DETAILS
Chattanooga (8-5, 0-0 SoCon) at Samford (11-2, 0-0 SoCon)
7:30 p.m. ET ∙ Pete Hanna Center (Birmingham, Ala. ∙ 5,000)
All-Time Series ∙ UTC leads 68-42 (last: UTC 85, SAM 82 – 3/4/2023)
 
MEDIA COVERAGE
WATCH ∙ ESPN+
LISTEN ∙ WFLI 96.1FM, 100.3FM, 1070AM – Varsity Network – GoMocs.com
LIVE STATS ∙ GoMocs.com
FOLLOW ∙ X/Twitter: @GoMocsMBB  
 
GAME NOTES
Chattanooga ∙ Samford ∙ SoCon

MOCS OVERPOWERED AT AUBURN
Chattanooga (8-5) suffered its second-straight loss after falling 101-66 at SEC-power Auburn on Saturday evening inside a sold-out Neville Arena. The Mocs fell behind early and saw a 49-27 halftime deficit before eventually allowing 100+ points to an opponent for the first time since 2019. Honor Huff paced the squad with a team-high 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting from 3PT.
 
CHATTANOOGA/SAMFORD HISTORY
- Chattanooga and Samford will meet for the 111th time during Wednesday night's matchup in Birmingham. UTC currently leads the all-time series with a 68-42 edge that most recently features an 85-82 Mocs victory in the 2023 SoCon Tournament quarterfinals over the second-seeded Bulldogs in Asheville.
 
CENTURY MARK MILESTONE WATCH
- Head coach Dan Earl sits at 99 career wins in his 9th season as a NCAA Division I HC. Earl posted 73 wins at VMI ('15-22) before earning 18 in his first year at UTC in '22-23.
 
FIRST HALF INEFFICIENCIES, SECOND HALF EFFICIENCIES
- UTC has been outscored 126-76 in the 1H of the last three games while playing to a 131-123 advantage in the 2H (excluding UWM's OT). From 3PT land during that span, the Mocs are a combined 8-45 (17.7%) in the 1H and 23-47 (48.9%) in the 2H. Total FG% sits at 27-95 (28.4%) in the 1H & 45-91 (49.5%) in the 2H. UTC has scored 40+ 2H points in six of its last seven games with a 39 total at Auburn breaking the streak.
 
BONHAM'S BACK & PRODUCING AT HIGH RATE
- Due to the current two-time NCAA transfer rule suspension, Florida (& VMI) guard Trey Bonham has made an immediate impact since his first action on 12/16 @AAMU. Bonham is averaging 15.8p, 5.0r, 3.0a & 2.3s through four games & notched Sportscenter's #1 play with a halfcourt, buzzer-beating three to beat Gardner-Webb 69-66 in his home debut on 12/19.
 
NOT MUCH TIME AHEAD
- Aided by the first half struggles, Chattanooga has led for just a combined 1:56 over 125 minutes of action the last three games. In the last three first halves, UTC trailed by 17 against Gardner-Webb, 16 at Milwaukee and 22 at Auburn. In those three games, UTC has trailed by an average score of 24.6-11.3 over the game's first 10 minutes.

FOLLOW CHATTANOOGA BASKETBALL
Follow @GoMocsMBB on Twitter & on Instagram for the most up-to-date information and news regarding Chattanooga men's basketball.

GoMocs.com is the official website of the Chattanooga Mocs. Buy officially licensed gear in our online store. The Mocs can also be followed on their official Facebook page or on Twitter. Find out how to join the Mocs Club and support more than 300 student-athletes by clicking here.