GAME NOTES ∙ WATCH (ESPN+) ∙ LISTEN ∙ LIVE STATS
CHATTANOOGA (Feb. 7, 2024) --- With a long weekend road trip that includes a pair of games, the Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team opens the trip with a Thursday night Southern Conference battle at VMI inside Cameron Hall in Lexington, Va. Tip-off is set for 6:02 p.m. ET on ESPN+.
Chattanooga (15-8, 7-3 SoCon) looks to rebound from Saturday's home defeat to league-leading Samford while aiming for its fifth-straight SoCon road victory, a streak that begin with a January 17 win at Mercer. The last time the Mocs won five-straight SoCon road contests, the second-longest such streak in program history, occurred during the 1984-85 season.
VMI (4-19, 1-9 SoCon) enters the Thursday night tilt looking to climb out of a tie in the league's regular season standings basement. The Keydets most recently dropped a 90-69 decision at Mercer on Saturday. VMI's last three home games inside Cameron Hall have all been decided by single digits which included a 70-63 win over The Citadel (1/20) and a tight 85-79 defeat to second-place UNCG last Wednesday.
Full game preview including coverage links, notes, and more can be found below.
GAME DETAILS
Chattanooga (15-8, 7-3 SoCon) at VMI (4-19, 1-9 SoCon)
6:02 p.m. ET ∙ Cameron Hall (Lexington, Va. ∙ 5,029)
68th All-Time Meeting ∙ UTC leads 51-16 (last: @UTC 109, VMI 61 – 1/11/24)
MEDIA COVERAGE
WATCH ∙ ESPN+/Watch ESPN/ESPN App
LISTEN ∙ WFLI 96.1FM, 100.3FM, 1070AM – Varsity Network – GoMocs.com
LIVE STATS ∙ GoMocs.com
FOLLOW ∙ X/Twitter: @GoMocsMBB
GAME NOTES
Chattanooga ∙ VMI (currently unavailable) ∙ SoCon
MOCS WINNING STREAK SNAPPED ON SATURDAY
- Chattanooga (15-8, 7-3 SoCon) saw its five-game winning streak snapped in a battle of the league's top two teams, falling 78-56 to Samford on Saturday in front of a capacity crowd of 4,000 inside McKenzie Arena. The Mocs fell behind by as much as 22 in the first half & cut the Bulldogs lead down to as little as eight in the second half, but shooting struggles proved to be the difference. UTC shot just 35.2% (19-54) from the field and 23.1% (6-of-26) from three in the loss.
CHATTANOOGA/VMI HISTORY
- Chattanooga & VMI will meet for the 68th time in the all-time series and for the 60th time in SoCon regular season play. UTC has won nine of the last 11 overall meetings including a historic 109-61 win earlier this season on January 11 inside McKenzie Arena. The +48 margin of victory marked the largest over a DI opponent in program history.
ROAD WARRIORS CONTINUE STREAK
- UTC's 91-85 victory at Western Carolina marked its fourth-straight SoCon road victory dating back to wins at Mercer (1/17), at ETSU (1/21) & at Wofford (1/24). The four-straight league W's on the road ties the third-longest such streak in program history.
Last W4 (7x): 2020-21, 2015-16, 2013-14, 2003-04, 1996-97, 1985-96 & 1981-82.
Last W5 (2x): 1984-85 & 1982-83.
Last W6 (3x): 1992-93, 1991-92 & 1986-87.
FORMER KEYDETS AGAINST FORMER PROGRAM
- It's no secret that Chattanooga has an abundance of VMI flare within its program, starting with second-year HC
Dan Earl who spent seven years in Lexington. Earl is 4-0 against his former program so far with a +23.7 (91.0-67.3) MOV. In three games featuring former Keydets
Jake Stephens (2GP),
Trey Bonham (1GP) &
Honor Huff (1GP), the trio has averaged 27.6ppg, 10.3rpg & 3.0apg while shooting 58.8% (30-51) from the field including an even 50.0% (10-20) from three-point land.
BONHAM HITS MILESTONE
- Senior guard
Trey Bonham hit the 1,000 career-point milestone with his fourth point of the day in Saturday's defeat to Samford. Bonham arrived to UTC ahead of the 2023-24 season carrying 768 career points between his previous stints at VMI (601) and Florida (167). He's the second Moc to hit the milestone this year (
Jan Zidek).
REBOUNDING MARGIN UNFRIENDLY IN STREAK-SNAPPING LOSS
- UTC was out-rebounded by a wide 41-24 (-17) margin during Saturday's loss to league-leading Samford. The -17 margin is the second-highest deficit this season (-22, at Auburn) and marked the largest rebounding deficit to a SoCon opponent since a -19 tally (43-24) against Western Carolina on January 4, 2018. It was the first time with 25 or fewer rebounds at home since totaling 20 against UNCG on February 17, 2022.
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