2025-26 Chattanooga Basketball
Postgame Notes & Quotes
Game 31 vs. VMI – February 28, 2026
 
Site: McKenzie Arena (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Game Duration: 1:57
Officials: Kevin Driver, Grant Tyler, Alex Landis
Attendance: 3,824
 
Quick Records
Chattanooga: 13-18, 7-11 SoCon
VMI: 6-25, 1-17 SoCon

Series History
Meeting: 72nd | UTC leads 55-17 (H: 27-5; A: 23-10; N: 5-2)
*UTC leads 49-15 in SoCon regular season meetings

Dan Earl, Head 154
Overall (11th): 153-195
at Chattanooga (4th): 81-56, 41-31 SoCon
vs. VMI: 8-1 (H: 4-0; A: 3-1; N: 1-0)
 
Historical Records
All-Time Program Record: 1,467-1,171
Division I Era (since 1977-78): 921-602
All-Time SoCon Record: 495-306
 
General Team & Matchup Notes

• Chattanooga finishes the regular season with an 86-79 home win over VMI on Saturday… ends 13-18 overall and 7-11 inside SoCon play… VMI drops to 6-25 overall and finishes league action 1-17… defeats in 16-straight.
• Head coach Dan Earl is now 8-1 against his former team VMI… now 4-0 against the Keydets at home… lone loss was earlier this season on January 3.
• Chattanooga finishes eighth in the SoCon standings… will occupy the No. 8 seed in the SoCon Tournament… plays No. 9 The Citadel in the opening round on Friday, March 6 at 5 p.m. (ET) in Asheville.

 
Inside the Game & Player Notables

• Chattanooga scored 80+ points for the fourth-straight game… 3-1 over the four-game stretch… 8-1 this season when scoring 80+… now 52-6 in such games during the current Dan Earl era.
• Chattanooga finished the game shooting an even 50.0% (34-68 FG) from the floor… went 38.7% (12-37 3FG) from deep… 75.0% (6-8) from the FT line… third time over the past four games shooting north of 50% in total… UTC is 6-1 in the seven times this season with a 50%+ FG total.
• Chattanooga (2) and VMI (1) combined for just three turnovers during the game… the two turnovers are a single-game UTC program record… bested its previous mark (3) which was set during an 88-79 home win over Samford earlier this season on January 10.
• Chattanooga has made 10+ 3FG in seven of the nine total matchups against VMI under Dan Earl… 126 total 3FGM over the nine-game span (14.0 3FGM per game)… UTC is 62-of-124 (46.2%) from 3FG in its past four home games against the Keydets.
• Jordan Frison scored a game-high 33 points on an incredibly efficient 14-18 FG (3-4 3FG) shooting performance… added three rebounds and three assists in 34 minutes… surpassed 1,400 points in his collegiate career… surpassed 500 points this season (now at 509)… 25^th different Moc to score 500+ in a season.

Postgame Quotes
Dan Earl, Head Coach
Opening thoughts after 86-79 win over VMI.
"Yeah, it was a good win today against a very tough team to play against in VMI. You know, they haven't won as many games as they would like, I'm sure, as well, but they are a very tough cover. They set a ton of off-the-ball screens, and you could see TJ Johnson in particular, but multiple guys can really make shots for them, and they ended up with 13 threes. But I thought we hung with it. We got stops when we needed to and really just never hung our head on offense. We had some open shots and when it got close, maybe within one, we kept taking good shots and firing away. I'm proud of the team on that front."
 
On heading to Asheville.
"We're not necessarily tricking anybody. We are who we are. But when we're playing on all cylinders, we can, we feel that we can beat anybody in the league. I think everyone in this league has that same mindset. I also think that shows with some of the wins we've had, and some of the close losses we've had. We're asking the guys to believe that, you know? The reality of it is, we probably have to make shots at a very decent rate to have a chance. We have to do a good job at that and also, I know I've said it a million times, but rebounding the ball and trying to keep other teams off the free throw line."
 
Billy Smith, G-Sr.
On recent uptick in shots falling.
"Honestly, I'm just sticking to the same routine and having these type of teammates and coaches around you, they're encouraging you constantly. A few games ago, coach Earl told me, you know, you only get one senior year, go out, play hard as you can, play free, and just enjoy it. He let me know that everyone else has trust in me, and I think that's helped a ton. It's really just sticking to the work and routine, and know that the numbers will find themselves."