Mocs basketball ready for next set of tests
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (BVM) —Throughout the course of a season, there are always a handful of stretches that, for better or worse, will be points of inflection for a team. The Chattanooga Mocs are currently in the midst of the toughest road stretch they鈥檒l face all season with UTC playing visitor for five of six games. Before the season, this string of games was circled on the calendar, and depending on how things shape up, will serve as a bellwether for the rest of the year.聽
Luckily for the Mocs, the road stand has gotten off on the right foot with two dominant victories against Tennessee Tech and Lipscomb. The beefier part of this test, however, will come next Wednesday when the Mocs travel to Nashville to play Belmont and then to Kentucky on Saturday to face off against 7-1 Murray State.
December is hardly a time when teams are playing their best basketball. It鈥檚 cold, it鈥檚 the holidays, it鈥檚 the end of classes for student-athletes–it would be easy for UTC to rest on their laurels, understandable even.
While the Mocs have answered a lot of questions during the early aughts of the season, the latest one for them to answer will be to see, as the calendar year comes to a close, do they still come out firing like the well-oiled machine they鈥檝e purported to be?
Road trip aside, the Mocs have another reason that could lead them to rest on their laurels. The NCAA鈥檚 first NET rankings came out Monday and have UTC in the No. 29 spot nationally. Now sure, this is not the AP rankings or the coaches poll that comes out every week, but the NET rankings are one of the primary tools the tournament selection committee uses to evaluate teams.
The fact that the Mocs are getting some national love is a good thing. But, as the saying goes, 鈥渕ore money more problems.鈥� Will the national spotlight get to their head? Will it paint a target on their backs?
Outside of Chattanooga, expectations for UTC were what they are for most mid-majors: nonexistent. The chances of them getting overlooked as the small school coming to town, sits at zero percent. Now, regardless of who they play, the Mocs are known.
As long as they keep playing as they have been, all the external noise will fade into the void.
Kansas transfer Silvo De Sousa looks more comfortable with every passing game, particularly on the defensive end. Last game against Lipscomb he recorded three blocks and a steal as the Mocs held their opponent to just 28 points in the paint.
Still, UTC has a couple of places for concern on the court. The first is giving up runs in the second half. In two of their last three games, the Mocs have been leading by double digits in the second half only to give up runs of 20-0 against College of Charleston, and 22-6 to Lipscomb. Against Lipscomb, they were able to stymie the bleeding. Against College of Charleston, they weren鈥檛 so lucky. Whatever the reason for the second half sputters, UTC needs to shore things up before the mistakes start to compound.
The other point of concern for UTC isn鈥檛 anything they鈥檙e doing wrong, but something they鈥檙e doing great. The backcourt tandem of Malachi Smith and David Jean-Baptiste is shooting 42% and 46% from three on the season, respectively. Baptiste has been especially hot, posting that percentage on about eight attempts from deep per game. As great as the duo is, those numbers just can鈥檛 sustain. There鈥檚 only one guy on the planet who can have that kind of efficiency on a nightly basis and he shares a namesake with a spice. Once the shooting numbers start to creep back down to earth look for UTC to lean on their defense that is only allowing 57 points per game.
The Mocs have answered many of the questions about who they were coming into the season. The next set of tests is on the table. How they respond this time around is up to them.
