Click on the title for a link to the boxscore on ESPN.com.
Due to some technical difficulties, I was only able to listen to the final few minutes of the first half forward. For that reason, the analysis is a little thin tonight. I began listening when the score was 57-25, Mocs.
Game Recap
The Mocs dominated from start to finish. The score was 13-0 before the Cobras could even get on the board.
Bell came up with five steals, including four in the first four minutes. The score at halftime was 62-30.
Taylor had scored just four in the first half but came out firing in the second half and gave the Mocs a dominating lead early on. A 93-37 lead with 10:24 left was the Mocs largest lead. After that, they clearly took their foot off the gas a little bit. This trimmed the final to 107-62. Bell finished with six assists as well.
Player of the Game
Jeremy Saffore. Saffore had fifteen points and thirteen rebounds. He also had two assists and a blocked shot. He made 6 of 8 shots, and 3 of 5 from the free throw line. Ten of those thirteen rebounds were offensive in nature. That is a very impressive stat line.
Analysis
The Mocs played with passion and a point. They played with desire to stomp on Virginia Intermont's heart early and take them out of the game. What do you take from that? Not much, and a lot. It doesn't mean much because they should do that to this Cobras' basketball team. But it also means a lot, because sometimes a young, inexperienced team (like these Mocs are) have a hard time doing that. So it is very good news that the Mocs were able to dominate in this fashion.
Also, they dominated the rebounds. That's not surprising. They should have. That was what was expected of them. McKeither played with desire, and Saffore looked like he was more than capable of coming up with with big plays, including a three point play, which helped to show his increased strength. That was good news for the Mocs. Bell also played very well.
Free throw shooting was decent as well. This team appears to have the ability to shoot the ball reasonably well from all over the floor. Bell shot poorly the other night, but now was clearly better. However, tonight Jasper Williams couldn't make a shot. He shot 1 for 9, 0 for 5 from three point range, and 0 for 2 from the free throw line.
What do you make of the game? It's hard to tell. Virginia Intermont is not a great basketball team by any means, but there is also certainly reason for the Mocs to be very excited about where they are and where they are going.
Answers to Questions
Yes, McKeither, Jefferson, and Saffore CAN dominate the inside against Virginia Intermont. That's a good sign. They needed to dominate a game like this if they are going to win games later on in the year.
It sounds like Saffore should be playing more than Jefferson right now. Maybe that's not as surprising as I thought it was. I did not expect to feel this way at this point. I think Jefferson is going to give a lot of to the Mocs, and Saffore is still not as strong as I would like for him to be. Against a more physical opponent, can Saffore hold his own?
Taylor was only OK in the first half, but played much better in the second half. Taylor may not be there every night, but I'm not sure that he has to be. He will be very good, but he may not be the star of this team. He's a shooter, that's for sure. When he's hot, he's critical to the club.
Can the Mocs make free throws? Yes, and no. They made 14 of 23, which is good for 61%. That's not very good, but it is a big improvement over the exhibition game. So we're in a holding pattern on this for the time being.
Bell shook off the rust and played much better. Yes, make no mistake, he can be a star on this team.
Odem did not play like a freshman for most of the night. He was very impressive. Odem is going to be tough to get out of this lineup for the next four years.
A Look Ahead
Coming up next is ETSU. That will be a much tougher match-up for the Mocs. The Bucs are not as good as a lot of teams that the Mocs will play (Richmond, Missouri, Murray State, and Georgia Tech, namely). But ETSU was in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, and are one of the Mocs oldest rivals. Courtney Pigram and Kevin Tiggs are gone from last year's team. Mike Smith, who has been injured, should be playing. He is preseason all Atlantic Sun.
We'll know a lot more about the Mocs after this game. Can they handle a decent team at home? This is going to be a tough one for the Mocs to win, especially with how young they are. The Mocs will need to play very well.
Go to www.GoMocs.com if you would like to get $1 upper deck seats to the game next Tuesday night. Wonderful price- wonderful showdown!
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