The Mocs and Cougars head into this game as the lone two unbeaten teams in the SoCon. They are a combined 11-0. They have combined to have beaten every single team in the SoCon so far. Only The Citadel has played both teams- the Bulldogs lost by one at home to the Mocs last Thursday and lost by 21 at College of Charleston on Saturday.
The Cougars best player is Andrew Goudelock. He may be the best player in the whole conference. Noah Dahlman has something to say about it, and Amu Saaka certainly could make an arguement too. But Goudelock should be considered the favorite. He is averaging 23.4 points per game, tops in the conference. He has 4.5 assists per game, and leads the team in that category. He is shooting 49% from the field, a remarkable percentage for a guy who shoots from outside as much as he does. He also shoots 43% from three point range, and 78.6% from the free throw line. Let's put it this way- this guy is good. Only once has he not scored in double digits this year. Not ironically, it is the most head scratching performance of the year by the Cougars- a 69-49 loss to Morehead State, in which he scored seven points.
Jeremy Simmons is the team's best inside presence. Simmons is averaging 13.2 points per game and 5.8 rebounds per game. Simmons is shooting nearly 60% from the field. He is a beast to handle on the inside, and will cause a headache for Saffore, Early, Jefferson, and Burroughs.
Donavan Monroe is a tremendous guard as well. Monroe is averaging 2.6 assists per game. He also averages 11.6 points per game. Monroe is a great guard, and a wonderful complement to Goudelock.
Willis Hall and Trent Wiedeman are the team's two leading rebounders, averaging 5.8 and 6.1 per game. Wiedeman is not a big scorer, averaging just 6.9 points per game. He is shooting 65.6% from the field. Hall is averaging 7.5 points per game.
Antwaine Wiggins is probably the Cougars best defender. He is long and quick. He is scoring 6.8 points per game with 5.1 rebounds per game. He's never been a tremendous scorer, but he's a solid player for the Cougars.
The Cougars are 46th in the country in scoring and 35th in shooting. They are not a great rebounding team, at 208th in the country.
The Mocs are the leading rebounding team in the league, and also the leading the SoCon in rebounding margin. They are clearly the best rebounding team in the conference, which is exactly what Shulman wants out of his teams. DeAntre Jefferson and Chris Early are tied for the team lead with 6.8 boards per game.
Ricky Taylor had his first career double-double on Saturday night, when he collected eleven rebounds and scored 16 points. He is second on the team in scoring with 11.8 points per game. Omar Wattad leads the team with 15.1 points per game. In SoCon play, Wattad is averaging 19.5 points per game. Keegan Bell also leads the league in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. The Mocs need to dominate the boards and prevent CofC from getting any second chance points. They are too good of a shooting team. The Mocs can not allow the Cougars to take their misses and turn those into points, too.
--Bell. Keegan Bell needs to control the pace of the game. He needs to keep the turnovers to a minimum- the Mocs are averaging 8.5 over the last two games. He can slow the Cougars down if he can just prevent turnovers.
--Wattad. Wattad needs to have a huge game. He has the potential to score a ton of points at any moment. And he needs to for the Mocs to have a chance.
--Goudelock. The Mocs need to slow him down- to some degree. He's going to get his points. But they need to keep him from getting 25 or more.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Get fired up! 7-0!
--Celebrate beating College of Charleston (the team that I consider the Mocs biggest conference rival).
--Get ready for two big road games this week.
--Really start believing that the Mocs could do a lot of damage in conference play.
WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Realize that if Charleston can only lose once in Chattanooga this year, I rather it happen in March.
--Begin to think that the Mocs are exposed as not being that good.
--Sigh, take a deep breath, go to bed, and realize that tomorrow is another day.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Wattad and Goudelock will both score...plenty.
--Bell will have a decent game.
--Jefferson will not have a good game...again. His disappointing stretch will continue against the athletic Cougars.
--How have the Mocs fared against the best mid-majors that have come to Chattanooga so far this year? Yep.
--College of Charleston 85, Mocs 71. The Mocs have played poorly in the first half against the top mid-majors that have come into Chattanooga this year. Then they have mounted second half rallies that have come up short. This is obviously with the exception of Appalachian State and Western Carolina. The Mocs will fall behind big early. Then they will mount a second half run to get back into it, but then not be able to complete the comeback. Think Murray State. Will that validate or expose the Mocs? Unfortunately, it will be more exposing- at least until Thursday.
GO MOCS!
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