UNC-Greensboro Preview: Get Back On That Horse

Get back on your horse and try again. The Mocs desperately need to get back up off the ground, dust themselves out, and try to ride that horse again.

It was a "Lost Weekend" for the Mocs. After getting destroyed by Wofford and Furman, the Mocs need to get back on their feet and come up with a win over the Spartans on Thursday night.

When the Mocs played UNCG a couple of weeks ago, the Spartans had not won a game. Now they have won three straight over Appalachian State, Davidson, and Georgia Southern, winning in Boone and at home for the other two. Suddenly, they are right in the thick of the North bye race (only one game behind Western Carolina for second) and can get right into the North Division race if they can just beat the Mocs in Chattanooga. A win here would pull the Spartans within three games and not give the Mocs the guaranteed tiebreaker, and continue the Mocs spiral.

In the Mocs 70-65 win, Aloysiuss Henry, Kyle Randall and Brian Cole all scored in double figures for the Spartans. The Mocs totally dominated the boards, but there were too many fouls on the Mocs inside players. Chris Early, Jahmal Burroughs, Jeremy Saffore, and DeAntre Jefferson combined for eight points, and eighteen rebounds. Take out Burroughs, and the other three combined for four points and ten rebounds. Not good. But Omar Wattad scored 26 points, Keegan Bell had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Ricky Taylor scored 19.

Aaron Brackett and Trevis Simpson, who have been great in their three wins, combined for eight total points.

Henry is averaging 10.4 points per game. Korey VanDussen scored 9.7 points per game. Kyle Randall and Simpson are averaging 9.6 points per game. Simpson has scored 53 points in the last three games, on 20 of 26 shooting. Aaraon Brackett has scored 47 points and corralled 34 rebounds in the last three games. Those two players stepping up is the reason the Spartans have turned things around. Ironically, Henry has scored just 15 points and gotten 10 rebounds total in the last three games, in a total of 39 minutes. Those are his fewest minutes of the year- but it seems to be working for the Spartans.

Don't forget that Simpson just got a shoulder brace off just before this hot streak started. He is a solid player, and has gotten even better. Slowly, he is becoming one of the best players in the SoCon, and he may be a real threat to carry the Spartans to the SoCon semis in Chattanooga.

KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. As usual. The Mocs need to dominate the boards again. Brackett is a handful underneath the basket getting boards right. The Mocs need to do a great job against him.
--Hold down Simpson. If he shoots that big of a percentage, the Spartans will be tough to stop.
--Stay out of foul trouble. All the fouls in the first game held down Saffore, Jefferson, Burroughs, and Early. With Sam Watson injured, there is no one else to turn to. The Mocs need them to stay on the floor and be productive.
--Wattad to find his shooting tough again. After two horrid road games, Wattad has got to get back on track.
--Bell needs to control the team and keep them together.
--Which team comes out strong? The Mocs have struggled out of the gate a lot over the course of this year, but that is UNCG's story as well.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Dance.
--Be glad that the Mocs snapped out of their slump.
--Think about Legends Weekend.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Wonder if the Mocs will ever win again.
--Wish that some of those legends could suit up for us this weekend. (C'mon- who doesn't wish Brandon Born had some eligibility left?)
--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 will shoot better. Come on- this can't keep up forever. Can it? CAN IT???
--Simpson will score 20+ points.
--Brackett will collect 10+ rebounds, but the Mocs will win the rebounding battle overall.
--Mocs 73, UNC-Greensboro 67. The Mocs can't ever win easy. They will win this game somehow, but they won't make it easy. The Spartans have a great chance to pull off the upset, but the Mocs should play one of their best games in a while. They will find a way to gut one out.

GO MOCS!