Wofford Preview: Black and Blue

It's a Blackout! The Mocs will probably be wearing all black uniforms, and the fans are encouraged to wear all black.

But it's the Mocs that come home black and blue. When we last saw the Mocs in McKenzie, they were winning their third straight game, and were sitting at 14-10 overall.

They hit the road for four games. The Mocs lost to Davidson, Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Georgia Tech, the flu, the refs, the league, and Lady Luck. Needless to say, it was not a good road trip.

However, it was not a complete loss. In some ways, the Mocs have played their three most encouraging games in a row in a long time over their last three games. The losses to Western Carolina and Appalachian State were on back-to-back nights while still battling the flu. The Georgia Tech loss was a single digit loss in which they hung in the game the entire night. Will the Mocs be able to come up with a good performance and a win at home, after having just played once in the last nine days?

Furman has been hot lately. Amu Saaka is the Paladins best player. He's scoring nearly 17 points per game with over six rebounds per game. Noah States and Jordan Miller also are scoring over double digits as well. Darryl Evans has turned in over three assists a contest.

The big thing to look at is the other match-up between these two teams this year. Furman dominated 85-59. Saaka was in double figures with 30 points. Colin Reddick came off the bench to score ten. Jordan Miller actually had a bad game. He shot 2 of 10 from the floor and 1 of 7 from three point range and scored just six points. Saaka and Reddick each added eight rebounds. The Mocs outrebounded Furman in their first meeting, but the Mocs shot just 33.9% from the floor and just 3 of 22 from three point range, a paltry 13.6%.

Jeremy Saffore was the leading scorer for the Mocs in that contest, scoring 11 points, while DeAntre Jefferson was the only other Moc in double figures with 10. Omar Wattad was 2 of 12 from the floor and 0 for 10 from three point range.

There is precedence for the Mocs playing better at home than on the road against opponents this year. Against Austin Peay, the Mocs lost on a last second three at home. On the road, the Mocs lost by 32. They will need a similar home-road split against Furman to be able to hang around with the Paladins.

KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. As usual, if the Mocs don't rebound, they don't have a chance.
--Control Saaka inside. He scored 30 against the Mocs the first time. They have to come up with a way to hold him down.
--Shooting. The Mocs were terrible shooting the first time around. They have to make more shots this time around.
--Legs. Furman played on Saturday. The Mocs have not played since Wednesday. Will the Mocs be the fresher team and able to win this game?
--Bell. Keegan Bell suddenly has gone flat in their last three games. He has to show up strong and ready to go for the Mocs to have a real shot to win this game.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS WIN
--Celebrate! One win closer to the goal of winning the last three games.
--Hope that UNC-Greensboro won to help the Mocs take over first place in the division.
--Wonder why the Mocs are so much better at home than on the road.

WHAT I'LL DO IF THE MOCS LOSE
--Be angry about the Mocs losing their fifth straight.
--Hope that the Mocs can get it back on track before the SoCon Tournament.
--Be glad that the Mocs have already locked up a bye.
--Sigh, take a deep breath, go to bed, and remember that tomorrow is another day.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Saaka will score fewer than 30 points this time around.
--Omar Wattad will score more than 6.
--Jeremy Saffore will not be the Mocs leading scorer.
--Wattad, Bell, Taylor, and Early will have decent games.
--The Mocs will play significantly better than they did the first time around.
--Mocs 74, Furman 73. The Mocs keep on pulling out close games at home. No reason to think that is going to change. The Mocs are more than capable of blowing this one, but they also have the ability to win this game. Wattad will score 20, and Bell will come up with a bunch of assists with not many turnovers, and Taylor and Early will come up with some big plays in the final minute to pull off the win.

GO MOCS!