Kennesaw State 65, Chattanooga 59

FOUR FACTORS (plus two)

eFG%
Kennesaw State- 51.8%
Mocs- 45.5%
Advantage- Kennesaw State

TO%
Kennesaw State- 26.3%
Mocs- 21.9%
Advantage- Mocs

OR%
Kennesaw State- 24.2%
Mocs- 23.7%
Advantage- Kennesaw State

FTRate
Kennesaw State- 17.9%
Mocs- 27.3%
Advantage- Mocs

FT%
Kennesaw State- 70.0%
Mocs- 60.0%
Advantage- Kennesaw State

3PTRate
Kennesaw State- 42.9%
Mocs- 45.5%

PLAYER RATER

Overall
1. Omar Wattad 20.2
2. Drazen Zlovaric 19.4
3. Keegan Bell 18.0
4. Ricky Taylor 17.7
5. Chris Early 11.1
6. Jahmal Burroughs 7.6
7. Jared Bryant 6.4
8. Rico White 6.3
9. Lance Stokes 3.0
10. Z Mason 0.8
11. Dontay Hampton 0.3

Per 40
1. Drazen Zlovaric 29.8
2. Omar Wattad 28.9
3. Jared Bryant 28.4
4. Chris Early 26.0
5. Rico White 25.2
6. Ricky Taylor 23.5
7. Keegan Bell 20.6
8. Jahmal Burroughs 16.0
9. Lance Stokes 11.8
10. Z Mason 3.6
11. Dontay Hampton 1.4

ANALYSIS

Whew. I don't really even want to talk about this.

This is a terrible loss for the Mocs. They desperately needed to get on the positive side of the ledger, and they could not do it against a pretty average Kennesaw State team.

In the end, Markeith Cummings did play, and that was a bit of a shock to the Mocs. He ended up with 21 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and two steals. He looked like the preseason Player of the Year in the Atlantic Sun.

What happened here? There are several things that are easy to point to.

First of all, the Mocs jumped out to a 14-5 lead, and I relaxed. I thought the Mocs had it in the bag. I didn't see how they would lose. They were the much better team.

And then they did. It was almost like they took their foot off the gas pedal a little bit. The Mocs looked disinterested for much of the remainder of the first half, and Kennesaw State raced out to a six point halftime lead.

Still, there was no reason to panic. Right? RIGHT? RIGHT??????

Wrong. The Owls started really knocking down shots early in the second half. The Mocs were not shooting well and started to fall behind.

Then the pressure started to mount. The Mocs started throwing up threes early in the shot clock. The Owls gained confidence. They started running the shot clock down to zero, and then knocking down shots.

When that happens, upsets happen. That is exactly what happened on Friday night.

If you look at the Four Factors (plus two), the Mocs did not turn the ball over much, and they got to the free throw line more often than the Owls. But the Mocs made a worse percentage from the free throw line and they were shot out of the gym by one of the worst shooting teams in the country. The Mocs shot about 45% of their shots from three point range. They have to get the ball inside more than that.

I was disappointed in Wattad's play, but thought that Zlovaric played fairly well. He was the best player for the Mocs, I believe in this one.

The numbers don't show that Early is struggling. He looks like he is playing fairly well. But he does not seem to be active enough for the Mocs on either end of the floor. He seems to be creeping into Shulman's doghouse. He played just 17 minutes, whereas Burroughs played 19.

This is a strange loss. I wanted desperately for the Mocs to become a more consistent team this year. But this game proves, once again, that the Mocs can lose to anyone.

So, the game that I listed as the most important of the month has now turned into a loss. The Mocs have to get back on the winning track. They could afford (kind of) one loss on this four game homestand. They must win these last three home games.

The Mocs need to get better- and fast. This was a thoroughly depressing loss. The Mocs have to get on track against Warren Wilson Monday night, and then really need a solid showing next Friday against Savannah State and Sunday against Gardner-Webb.

GO MOCS!