OOC Opponents

Every two weeks, we will look at the out of conference opponents of the Mocs. The non-D1's that have already been played will not be on the list. The RPI numbers are from RealTimeRPI.com as of Tuesday night.

ALREADY PLAYED

Indiana (5-0, RPI 120)- The Hoosiers have taken down Stony Brook, Chattanooga, Evansville, Savannah State and Gardner-Webb. Not exactly  a Who's Who of college basketball. With Butler, North Carolina State, and Stetson coming up before the next review, there is a good possibility that the Hoosiers will remain undefeated for the next few weeks. They have won so far by 30, 25, 21, 29, and 24 points. They have been dominant. The Mocs fit right squarely in the middle of that mix right now.

Butler (2-2, RPI 270)- Butler lost to Evansville in overtime, beat Chattanooga, lost to Louisville by 16 after being right in the game at halftime, then beat Savannah State by 15. The Bulldogs are struggling to find an identity right now. The Mocs had a real opportunity to beat them, and that may come back to haunt them later on in the year. Indiana, Gardner-Webb, and Valparaiso are the teams that are ahead for the Bulldogs before the next review. They COULD go 3-0 if they can find a way to take down Indiana on Sunday. This team will be one of the favorites to win the Horizon by season's end, even though they are struggling right now.

Kennesaw State (1-2, RPI 116)- The Owls blowout loss to Wisconsin and fairly close loss to Auburn, followed by their stunning win over the Mocs got their season off to an odd start. South Carolina State, Belmont, and Lipscomb are ahead for the Owls. There is a chance that with Cummings now playing with an improved attitude that this team is capable of approaching .500 this year. Regardless, this loss will definitely be an anchor to the Mocs RPI this year. This was a bad loss.

FUTURE OPPONENTS

Savannah State (1-4, RPI 260)- The Tigers have not won a road game yet. They beat Jacksonville in their lone home game in overtime. They lost to Georgetown, North Florida, Indiana, and Butler on the road. They lost by 29 at Georgetown, 29 at Indiana, and 15 at Butler, while losing by just five at North Florida. The Tigers play Chattanooga and Gardner-Webb this weekend in Chattanooga, and battles Hampton and Norfolk State next week. This is not a particularly easy stretch for the Tigers, who won 10 of 11 last year at the end of the year.

Gardner-Webb (2-3, RPI 244)- The Running Bulls knocked off Kentucky a few years ago. That's their claim to fame. This year, they have lost to Clemson, South Carolina State, and Indiana. The loss to Indiana was by 24 points. They also won at Lipscomb. They have not played a home game against a D1 team yet. The five point loss to South Carolina State was a major disappointment. They play Butler tomorrow night, then take on Savannah State in Chattanooga before battling the Mocs on Sunday. Then they get home games against UNC-Asheville and Winthrop. This is not a bad team- their 21 point loss to Clemson was not great, but it was not that bad either.

Mercer (4-1, RPI 40)- The Bears win over Niagara tonight is not included in RPI tonight. They also beat Sam Houston State and hammered Furman by 20 points. They lost at Missouri by 18 points, and won over a DII team. They battle South Dakota State, Lipscomb, and Belmont in the next few weeks. This team looks like a really good team and a contender. This road game that  looked challenging before the season now looks like a really big test.

Spalding (0-2)- The Golden Eagles are a DIII team. They lost to Transylvania and Coastal Carolina. They will play in the Spalding Thanksgiving Tournament this week. Then they will play MacMurray, Westminister, and Indiana-Southeast. This is not a great team, but it should be a fun match up for the Mocs anyway.

Kentucky (4-0, RPI 7)- The Wildcats have rolled over Marist, Kansas and Penn State. They slipped by Old Dominion, but still look just as dominant as anyone could have expected. They battle Radford, Portland, St. John's, and North Carolina in the next few weeks. This is the best team in the country in my opinion. After they play North Carolina, we'll know a lot more. This game looks almost unwinnable at this point unless the Mocs play an absolutely flawless game. And they'll still need a few breaks at that point.

Hiwassee- The Tigers have not updated their website in several weeks. They were 2-3 at that point, along with Emory & Henry, Brescia, and Kentucky Wesleyan have all played them since that update. They are obviously a local team that will provide some interest to the Mocs.

Longwood (1-3, RPI 340)- The Lancers lone win came over a non-D1. They narrowly lost to Navy and Canisius, and got hammered by BYU. They are currently losing by four to Nevada at halftime right now. They are not as bad as RPI 340 really. Prairie View, South Carolina State, and Virginia are ahead on their schedule. This team is not awful. They played the Mocs close a few years ago. Antwan Carter have 17.8 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per game for the Lancers. He's legitimately one of the best players the Mocs will face on an out of conference non-major conference team.

Utah Valley State- potential Dr Pepper Classic opponent (3-2, RPI 172)-  The Wolverines lost to Arkansas by eight tonight and to Houston earlier in the year. They beat Grambling and UMKC as D1 opponents and one non-D1. They have been very impressive so far this year. But from the Great West, which does not have an automatic NCAA bid, they probably needed to beat Arkansas tonight to have any shot at the NCAA Tournament. Still, this is a really good team. They play Oakland, Northern Illinois, and Wyoming in the next few weeks. There is no reason to think this team can't win the Dr Pepper Classic.

Hampton- potential Dr Pepper Classic opponent (1-3, RPI 203)- Here is another good team. They beat William & Mary, then lost to Richmond, Rutgers and Seton Hall. They lost to the two Big East teams by a total of 21 points, losing to Seton Hall at home by seven. High Point, Savannah State, Howard, and Fordham are in the next few weeks on the schedule. This team is probably the MEAC favorite at this point. The semifinal match-up in the Dr Pepper Classic between Utah Valley State and Hampton will be worth the price of admission. It should be a lot of fun.

Tennessee (2-2, RPI 141)- The Vols lost to Memphis in double overtime today and got beat by Duke in Maui yesterday in a close game. They are 2-2, and have clearly been better than people expected them to be. Chaminade, Oakland, and Pittsburgh are ahead on the Vols schedule in the coming weeks. The Vols could potentially finish in the top half of the SEC and get to the NCAA Tournament. This has become a dangerous opponent for the Mocs, whereas it looked like a potential upset in the preseason.

GO MOCS!