Savannah State Preview: Who's The Turkey?

Time: 7:00
TV: None (MocsVision)

Savannah State comes to Chattanooga to play two games, the first of which will be Friday night against the Mocs.

The Mocs desperately need to come up with the win to get back on the winning track. Sure, they beat Warren Wilson on Monday night, but the loss to Kennesaw State still lingers. Savannah State, who did have lower expectations than the Mocs in the preseason, could use a good weekend against the Mocs and Gardner-Webb to show that they can competitive in the MEAC.

The Tigers have won one game so far this year, and it was their lone home game, against Jacksonville 73-70. They lost by 29 to Georgetown, five to North Florida, 29 to Indiana, and 15 to Butler. They also beat Armstrong Atlantic by six and lost to Benedict College by seven in their two exhibition games.

Rashad Hassan is the only Tiger to average in double figures scoring the ball, and he has scored in double figures in every game so far this year. He is averaging 12.4 points per game. He is shooting 50% from the floor, and has yet to try a three pointer. He is 6-7 and likes to play inside.

Hassan will provide an interesting challenge to whoever the Mocs have playing power forward. Drew Baker is likely to get the start again, and Hassan will be a challenge for him to guard. Chris Early will probably get some playing time as well, and he too will have to do a good job covering Hassan. How effective can Baker be against the best player on the other team? Hassan is also averaging 4.8 rebounds per game.

Deric Rudolph is the team's three point shooter. He is only shooting 28.1% on the season from three point range, but has attempted more (32) and made more (9) than any other player on the Tigers. Joshua Montgomery is making 82% of his free throws and scoring 7.6 points per game. Preston Blackmon is the second leading scorer, at 7.6 points per game, and leads the team in assists with 3.6  per game. Arnold Louis leads the team in rebounding with 6.6 per game.

The Tigers are 313th in the country in scoring and 304th in shooting. They are only 275th rebounding. They are allowing 73.2 points per game and opponents are shooting 53.5% from the floor against the Tigers.

The Mocs rank 80th in rebounding, 72nd in assists, but are 286th in scoring and 313th in field goal percentage. The Mocs do rebound the ball well, but they are not shooting the ball well. Still. They are playing a team who allows opponents to shoot nearly 54% from the floor. They do not have a big huge guy on their roster. The Mocs need to show that they can score inside in a game like this.

Jyles Smith is the tallest player on the Tigers roster. He is 6-8 and averaging 20.8 minutes per game. Louis is 6-7 along with Hassan. The Mocs should be able to score inside. Drazen Zlovaric should be able to have a good game. This will be a critical match-up.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. As always, the Mocs must rebound well to be able to come up with a win.
--Zlovaric needs to dominate on the inside. He's the best inside player, and Cody Zeller dominated against the Tigers. Zlovaric can have a big game, and it is important to get him going.
--Stopping Hassan. Who will do it? Will Zlovaric get the assignment? Will Early step up? Can Baker continue to do it?
--Omar Wattad and Keegan Bell. Neither are shooting the ball well. It's time to find the range.
--Will the Tigers break out of their shooting woes? Rudolph is a shooter and will eventually snap out of it. Will it be on Friday night?
--Ricky Taylor played well against Warren Wilson. He needs to keep it going.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Baker will not be as effective as he was against Warren Wilson.
--I keep on waiting for Zlovaric to break out. This is the night.
--Bell will continue to struggle shooting the ball.
--So will Wattad.
--The Tigers will struggle to get anything going offensively as well, as the Mocs have proven to be a decent defensive team.
--Mocs 57, Savannah State 50. The Mocs will continue to struggle on the offensive side of the ball but the Tigers will too. The Mocs come up with a hard fought, tough win in  game that they really need to come up with.

GO MOCS!