Two teams that lost by a combined total of three points on Thursday night battle in an absolutely critical game to both teams on Saturday night.
The Mocs need a win to get back in the good graces of the win column. They need to find a way to get out of the cellar in the North. They have to win games, particularly home games, at this point. This is an absolute must win game for the Mocs.
Georgia Southern, on the other hand, is down by half game a game in the race for the bye in the South. The Eagles are up by a game and a half on Charleston and Furman. The outcome of the Charleston-Wofford game earlier in the day will have a huge impact on GSU. If the Cougars win, the Eagles can move into second with a win. If the Terriers win, the Eagles can move up by two and a half games on the Cougars with a win.
Georgia Southern is one of the most athletic teams in the SoCon. That is not necessarily a great thing. They sometimes play out of control. They come up with sixteen turnovers a game. They are also one of the worst defensive teams in the league. They are fun to watch when they are clicking offensively, though.
Against the Mocs earlier this year, Jelani Hewitt and Ben Drayton III scored 20 points each. Willie Powers scored just ten, but came up with six assists. Drayton had six assists as well. Hewitt had three steals. Eric Ferguson had 17 points, six rebounds and three steals. They shot nearly 52% from the floor, and Hewitt shot 6 of 8 from three point range, as the Eagles made 48% from three point range. They also won the battle of the boards. Georgia Southern pulled away to a 16 point lead, and the Mocs battled back to make it a game in the final minutes, before falling by eight.
Ferguson is the leading scorer, averaging 15.8 points per game to go along with seven rebounds per game. He is shooting 57% from the floor. Drayton averages 11.5 points per game with 3.3 assists per game. Powers averages 10.9 points per game with 5.3 assists per game. Hewitt rounds out the four double digit scorers with 10.1 points per game and leads the team with 40.4% shooting from three point range. He has made 40 threes on the year.
As a team, the Eagles are shooting 46.7% from the field and 34.6% from three point range. The Mocs defense has been much better at home than it has been on the road. In SoCon games, the Mocs have given up 84.2 points per game on the road, while giving up 59.3 points per game at home. The Mocs are allowing 25 points per game less at home than on the road. That is truly an amazing stat.
In SoCon games, Georgia Southern has scored 71.4 points per game at home and just 63 points per game on the road. The Eagles are a much better team at home than on the road. The Mocs are a much better team at home than on the road. What happens when those two worlds collide?
Keegan Bell and Omar Wattad have been in a bit of a slump lately. Bell, in particular, has been struggling lately. He made a couple of huge shots at the end of the game against Davidson, and has been a clutch shooter despite his slump. Ricky Taylor has been slumping a bit too, even though he has scored decently. His injured wrist has been hurting his production. Drazen Zlovaric also has been scoring in double figures. He has been solid. Z Mason has been hampered by injury, even though he had been playing well before the Davidson game.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--Rebounding. Mocs have to outrebound Georgia Southern. They got beat on the boards in their first match-up. That can't happen again.
--Home court advantage. Georgia Southern has been playing poorly on the road. The Mocs have been playing great at home. Can Georgia Southern reverse those trends?
--Controlling Powers. Contrary to what the stats say, Powers gets this team going. The Mocs need to keep him in check to keep the rest of the team under control.
--Zlovaric and Bryant. Pound the ball into Zlovaric and Bryant. They need to be a dominant forces.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Ferguson will get his points.
--Bell will continue to be poor shooting, while he will do a good job distributing.
--Jared Bryant will have another stellar game.
--Zlovaric will be good, but not fantastic.
--Mocs 73, Georgia Southern 62. The Mocs are good at home and are in a must win. Georgia Southern is poor on the road and it is not quite as critical that they win. That seems to add up to a Mocs win, in one of their more complete performances in a win this year.
GO MOCS!
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