January in Preview: Time To Rock

The Mocs have bumbled and stumbled through the first two months. The struggles were very real in November. The December struggles were not so severe. They battled hard in most of the games, and had two dominating performances to end the  month.

All that left the Mocs with some positive feelings as they head into January. This month will be one to make or break the Mocs season, as the SoCon season heats up. The Mocs desperately need to bounce back from their 0-2 SoCon start. That means that they need to start winning and start winning now. After Tennessee on Monday, the rest of the games on the schedule are SoCon games. It's time to start winning.

Toughest Game: at Tennessee, January 3. The Davidson game is close on this one, but that is a home game. This game presents a unique challenge for the Mocs. The Vols have struggled at times this year, but seem to be playing slightly better right now. The Mocs also have struggled against big name opponents in recent years. This could be another challenge. The Mocs have a real chance in this one, but going on the road to pull this one off will not be easy.

Easiest Game: at Samford, January 14. The Bulldogs will not be an easy game for the Mocs. Going on the road to win is never easy. But the three worst teams in the SoCon so far this year are The Citadel, Samford, and UNC-Greensboro, and the Mocs play none of those teams at home this month.  That makes the trips to Samford or UNCG the easiest game. Road games for the Mocs in the SoCon are never easy though. So don't expect this one to be a cakewalk. But this is probably the easiest game on the schedule.

Most Important Game: Western Carolina, January 5. Critical game for the Mocs as they open SoCon play again. They need to get a win in SoCon play or else they will really be right behind the eight ball. The games against Western Carolina and Appalachian State in the first two games in SoCon play in January are absolutely massive. The Mocs really need to win both, and beat Wofford for the third game on their home stand. The first one is the most important though, just to get going in the right direction.

Predicted Record: 6-3. The Mocs could do significantly better or worse than this. I have high hopes for the Mocs this month. I put down losses to Tennessee and Davidson, and probably at Elon as the third loss. It is distinctly possible that the Mocs lose to Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Wofford, Samford, UNCG, or Georgia Southern. They also could beat Tennessee, Davidson, and Elon. Really, anything is possible here. If things start off positively with wins over Western Carolina and Appalachian State (and/or Tennessee), they could go up as high as 9-0. If there are two or three losses in these first three games, then the season could spiral to an 0-9, 1-8, 2-7, or 3-6 month. Those first three or four games are really huge.

GO MOCS!