January in Review: Agonizingly Close

The Mocs just completed a 3-6 month, but never has there been a 3-6 month where the Mocs were closer to going undefeated.

The Mocs were within single digits, and not out of any game with five minutes left. The 13 point loss to Tennessee was probably their worst performance overall, but the trip to Samford was a close second. Yes, the Bulldogs have played better as of late, and were up just two late in the game, but the Bulldogs pulled away for an eleven point win.

The Mocs lost their last three game to Elon, Davidson, and Georgia Southern (who are a combined 21-8 in SoCon play) by a total of five points in gut wrenching fashion. They just could not come up with the clutch win in any of those three very tight games. The Mocs did beat Appalachian State and Wofford by a combined five points earlier, and the win over the Mountaineers was a come back miracle, but against the Terriers, the Mocs had been in the lead most of the game.

The loss to UNC-Greensboro is hardly embarrassing at this point, with how the Spartans have played. The Mocs were down just two points late in the game, but could not complete the comeback.

The month was also full of injuries. Omar Wattad is suffering through his back injury. Ricky Taylor has a beat up wrist. Z Mason has an injured knee. Jahmal Burroughs has a pulled hamstring. That is four of the top six players that are battling legitimate injuries at this point. Has there ever been a team this beat up before March? It's hard to imagine.

That's not a cop out either. Or an excuse. It is merely stating facts. The Mocs have had a ton of injuries. They seem to be a little snake bitten right now. If everyone gets reasonably healthy and the bounces bounce their way, they could still make a run in Asheville. But they need to start turning things around now to put themselves in position to make that run.

GO MOCS!