Georgia Southern Preview: Under Pressure

The Mocs have to wait all the way until 8:30 PM to tip off their game on Friday night against the Georgia Southern Eagles. The Eagles beat the Mocs twice in the regular season, although in the second match-up it was a furious rally capped by a three at the buzzer that won the game for Georgia Southern.

But Georgia Southern had every opportunity to get a bye heading into the SoCon Tournament. It was a bye that  they desperately needed. But they lost at College of Charleston and then were blown out by Davidson at home.

Georgia Southern also has traditionally underachieved in the SoCon Tournament. That adds an extra layer of pressure to this team that had the largest single season turnaround in SoCon history this year.

This game will be pressure packed for both teams. The Mocs woefully underachieved this year, and after being considered the second best team in the conference in the preseason, wound up finishing with the second worst record. The Mocs have the talent to make a run in the SoCon Tournament. Can they make enough shots? Can they play loose enough and make enough plays down the stretch to do it?

Get it? Plenty of pressure in this match-up. On both teams.

Georgia Southern has a first team All SoCon performer in Eric Ferguson. He averaged 14.8 points per game, while shooting nearly 56% from the floor. He also leads the team in rebounding with 7.1 rebounds per game. The 6-7 sophomore is going to be a force in the league for the next few years. He is an absolute beast and will be a tough match-up for anyone on the Mocs to contain.

The Eagles have three other players that average in double figures. Ben Drayton III (12.0), Willie Powers (11.1), and Jelani Hewitt (10.7) all have contributed in big ways this year. Hewitt has made over 40% of his threes on the year, while Powers is second on the team in rebounding and averages 5.4 assists per game. Drayton averages 3.0 assists per game.

Can the Eagles keep on producing at that level? They have for most of the year to this point. The Eagles are one of the top shooting teams in the conference, but they do turn the ball over. They don't rebound overly well.

The Mocs had not played well, until the majority of the Samford game. Chattanooga played well for most of that game. Keegan Bell started making shots. Drazen Zlovaric played well, Z Mason collected a lot of rebounds and Jahmal Burroughs did not miss a shot. Ricky Taylor and Omar Wattad made some big baskets.

The Mocs are also a good rebounding team. They have been a solid rebounding team throughout the year, even though they are not much of a shooting team. They can play adequate defense at times. They need to come up with more stops.

KEYS TO THE GAME

--Rebounding. As always, the Mocs must rebound will to win the game. They won the boards fairly easily in their last meeting against the Eagles. Now they have both Burroughs and Mason back. They should be able to win the boards in this game. If they don't, not much else will matter.
--Pressure. Who will the pressure have the largest affect on? The Mocs have the weight of preseason expectations weighing on them. The Eagles have the pressure of the tournament weighing on them.
--Turnovers. The Eagles and Mocs both have a tendency to commit some turnovers. Which one can do a better job of protecting the ball?
--Bell. The Mocs senior was red hot against Samford. If he can shoot that well in this one, it will be a major difference.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Ferguson, Powers, Drayton, and Hewitt will all score in double digits.
--Zlovaric, Mason, and Burroughs will help the Mocs control the boards, along with Jared Bryant having a decent game.
--The three senior guards (Bell, Taylor, and Wattad) will make just enough plays down the stretch.
--Mocs 78, Georgia Southern 74. The Mocs will make just enough plays under pressure to win this game. The bounces will go their way. The Mocs owe Georgia Southern one for what happened in Chattanooga, and they get revenge.

GO MOCS!