The Most Important Time.....

Four games. Seven days.

And it all starts only 29 days from now.

Southeast Missouri, Louisiana Tech, and Troy come to McKenzie on November 18-20. The Mocs go to Kennesaw State on November 24. In-between is Thanksgiving and Black Friday.

To put it lightly, it's the most important week of Chattanooga basketball in the 2012-13. I hate to overstate this, but there's no way to overstate it, really. The Mocs will almost certainly be 1-1 heading into that week, with a win over Tennessee Temple and a loss to Kansas. But those four games will tell us everything about where the Mocs are at.

If the Mocs find themselves 5-1 after those six games, the Mocs will be on their way to a very successful year, more than likley. If they are 4-2, they are probably upper half of the SoCon, but not top level. If they are 3-3, they are probably right around the middle of the SoCon. If they are 2-4, they are probably the lower half of the SoCon.  If they are 1-5, they are probably one of the worst teams in the SoCon.

These games tell us where the Mocs are. They have to know that already. Those four games are the defining moments of the early season. It doesn't help that three of them are on three back-to-back-to-back nights in early November. How will the Mocs fare in that situation? It's a great test for a young team because they will need to perform well in a similar situation in March if they are to get to the NCAA Tournament.

It's awfully early in the season to have a defining stretch, but it looms. It sits out there, making it's presence felt strongly. There's no doubt that fan anticipation will be built upon what happens in those four games. If the Mocs find themselves 5-1 after those six games, you can count on McKenzie having a little bit of extra vibe in it when the Mocs take on Davidson and Eastern Kentucky the following two Saturdays. If they lose, the negative feelings from last year will linger on, and make the faithful feel not quite so faithful.

The fans want to put last year in the past. This is a golden opportunity to do that. It's going to be a lot of fun. I can't wait for it to get started.

GO MOCS!