CBE Classic Field

Yes, the CBE Classic is more than what goes on in Chattanooga on Sunday-Tuesday. In fact, it is much more. Texas A&M, Saint Louis, Washington State, and Kansas are meeting in Kansas City, and in Santa Clara there are also four teams- USC-Upstate, Eastern Washington, Utah Valley (who the Mocs will see in McKenzie later on this year), and Santa Clara. Yes, the Mocs tip off their portion of the CBE Classic against Kansas on Thursday night. But really, the games that matter to the Mocs are the three games coming up Sunday-Tuesday. Southeast Missouri, Troy, and Louisiana Tech are the other three teams playing in the Roundhouse.

So let's spend a little extra time getting to know each of the teams. If you are a real college hoops fan, you can catch all four teams in Chattanooga playing three times in three days. That should be a lot of fun. So let's see what each team brings to the table.

The Mocs struggled shooting against Tennessee Temple. It was about what SE Missouri did against Kansas. They shot 29% from the floor and 25% from the field. However, they did not commit many turnovers, turning the ball over just twelve times against the Jawhawks and forced thirteen. They are not an overly big team, but they are certainly big for the teams in Chattanooga. Tyler Stone and Nino Johnson are both 6-8. They will be a handful for any team here, but they are not just unbelievably huge.

Best Player: Tyler Stone. He is 6-8 and 230 pounds. He is averaging 16.5 points per game and six rebounds per game. Last year, he averaged 14.7 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 53% from the floor. He is going to be a handful for anyone on the Mocs, and pretty much any team in Chattanooga. He is not monstrously huge, but to contain him, someone is going to have trouble. He may be the best big man in Chattanooga.

Between Now and Then: McNeese State on Thursday night. Pomeroy gives them a good chance to win that one and come to Chattanooga with a 2-1 overall record.

Expectations: According to Pomeroy, they are expected to go 2-1, though the game against Chattanooga is listed as a virtual toss-up. I expect them to beat Troy and then for Stone to come up with a huge effort against either Chattanooga or Louisiana Tech that powers them to the win. They are thinking they can 3-0 or 2-1 here, and I expect them to go 2-1.

Troy upset Mississippi State in the opener at home, 56-53. They followed that with an eighteen point loss at Texas A&M. They did not rebound well against the Aggies, while being OK against the Bulldogs. They have allowed their opponents to shoot well so far this year, giving up a 54.6% eFG to two teams. Tevin Calhoun is their biggest major contributor, at 6-7. They really barely play anyone over 6-7, so this is a smallish team.

Best Player: Emil Jones. He is 6-3, and averages nine points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, and three assists per game. Those numbers are slightly down from last year, when he averaged 9.6, 5.9, and two. Jones will need to have a big few games in Chattanooga for the Trojans to leave with a winning record.

Between Now and Then: Troy is just sitting and waiting for the CBE Classic in Chattanooga. This may be an advantage for the Trojans to have a little bit more practice time between now and the start of this event.

Expectations: According to Pomeroy, the Trojans are expected to go 0-3 in these games. However, games are not played on paper. That being said, it's hard to see how they are going to handle the size of the Mocs or the Redhawks. They will have to dominate the guard play. They probably are expecting to go 1-2 or 2-1, but I expect them to lose all three in Chattanooga.

Louisiana Tech lost at Texas A&M by twelve in their opener. They played well, keeping it close until there was about eight  minutes left in the game. They were down single digits at that point. Michale Kyser is the only regular over 6-6. He is 6-9. They are a guard-oriented team. Kenneth Smith, who only scored two points, lead the team in rebounds (eight), assists (six), and steals (three). This is not a huge team in terms of size, but they have solid guards. This team made it all the way to the WAC Championship Game a year ago, upsetting Nevada along the way.

Best Player: Raheem Appleby. He scored twenty points with four rebounds in the opener. He averaged 13.9 points per game as a freshman a year ago and shot right at 40% from three point range. He shot 47% from the field overall. The 6-3 guard may be the best player that will show up in Chattanooga.

Between Now and Then: Lousiana Tech hosts Arkansas-Little Rock on Wednesday night. The Bulldogs are the favorite in this one, according to Pomeroy. They will have an extra day off than SE Missouri and Chattanooga as they prepare, which is not a huge advantage, but when preparing for three games in three days, it is something.

Expectations: According to Pomeroy, the Bulldogs are the favorite to go 3-0 in these games. I expect them to win the opener against Troy, and then the showdowns against SE Missouri and Chattanooga in back to back games will both be interesting. They will struggle with the size advantage both teams present. Expect them to wind up going 2-1, but they are expecting to have a perfect week.

Anyone following along at home, this means that I am expecting Chattanooga to go 2-1 as well in these games and finish tied with Louisiana Tech and Troy for the best record. I don't know what the official tiebreakers are for this. Point differential maybe? If so, then I would give SE Missouri the slight edge over the other two, because I think they are more likely to dominate a couple of games. I'm taking Stone as the MVP of the Chattanooga portion of this tournament. I think Z Mason will have a huge tournament for the Mocs, but some guards (Rico White? Farad Cobb? Gee McGhee? Casey Jones? Eric Robertson) will also need to step up for the Mocs to get to 2-1 or 3-0.

GO MOCS!