Troy Preview: Bounce Back?

The two teams that lost on Sunday will meet up on Monday evening. The Mocs loss to Southeast Missouri was tough. But Troy did not perform well against Louisiana Tech. The Trojans were dominated 70-46. But the Trojans have already come up with a win over Mississippi State this year.

The team that wins this game will still have a chance at tying for the best record in the CBE Classic in Chattanooga. The team that loses will be eliminated from finishing first in the standings, and will be in serious danger of finishing last in the competition.

Troy's loss to Louisiana Tech may have exposed certain problems that the Trojans have. For one, the Trojans were pounded on the boards by the Bulldogs, losing the battle 42-30. They also only shot 30% from the floor and 25% from three point range. Wesley Hinton lead all scorers with 12 points for the Trojans. Those were his first twelve points of the year. Hinton is 6-8, but scored most of his points from three point range. He can be a handful for someone to cover.

In other words, this Trojans team has some real flaws. They are shooting under 37% from the field for the year. They are under 35% from three point range. They are getting outrebounded by eight per game by their opponents. Hunter Williams, a 6-0 guard for the Trojans, is the team's leading scorer with eleven points per game. He is the only player in double figures for the Trojans. He shoots well under 40% from the floor.  Emil Jones and Ray Chambers are the team's two leading rebounders. Jones is averaging 5.7 rebounds per game and Chambers is averaging 4.7. Jones is only 6-3, and Chambers is 6-6. Not exactly a couple of big guys. Antoine Myers leads the Trojans in assists with eleven. Tevin Calhoun scored 12 against Mississippi State and was the Trojans leading scorer in their win over the SEC team. Calhoun has only scored ten in the other two contests. Calhoun is a 6-7 junior, who is looking to make a name for himself.

The Trojans are not big. This, in fact, is the smallest team that the Mocs have faced so far. Tennessee Temple was very big for being a NCCAA team. Kansas obviously was very big. SE Missouri had two very big guys that presented a challenge inside. This is not really the case for the Trojans. The Z Men should be able to perform well against the Trojans inside game.

The problem is that the Mocs defense has not been containing their opponents particularly well. Troy has not been scoring. This is a game where the Mocs defensive woes could be cured. They may really struggle shooting in this one, though. Can the Mocs finally start making some shots somewhere along the way?

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Neither team will score the ball particularly well.
--The two teams will both not turn the ball very much. Neither team has been turning the ball over much or forcing too many turnovers against D1 competition.
--The Z Men (Zlovaric and Mason) will put up big numbers against the Trojans inside. Look for Zlovaric to have a particularly big game.
--Mocs 59, Troy 52. The Mocs are the better team, and that will show. Their size will bother Troy, and the biggest question is who will make shots for either team. Someone needs to make shots from outside for one of these teams. Don't be surprised if Farad Cobb and Rico White are the two to finally make a few shots to put it away late. That being said, Gee McGhee has shown the ability to be that guy as well. We'll see if he does it.

GO MOCS!