As has been pointed out in various places in the last few hours, the Mocs freshman have now won two more road games than the Mocs senior-laden squad last year and one more SoCon road game than that team.
In other words, this Mocs team has proven yet again that this year's bunch (while we always knew that in many ways they were more likable than last year's team) is probably better than last year's team.
Amazing.
The bottom of the SoCon is not particularly good this year. Yet, regardless of that, the Mocs went out and came up with a win in the SoCon in their just their second game. They have now won four of their last five games, with the lone loss coming at Georgia Tech. That wasn't a bad loss, either.
This team is so obviously improving on the offensive side of the ball. They shot 67.8 in eFG% in this game. That was amazing. They were red hot early in the game from three point range. Farad Cobb made 3 of 6 from long range, while Gee McGhee connected on 3 of 4, and Martynas Bareika made 3 of 3. McGhee also is getting much better from the free throw line. He made six of eight from downtown.
Cobb is improving with each game, and McGhee is slowly improving his overall shooting too. Rico White's comfort level is still high. Z Mason (who scored 17 in this one while collecting four rebounds) continues to be the Mocs most consistent performer.
It is time to talk a little bit about Mason. He has really turned into one of the best Mocs players in recent years. His motor is always running. We've all seen flashes for the last year and a half, but something snapped about mid-December this year, and he has turned into one of the top performers in a while. The beauty of it all is that he will be around again next year. Mason, McGhee, White and Cobb all will be together next year, and it's obvious that this foursome is a solid baseline to build around next year. Yes, there are other pieces, but this is where the enthusiasm has to start, and Mason's growing presence is the cornerstone. He has a real chance to be one of the top five players in the SoCon by the end of this year, and if not this year then next year for sure.
The Samford freshman, Tim Williams, had a huge game, with 18 points and six boards. Stopping him will be a challenge for the next four years for the Mocs. Raijon Kelly also poured in 27 points on 6 of 8 shooting from three point range. The Mocs are still struggling to stop teams on the defensive end, particularly from long range. They let Samford shoot very well in this one, but came up with the key stops in the final minute to put it away.
How good can this Mocs team be? I think their best basketball is still ahead of them, and they are just 1-1 in SoCon play. The losses to Troy, Southeast Missouri, Mercer (who lost at Kennesaw State today), and Eastern Kentucky are in the rearview mirror now. This is a team that could probably go 2-2 in those games if they were played today. Imagine the feeling if this team had a couple of more wins.
Bareika scored 9 points had 8 rebounds and had 4 assists in this one. He had a huge game. He has turned into a solid offensive performer. He's also a decent defensive player.
This is an interesting team. When the Mocs head to The Citadel on Thursday, we will learn so much more about this team. If the Mocs can come up with a win then, the Mocs would find themselves over .500 in SoCon play. And no one saw that coming a month ago.
GO MOCS!
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