UNCG Preview: .....Big Gym

I apologize for the lateness and the briefness of this preview. The new baby combined with sickness in the house has decreased my ability to produce this any earlier or any longer. Sorry!

After playing at Elon in what feels like a cafeteria, the Mocs head to the cavernous Coliseum to take on UNCG.

The change in setting can't hurt the Mocs after their terrible performance against the Phoenix the last time out. Without Dontay Hampton and Farad Cobb, things are going to be difficult for the Mocs. Derrell Armstrong averages 16.3 points per game and Trevis Simpson averages 18.6 points per contest. They are two of the leading scorers in the SoCon.

The Spartans do not have a lot of bulk on the inside which could produce good match-ups for the Mocs. Without Hampton and Cobb, the Mocs will need to rely even more on the inside game. With Z Mason and Drazen Zlovaric, the Mocs should be able to control the inside game. Kelvin McNeil is the Spartans leading rebounder at 6.8 per contest.

Freshman Kayel Locke is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 4.9 per game. He is also third on the team in scoring at 9.9 points per game. Locke is really showing a lot in his freshman year for the Spartans.

The Spartans beat Samford at home on Thursday evening. They were the preseason favorite to win the North, but have been very disappointing so far. But with their win over Samford, the Spartans served notice that maybe they are not out of the North race quite yet. They hope to continue that momentum against the undermannned Mocs.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--The Mocs will outrebound the Spartans and Z Mason will do everything he can to put the Mocs on his back and carry them to victory.
--Neither team will really play defense. These two defenses are both pretty mediocre at best.
--Armstrong and Simpson will explode for more huge quantities of points.
--Locke will make all Mocs fans wish that he was at least a junior already.
--UNCG 88, Mocs 73. This is going to not be good for the Mocs. They looked lifeless in the second half against Elon once Dontay Hampton went down with the injury. It's hard to imagine that they can get back up for this one without Hampton. The Mocs are struggling so much on defense, it's hard to imagine them controlling Simpson or Armstrong. The Mocs make it semi-competitive, but are in no position to win this game.

GO MOCS!