Doubt Mocs At Your Own Risk

As a peruser of message boards and general reader of all things SoCon I can get my hands on, there seems to be a feeling, possibly even a growing feeling, that the Mocs are overrated and not as good as their record indicates.

I've been willing to accept that for much of the year. But now, I'm starting to at least ask questions.

Where is the feeling that the Mocs are so overrated coming from?

The Mocs have gone 4-1 against teams currently position to receive byes, beating Wofford twice, Elon once, and Western Carolina once, beating each of them by double digits. They also lost to Davidson in humbling fashion. But few other teams can claim three wins by double digits over teams currently in the top five.

The Mocs have gone 4-2 on the road in SoCon play and 6-0 at home. Yes, they've been better at home, but they actually beat Wofford by significantly more on the road than at home. They beat Furman by almost at much on the road as at home. They did lose to Samford in overtime on the road after beating them at home. They lost to Davidson on the road. But this is hardly a team that has been so good at home and so bad on the road, like seems to be portrayed.

I've also read a lot about Z Mason being overrated. This seems to me to be completely ridiculous. Look at this stats. He is fifth in scoring in SoCon games, first in rebounding and first in blocked shots. How that comes out to being overrated is beyond me. He is a good player. Is he the best in the SoCon? I don't know. But he is playing at the power forward or center position, and really may be better equipped to play the small forward/power forward position. He's out of position, and yet he's put himself in position to be one of the best players in the SoCon. He's the reason the Mocs are winning. Without him, the Mocs would not win many games (trust me- I watched the Northern Kentucky game).

Are the Mocs overachieving? Possibly, maybe even probably. But their body of work has been good enough that they do not deserve to be called overrated. There is a difference between overachieving and overrated. The Mocs should go into the SoCon Tournament as one of the favorites. Honestly, it doesn't matter if the Mocs win in Asheville or not. It's just impossible to deny how good they are.

The Mocs thrive on the doubt from people. So keep on doubting them, rest of the world. The Mocs will be happy to accept it and run with it.