Mocs 65, Kennesaw State 51

The Mocs needed this kind of game.

A Markeith Cummings three with just under 17 and a half minutes left in the game gave the Owls a 7-6 lead early in the game.

That was the Owls only lead of the game.

In other words, the Mocs were ahead the entire game. They took several twenty point leads along the way and really controlled the action. They shot the ball very well (shooting better than 50% from the floor), did not get three happy, shooting just seven, got to the foul line, shooting 31 free throws, made free throws a little bit more consistently, making 21 of them, and rebounded well, getting more offensive rebounds than the Owls had defensive boards.

The Z Men really had a huge game. They made 9 of 17 shots combined, going 6-6 from the free throw line. They had 24 points and 15 rebounds between them. Zlovaric collected five offensive rebounds, while Mason had six defensive boards.

Mason went without shooting a three. He attacked the basket a little more, and played a very strong game for the Mocs. He also had four blocks. That's the sort of game that the Mocs were looking for from him.

Farad Cobb also played very well. He collected four rebounds, which was huge for the Mocs. Rico White and Casey Jones each came up with four boards as well.

White had ten points, while Gee McGhee continued his hot play, scoring twelve points. Mason had fourteen and Zlovaric had ten.

Of course, the Mocs had one major problem as well. They turned the ball over an incredible 23 times. This is a team that is really struggling to protect the basketball right now. They only forced eight turnovers. The Mocs need to protect the basketball better as they move forward.

The Mocs have a week off before playing their first SoCon game against Davidson in McKenzie. The Mocs will be heavy underdogs against Davidson, but the Mocs have been playing much better than their record indicates. If they can come up with a solution to their problem of not protecting the ball, the Mocs should be able to contend in that game.

GO MOCS!

Kennesaw State: Four Factors

eFG%
Owls- 36.1%
Mocs- 53.7%
Advantage- Mocs

TO%
Owls- 13.4%
Mocs- 35.5%
Advantage- Owls

OR%
Owls- 45.5%
Mocs- 53.9%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Owls- 29.6%
Mocs- 75.6%
Advantage- Mocs

3PtRate
Owls- 44.4%
Mocs- 17.1%

Mocs Win!

Full breakdown tomorrow. The Mocs won 65-51 over Kennesaw State. Due to family obligations, I don't have the time to break down the game tonight. Full coverage coming tomorrow.

GO MOCS!

Kennesaw State Preview: The Noose is Loose

Last year, when the Mocs were expected by many to win the Southern Conference, they came home after two reasonably respectable losses to Indiana and Butler to take on Kennesaw State. The Owls were heavy underdogs, not expected to be able to beat the Mocs in Chattanooga. Yet, on that night, the Owls came up with the win. The Mocs loss that night did a lot of things. It turned away any chance that the fan base would stick with the team. It made the group of seniors doubt everything that they had done as Mocs. It tightened a noose around the neck of the entire program, and choked off the life of the season.

Turn the clock forward one year. The Mocs are a young team, rebuilding after last season's disastrous year. They are 1-4 on the year, but have been playing hard every night and a joy to watch despite the losses. This year they go to Kennesaw with no noose around their neck. They go down there and have the ability to play loose and within themselves. How does this team respond to their first truly winnable road game of the year?

The Owls have just one win on the year, and are 1-5. They lost to Tennessee, Eastern Kentucky, Radford, Towson, and Georgia Southern and beat South Carolina State in overtime. Their sixteen point loss to Georgia Southern on Wednesday was the largest loss of the year for the Owls.

Markeith Cummings is a 6-6 guard and still the best player on the Owls. He is averaging 18.7 points per game this year. He is shooting 50.6% from the field for the year. He has 4.1 rebounds per game and 1.7 assists per game. Cummings is a stellar player and a tough opponent for any team. He scored just six against Tennessee and averaged 21.2 points per game in the other five games. He is a great player.

Aaron Anderson is 6-7 and leads the team in rebounds with 8.3 boards per game. He is also averaging 9.3 points per game. He also is shooting nearly 64% from the floor. Andrew Osemhen is 6-9. He does not shoot much, taking just eleven shots the whole year. He is averaging 2.8 rebounds per game. So, considering his height, he has not done much.

Delbert Love is the Owls 6-0 guard. He is averaging 3.3 assists per game, 38 minutes per game, 11.5 points per game and 3.3 rebounds per game. Love is not as good as Cummings, but he is probably the Owls most important player. If the Mocs can cut him off somehow, they can control the Owls offense.

The Mocs are a great rebounding team. The Owls have done well on the defensive boards, but not the offensive glass. Also, the Owls defense has been terrible. They have allowed their opponents to have nearly 57% on eFG. The problem for the Mocs is that they have been fouling a lot, and the Owls have been good at drawing fouls. The Mocs also turn the ball over too much, and the Owls have been decent at forcing turnovers.

The Mocs will need to control the inside game offensively. Drazen Zlovaric and Z Mason have a chance to have big games inside. The guard play will need to contorl Cummings and Love. Will they be able to do it? Rico White is very important to this. Gee McGhee, Farad Cobb,Eric Robertson and Casey Jones will also be relied on. If they focus on their defense, and don't turn the ball over, make a few shots, but focus on getting the ball inside, they will have done their job. McGhee and Jones showed a lot of really good athleticism in recent games. It's been exciting.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Cummings and Love will combine for thirty points.
--The Mocs will dominate the boards.
--The Mocs will not be intimidated after playing in Allen Fieldhouse once this year.
--Mocs 67, Kennesaw State 64. Huge chance for both teams. This is a really evenly matched game. Who knows who will win? I think if the Mocs play with the same confidence that they have been playing with, they will come up with a win. I think tonight is the night that Robertson will have an explosive game.

Daily Dribbles- 11-23-12

--Davidson's showdown with West Virginia today in the semifinals of the Old Spice Classic should be a very good game. Looking forward to that showdown.

--Appalachian State's trip to Virginia Tech is an unlikely spot to find a win for the SoCon.

--Wofford's game against Hampton is a winnable game for the Terriers. Can the SoCon come up with a huge win?

--I ate too much on Thanksgiving, and I am very sleepy. Time for a nap. Hope everyone enjoyed their family and their day as much as I did. I played a very intense pick up basketballl game with my three brother-in-laws. I'm happy to report that my team, despite being the oldest of the four, did find a way to win. If only that win counted for the SoCon.

SoCon Monster Game of the Week: Davidson 75, Vanderbilt 65

There is no controlling Davidson's offense- you can only hope to contain them. The Wildcats shot 50% from the floor. They made naerly 43% from three point range.

For the Wildcats, Jake Cohen finally looked like himself. He made 6 of 11 from the field, scoring 14 points. Nik Cochran scored 14 points. De'Mon Brooks poured in 19 points.

This team is so good and so efficient offensively. They are not a great defensive team. Kedren Johnson scored 28 and Kyle Fuller scored 14 tonight. No one else scored more than six, so the Wildcats did a good job containing the rest of the roster. However, they do struggle guarding on the perimeter. That is still a problem for this club.

But a win over Vanderbilt it never a bad thing. They were very good on the offensive end, and that makes up for some of the potential defensive shortcomings. This Wildcats team will be playing West Virginia on Friday in Orlando, with a chance to advance to the Championship Game. That would be huge for the Wildcats and the SoCon.

Tyler Kalinoski got the start on Thursday. JP Kuhlman did not play. Kalinoski is very good and is always in the right place. I tend to think that Kalinoski is very good and underrated.

The Wildcats are a good team. I look forward to watching them continue in this Old Spice Classic.

Thanksgiving: A Time To Give Thanks

It's been a rough two weeks to be a SoCon basketball fan. It's been a rough couple of years to be a Mocs basketball fan. But there still is plenty to be thankful for. It's time to reflect on some of those things.

--I'm thankful for basketball season. I love college football as much as anyone (no really, I do- every Saturday is spent with about twelve college football games and weekdays are often spent watching games I missed or re-watching games I enjoyed), but college basketball season is so much fun. It can be such a beautiful game to watch play when it is played well.

--I'm thankful for Mocs basketball over the years. During my time following the team, there have been numerous NCAA Tournament teams, and the magical 1997 season when the Mocs made it to the Sweet Sixteen and really should have beaten Providence in that game. That was a Providence team that took Arizona to overtime in the Elite Eight....and Arizona won the national title.

--I'm thankful for this Mocs basketball team. This team has been tremendously fun to watch. Yes, they are young and making some mistakes. They are not winning yet, but it is also quite clear that the Mocs are very close to being a very good team. The future is bright.

--I'm thankful for the way the internet works. The internet has enabled me to be able to follow the Mocs more closely than ever from Kentucky. I can watch the Mocs on MocsVision, listen on the internet radio, read articles from the Times-Free Press every morning, talk to other Mocs fans on MocFans.com Message Board.

--I'm thankful for all the people I have met through doing this blog and through MocFans. Many of them I don't know personally, but I really enjoy the discussions that we have, and the shared excitement over Mocs and SoCon basketball.

--I'm thankful for my wife and children. My boys are 6 years old, and while (since they live in Kentucky) they have an excitement for Kentucky basketball, they also have a passion for Mocs basketball. Their favorite player? Z Mason. Second favorite? Drazen Zlovaric. They tell me this constantly. It's so much fun to watch a game with them. It's a real enjoy.

So Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Don't forget to enjoy your family and friends on this day, but its always fun to remember all the things that I am thankful for in all my different walks of life.

Enjoy some football and basketball today. Enjoy the feast. Enjoy life. Should be great.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Daily Dribbles: 11-22-12

--Western Carolina finally came up with a win over Howard on Wednesday afternoon in the Cancun Challenge. It was not a great win for the Catamounts, but hey, a win is a win at this point for any SoCon team.

--In truth, it was a really good day for the SoCon. Samford did lose to Toledo, but not only did Western Carolina beat Howard, but Elon beat South Carolina, and Georgia Southern beat Kennesaw State. Again- it's not much, but a win's a win for any SoCon team at this point. A 3-1 day fo the SoCon? Yes, please. Can we have another?

--Samford and Davidson both have games on Thanksgiving. Samford will play Alcorn State. Davidson battles Vanderbilt. Can the SoCon momentum continue? A couple of wins would go a long way to helping the SoCon.

--It's Thanksgiving, and I would like to say thank you to all of you that make college basketball so much fun to watch- including SoCon basketball and Mocs basketball....even when it's not going well.

Monster Game of the Week Preview: Davidson vs. Vanderbilt

R-E-S-P-E-C-T.

Despite the fact that the Wildcats have yet to beat a D1 opponent, Davidson has the respect of every SoCon team. At the bare minimum, they have the respect of our Scanning the SoCon bloggers. How else can you explain a team that hasn't won a game yet getting the Monster Game of the Week nod?

The fact is that Davidson has earned that respect. They've earned it with consistent play. They've earned it by being the best program in the conference for the last decade. They've earned it by going to the Elite Eight back in 2008. The nation respects Davidson in a way they don't respect any other team in the SoCon (sorry, College of Charleston). As they head into this game, they are probably considered the favorite by many people. Over an SEC school. On a neutral court. Yes, Davidson has earned respect.


Vanderbilt beat Nicholls State by 15 and then was hammered by what is supposed to be a relatively mediocre Oregon team by 28 points. The Wildcats know all about disappointing losses though, after they fell to a mediocre Wisconsin-Milwaukee team by five points last Saturday.

This ought to be a fun one, even if it is on Thanksgiving afternoon.

Kedren Johnson has been leading the Commodores through two games. He leads the team in points and assists and is second in rebounds. He is a 6-4 sophomore guard, averaging 38 minutes per contest, 19.5 points, five rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game. He has been a total stud for the Commodores through two games.

Kyle Fuller is a 6-1 junior guard, and is averaging 16 points per game. He's also averaging 3.5 assists per game. He has been the other star for the Commodores so far. Kevin Bright is a 6-5 guard, and is averaging ten points per game and eight rebounds per game.  How will these three guards do in this one? The big question may be who contains these guys defensively for the Wildcats. They have not been great in perimeter defense so far this year, so guarding all three guards may be difficult for Davidson.

Vanderbilt ranks #217 in eFG% defense according to KenPom.com. That's not good for the Commodores. They also have not gotten many steals, and have not guarded well at all against two point shots.

Davidson has been itching to get back on the court to erase the terrible taste of back-to-back losses to New Mexico and UW-Milwaukee. The big question for the Wildcats is where has Jake Cohen gone? He's still coming up with rebounds, but his offense is almost non-existent at this point. Yes, he's averaging ten points and 6.3 rebounds per game. But he's shooting 32% from the floor, and making 61.5% from the free throw line. He also is shooting just 22% from three point range. For a guy that many people picked as the preseason SoCon Player of the Year, this has been really bad. Everyone has to think he will eventually get going. He's too good of a player not to eventually get going.

De'Mon Brooks is averaging 20 points per game with 6.3 rebounds per game. He is shooting 50% from the floor. The debate between whether Cohen or Brooks should be preseason SoCon Player of the Year has seemed ridiculous at this point. Brooks has completely outplayed Cohen to this point in the season.

JP Kuhlman is second on the team in scoring with 13.7 points per game and leads the team in assists with 5.3 per game. He's not a great defender. Personally, I really enjoy watching Tyler Kalinoski off the bench. He is averaging 11.7 points per game off the bench. Chris Czerapowicz is averaging 11 points per game on 67% shooting from three point range. This guy can light it up from anywhere on the floor.

The Wildcats are brilliant offensively. It's very difficult to imagine Vandebilt being able to contain this offense. Very few teams ccan control them. The Davidson defense is not particularly good either, so Vanderbilt may be able to put some points on the board too.

The winner of this game gets the winner of Marist-West Virginia on Friday. The loser gets the loser of that game. The Mountaineers did not look good at all against Gonzaga. There is a real chance for the winner of this game to advance to the championship game of the Old Spice Classic, likely against a really good Gonzaga team.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--Davidson will score a ton of points.
--Vanderbilt will score in bunches, too.
--Cohen will be pressing, and will not have a particularly productive night.
--Czerapowicz will be mispronounced on TV several times, but he will be the leading scorer in the game.
--Davidson 81, Vanderbilt 77. The Commodores are going to be tough for the Wildcats to guard on the perimeter, but Davidson is too much offensively for the SEC school. This will be another close game, but Davidson finally comes out on top in one.

Daily Dribbles- 11-21-12

--Want a full recap of the Charleston Classic and what the Cougars should take from it as they move forward? I know I did. And I found it. Brilliant. Must read.

--Another losing night for the SoCon- 0fer. Western Carolina lost by one to Austin Peay. East Carolina won by ten in a game that was tighter than the final score indicated. Richmond beat Wofford by six in a decent showing by the Terriers. The Mocs were tied late with Louisiana Tech, but fell at home. Tough day for the SoCon. Again.

--Nice review of the Western Carolina game at Purple & Gold. This is a great preview of today's game against Howard.

--Samford's Tim Williams was the SoCon Player of the Week. He averaged 18 points and six rebounds in two losses to Top 20 teams. Williams has a real chance to be a special player for the Bulldogs.

--Trevis Simpson, who lead the league in scoring last year, and is leading the league again. He is averaging 22.0 points per game.

Louisiana Tech 71, Mocs 63

Based on what we know about the first five opponents the Mocs have played this year, Kansas is the best team. Louisiana Tech is the second best team.

Yet, despite the fact that the Bulldogs had beaten Troy by 24 on Sunday and the Mocs had lost to Troy by seven on Monday, there the Mocs were with just a few minutes left, tied at 58 with Louisiana Tech.

This was the game I had been waiting for. I had been waiting to see the Mocs play when they shot the ball well. Tonight, they did that. They had an eFG% up over 50%. They made threes. They made twos. Maybe most brilliantly, they did not shoot a lot of threes. As a team that has not been shooting well, they decided to back off the three point line. They made five of ten from three point range, which is a wonderful percentage, but not many shots from there.

Should they have shot more from three point range? This is an interesting question, and one that I may dive into at some point in the future. How many threes should the Mocs be shooting in a game? What percentage of their shots should be threes? Tonight, it was under 20% of their shots, which is their lowest this year, and I believe that it is significantly lower than any from last year too, which was the first year I was tracking it. I need to go back and check the stats on this. A later post will have some of this in it.

The Mocs played another fairly big team, and once again dominated the boards. They are really something else on the glass, considering that they have played four teams that were roughly the same size as them or bigger. Yes, I just counted Tennessee Temple in there, but that's because the Crusaders really are as big as many D1 teams. This is a team that night in and night out is going to bring the rebounding. That effort is huge.

The game was badly broken up by poor officiating in the first half. They went to the courtside video three times in the first half. They needed to stop having official reviews. Then, they decided to start calling every touch foul on both sides for a few minutes. The refs were the story in the first half. The Mocs were up, and then the flow started getting broken up. Then the Bulldogs jumped out on a run and went up eight at the half.

Casey Jones played very well. He scored eight points and had five rebounds. Gee McGhee also had a huge game. He scored 19 points on seven of ten shooting. McGhee and Jones each had excellent games. Rico White is coming into his own. He scored ten points. White is very good and seems to be developing into one of the stars of this team. Drazen Zlovaric just scored seven points, but collected nine rebounds. Z Mason scored four points and also had nine rebounds.

The Louisiana Tech pressure really bothered the Mocs in spots. They turned the ball over 24 times. That was one of the major differences in the game. Combine that with the Mocs 10 of 19 shooting from the free throw line and that sums up why the Mocs lost tonight.

There were mistakes made at the end of the game. For example, the Bulldogs missed a shot and Louisiana Tech got the offensive rebound. The Mocs got fouled, and Zlovaric missed the front end of the one and one. The Mocs came down, and White turned the ball over. These were mistakes, but they were relatively correctable.

One of my questions is why the Mocs don't use pressure more. When they use, it always seems to be very successful. They are good at pressuring the ball. They are using it more than they ever have in the past, but I think they should use it for 30-35 minutes a game. Pick up full court. Even pick up really hard halfcourt. That seems to ignite the team's energy. I like it.

The Mocs are not as far away from being a good team as the record appears. They are very close to being a decent team. They get another shot against Kennesaw State on Saturday.

I still really enjoy watching this team play basketball. I know they are close. I enjoy rooting for this team. The journey continues.

Louisiana Tech: Four Factors

eFG%
Bulldogs- 52.2%
Mocs- 51.0%
Advantage- Bulldogs

TO%
Bulldogs- 20.5%
Mocs- 33.8%
Advantage- Bulldogs

OR%
Bulldogs- 24.0%
Mocs- 42.4%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Bulldogs- 65.2%
Mocs- 36.5%
Advantage- Bulldogs

3PtRate
Bulldogs- 50.0%
Mocs- 19.2%

Daily Dribbles- 11-20-12

--Virginia Tech's win over UNCG was a good one for the Spartans. Derrell Armstrong and Trevis Simpson were amazing. They scored 48 points. Let's face it- if Armstrong and Simpson play that well for the Spartans in SoCon play, they will battle Elon to the end for the North title.

--The Mocs are 0-2 in the CBE Classic. They will take on Louisiana Tech in the final game of the round robin today. The Bulldogs are 2-0. Doesn't look good.

--Western Carolina-Austin Peay in Cancun may be the SoCon's best chance for a win on Tuesday. According to KenPom, they have a 63% chance of winning, whereas every other SoCon team in action is an underdog.

--Furman came up with a win Monday night. But it was over Brevard. That counts for something....but not much..

Louisiana Tech Preview: Don't Lose Hope

Louisiana Tech hammered Troy by 24 points in the opener of the CBE Classic then beat Southeast Missouri by 4 on Monday. They are 2-0, and have clinched the championship of the Chattanooga portion of the bracket. If they lose to the Mocs, they will hold the tiebreaker over the other two teams, regardless of who they are tied with. So the Bulldogs have already clinched the championship. The Mocs have already clinched finishing last in this portion, because even with a win, they would lose the tiebreaker.

The Mocs have lost to both Troy and Southeast Missouri. They had opportunities to win both games, though. They will now need to start proving they can shoot better. The Bulldogs are a very difficult challenge for the Mocs in this one. How will the Mocs respond to the challenge? How will Louisiana Tech respond? It's the third game in three days for both teams, so this could be a real test for both teams.

Louisiana Tech has been relying on Kenneth Smith. He leads the team in rebounding and assists. He is averaging 6.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game. He is 6-3. He is averaging 3.3 points per game. The Bulldogs really like Smith. He has gotten between four and eight rebounds every game, so it does not seem to be a fluke. However, he is doubling his rebounding average from a year ago. Will he be able to rebound against the Mocs?

The Bulldogs have three players averaging in double figures. Brandon Gibson is a 6-5 senior, and is averaging 11.3 points per game. He is only shooting 30.8% from the field, though. He has scored 21 points and has thirteen rebounds in Chattanooga so far over the past two games.

Raheem Appleby has been even better in Chattanooga. He is 6-3, and has scored 36 points in the past two games. He is shooting 38.5% from the floor so far this year. He is averaging 15.8 points per game on the year. He takes a lot of shots, taking 22 shots twice this year already.

Cordarius Johnson is the Bulldogs most consistent scorer. As a 6-5 guard, he has been making shots at a very nice clip this year. He is shooting 51.4% from the floor on the year. He scored 31 points so far in Chattanooga, and is averaging 14.5 points per game for the season. He is shooting 50% from three point range on the year. He is clearly the Bulldogs best shooter.

The Bulldogs have been playing well so far in Chattanooga. They rebounded well against Southeast Missouri. Michael Kyser is 6-9 and averaging 5.8 rebounds per game. He doesn't do much scoring, but he's a good rebounder.

The Mocs should be able to rebound with the Bulldogs. After all, they rebounded better than Southeast Missouri, and Louisiana Tech was outrebounded by the Redhawks. This is a very good rebounding Mocs team. Zlovaric and Mason are probably good enough offensively to win the inside battle, though that strategy did not particularly work against Troy, when Zlovaric only got six shots. He should have gotten at least ten shots against the Trojans. He and Mason need to combine for a lot closer to twenty shots against the Bulldogs.

Will the Mocs make more shots? Will they make more free throws? It's almost impossible to know.

LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG

--The Mocs will outrebound Louisiana Tech- not by a ton, but by enough.
--Cordarius Johnson will make a bunch of threes.
--The athleticism of Casey Jones, Gee McGhee, Eric Robertson, and Farad Cobb will again be on display for at least a few plays.
--Without Lance Stokes (out for up to six weeks with a broken bone in his foot), Sam Watson and Jared Bryant will need to step up. Bryant will be particularly necessary on the glass. He'll shine.
--Rico White will continue his improved scoring from the Troy game.
--Louisina Tech 72, Mocs 64. The Mocs simply have not knocked down shots yet. Will they finally start knocking them down? They could start making shots in this one. If they do, the Mocs could certainly come up with the upset. There's no reason to believe tonight is this night is the one that the shots start falling. I do believe they will eventually. But I'm not sure when it will be. The Mocs have been playing very well other than the shooting woes. What am I watching for? I'm watching to make sure the Mocs keep on doing those little things. The shots will eventually fall.

GO MOCS!

Troy 68, Mocs 61

This was the most frustrating game of the year to date.

The feeling in the offseason was that if there was one game in the CBE Classic that the Mocs needed to win, it was the Troy game. The feeling was that Troy was the team that was most beatable of the three teams visiting Chattanooga. Therefore, if the Mocs wanted to have a successful tournament, they needed to win this game.

But it didn't happen. It just wasn't meant to be, tonight.

Again, I have no problem with the effort. They got rebounds. They played hard and dove for loose balls. They didn't get to all the loose balls tonight (several toss ups went the other way). The Mocs were also the aggressor on offense, getting to the foul line ten more times than the Trojans. The problem was that the Trojans only made two fewer free throws, despite having ten fewer attempts. The Mocs made just 57.7% from the free throw line for the game.

But that is downright blazing hot compared to what the Mocs did from three point range. The Mocs shot a putrid 18.2% from three point range. At this point, it must be in the Mocs head. They simply are missing wide open looks. Did they shoot too many threes tonight? Maybe a few, but just 37% of their shots were threes. This is not disastrously high. Troy shot a higher percentage (of course, they were making a higher percentage as well).

Rico White had his best game yet, scoring fourteen points. Z Mason and Drazen Zlovaric made a combined 5 of 12 from the field with eighteen points. But they did their job on the glass, combining for 19 rebounds.

Here was the really exciting thing. We saw good things from Cobb at Kansas. We've been waiting for the other three freshman to really show us what they're made of. Eric Robertson had a couple of very nice plays. Gee McGhee showed a couple of bursts. They both impressed me even more than they have in any other game yet this year. Then, there was Casey Jones, who stood out above all of them in the flashes that I saw tonight. He had a couple of very athletic, very nice baskets, and came up with five rebounds too. I really liked what I saw out of all three of these guys tonight, especially Jones.

The defense is far from perfect so far. They are allowing opponents to shoot too well, especially considering how poorly the Mocs are shooting. They will need to improve on their closing speed on shooters. This has been a problem throughout all their games so far. They do a good job on this most of the time, but occassionally have been leaving shooters open and they have been making those shots.

Free throw shooting, shooting from the field, and closing speed on the perimeter- those are the things that need to be worked on. However, the effort is very good. They have been rebounding the ball really good. They have been doing an OK job protecting the ball and not turning it over.

This is not a bad team. This is a quality team that could still win plenty of games. They are going to eventually start shooting the ball better. When that happens, this team will win several games in a row.

GO MOCS!

Troy: Four Factors

eFG%
Troy- 49.1%
Mocs- 39.7%
Advantage- Troy

TO%
Troy- 15.0%
Mocs- 22.6%
Advantage- Troy

OR%
Troy- 23.3%
Mocs- 45.2%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Troy- 28.6%
Mocs- 44.8%
Advantage- Mocs

3PtRate
Troy- 48.2%
Mocs- 37.9%

Daily Dribbles- 11-19-12

--UNCG is in for a tough game on Monday night against Virginia Tech. An interesting home game for the Spartans.

--Charleston got the win over Boston College to finish 7th out of the eight team field in the Charleston Classic. Their four point win over the Eagles was not overly encouraging, but it was a first step for the Cougs.

--Jack Isenbarger was money in overtime against Florida Atlantic in leading Elon to a win in the Maui Invitational.

--Western Carolina battles Austin Peay on Tuesday night in the Cancun Challenge.

--Good interview with David Jackson over on Yosef's Cabin. The end of the article is the most interesting. Great question on basketball scheduling.

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!

Southeast Missouri 77, Mocs 65

The biggest problem for the Mocs in this one is that they could not shoot the ball well, and they could not get the Redhawks to miss when they needed it most.

Really, everything else, they did right. They did an excellent job keeping the big SE Missouri forwards off the offensive glass. They came up with offensive boards, even though they could not buy a basket. They did not turn the ball over frequently, forcing the Redhawks into more turnovers. They got to the free throw line consistently, as part of the attempt to start getting some offense. But it just wasn't meant to be on this night.

Really, beyond Farad Cobb's performance against Kansas, the Mocs have been struggling shooting this year. The Mocs need to find a way to shoot the ball better.

But the good news is that it appears that the Mocs are going do a decent job protecting the ball. They are going to be OK at getting to the free throw line, and are going to be a very good rebounding team. That's the way the stats look so far. If they can ever learn to shoot the ball, the Mocs will be a very difficult out.

Drazen Zlovaric and Z Mason each scored 14, showing how the Z Men are really the key to the whole offense. They are going to consistently contribute on the offensive end. Zlovaric had seven rebounds and Mason had six boards.

Gee McGhee also came up with ten points for the Mocs. It was his best game yet as a Moc, and he is going to be a good one. Lance Stokes had a couple of very athletic moves and scored seven points.

They did a decent job against Nino Johnson and Tyler Stone, who combined for 23 points and 19 rebounds. It's not surprising that they had a good game. They did not have such a good day that the Mocs should not have been able to overcome at home. But Marland Smith and Corey Wilford combined to score 37 points.

Back before the season started, I said the Mocs needed to go 2-2 this week. Right now, they are 0-1. So now, they just need to go 2-1. The possibility is still out there. The Mocs could still go 2-2 this week. They just need to come out tomorrow and take care of business against Troy. If they do that, then they will be back on track.

Big game Monday night. Huge game Monday night. We'll see how the Mocs respond to a little adversity early in the year.

GO MOCS!

Southeast Missouri: Four Factors

eFG%
Redhawks- 63.8%
Mocs- 36.7%
Advantage- Redhawks

TO%
Redhawks- 23.0%
Mocs- 14.3%
Advantage- Mocs

OR%
Redhawks- 8.6%
Mocs- 36.0%
Advantage- Mocs

FTRate
Redhawks- 42.5%
Mocs- 45.3%
Advantage-  Mocs

3PtRate
Redhawks- 42.5%
Mocs- 29.7%