UTC Men Host Mercer Tonight in Key SoCon Game

7 p.m. Tipoff

  • Thursday, February 19, 2015

UTC coach Will Wade's Mcos look for payback and the visiting Mercer Bears hope for a series sweep tonight in an important Southern Conference men's basketball game at McKenzie Arena with a 7 p.m. tip off.

The Mocs are in second place in the SoCon a 11-3  and Mercer holds down third at 10-4, while Wofford leads the standings at 12.s

Mercer edged UTC in Macon 75-72 in overtime Jan.29

SCOUTING THE BEARS
- 15-12 for the season, 10-4 in third-place in the SoCon.

- Mercer is 4-8 on the road, 4-3 in the league with wins at UNCG, VMI, The Citadel and Furman.

- Head Coach Bob Hoffman is 141-94 in his seventh season in Macon. His collegiate men’s record is 453-246 with stops at Oklahoma Baptist (243-78) and UTPA (69-76). He went 88-16 in three seasons as head women’s coach at Southern Nazarene. He is 3-0 against the Mocs, 1-0 in McKenzie Arena.

- Mercer leads the SoCon in rebounding margin (2.4) and offensive rebound pct (34.9%).

- Phillip Leonard leads the league in assists (4.7).

- Ike Nwamu leads the Bears averaging 15.1 points per game. Darious Moten adds 11.4.

- T.J. Hallice adds 8.7 points and a team-best 6.6 rebounds per game.

UTC Notes

- The Mocs lead the SoCon in blocks (+6.0). Mercer leads the league in rebounding margin (2.4) and offensive rebound pct (34.9%).

- Chattanooga has won nine of 11, 12 of 15 and 15 of its past 19 games. Mercer has won three of four including last two on the road.

- The Mocs are 13-2 at home, 6-1 in league games. The squad is 25-4 in McKenzie Arena, 15-2 in league contests, in Will Wade’s two seasons.

- Justin Tuoyo leads the conference in blocked shots (3.1) ranking No. 7 in the nation. The team is eighth nationally in blocks.

- Eric Robertson leads the league in 3pt shooting making 50.0 percent (56-112).

- Casey Jones is second in rebounding (7.0 rpg). He’s tied for third in defensive boards (4.5).

- Ronrico White is third in the SoCon in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.4 (86/36).

- Tuoyo is third in offensive rebounds (2.8).

IN THE NOTES

- Casey Jones is this week’s SoCon Player of the Week averaging 22.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game in wins over Wofford and Samford. It is his third such award this year, a school season record. More info in his season notes on page 24.

- The Mocs trail 28-34 in the series but lead 16-9 at home. This is the second SoCon matchup with Mercer winning the first in 75-72 in OT on January 29. Series notes, records and last meeting are on page 6.

- Team and individual statistical rankings for the SoCon (overall & conference only games) and NCAA are on page 9.

- The Mocs are 7-1 on Thursday’s thus far. Check out all the indicators on page 10.

- Chattanooga is in second-place in the SoCon, a single game out of first-place (Wofford). Complete SoCon notes are under “For Starters” on page 3.

- Justin Tuoyo is 8 blocks shy of Z. Mason’s school season record. Learn more about the Mocs’ “Block Party” on page 3.

- Ronrico White is nine three-pointers short of 150 for his career. A “records watch” is on page 4.

- There have been 16 20-point efforts by five total Mocs this season. Casey Jones and Eric Robertson posted 21 points each last Saturday. A look inside the numbers is on page 4.

HEAD COACH WILL WADE
- Will Wade is 36-24 in his second season as a head coach. He is 0-1 vs. Mercer, 0-0 in Chattanooga.

- Wade is 25-4 at home, 10-18 away and 1-2 in neutral site contests in his career.

- Wade is 23-7 in SoCon contests, 14-2 at home, 9-5 away.

STATS STAT!  
- Chattanooga’s 11-3 start in league play is the best since the 1996-97 NCAA Sweet 16 team finished with that identical mark. The squad opened 10-4 last year before ending up 12-4. Last 12-3 or better start? 1992-93 (13-2 through 15 games).

- Casey Jones is looking to break a streak. All his 20-point games (8) have come in pairs. He went back-to-back last weekend in wins over Wofford and Samford.

- Jones is on a hot streak over the last six games. He’s averaging 19.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 blocks per game shooting 54.8 percent. He’s posted half of his 20-point games (4) over this span along with two 20 & 10 double-doubles.

- Ronrico White needs 33 assists and 11 steals to reach an exclusive list. He would join assistant coach Casey Long (2004-07) as the only Mocs with 1,000 points, 300 assists and 100 steals.

- White has already hit significant milestones. He became just the sixth Moc in the DI era to make 300 career FT’s in the win over The Citadel joining Stanford Strickland (401), Nicchaeus Doaks (367), Willie White (317), Brandon Born (312) and Keith Nelson (311). He scored his 1,000th point in the overtime win at Furman and passed 400 FT attempts, just the fourth Moc for that, at Wofford.

LAST MEETING: STORY | NOTES | QUOTES | STATS
Three Notes from Jan. 29, 2015 meeting:
1) Chattanooga withstood a 22-7 opening run and came back from a 15-point second half deficit. It trailed or was tied for the first 36 minutes before taking its first lead. A free throw from Phillip Leonard made one of two free throws with 29 seconds to go to send the game into OT where the Bears held on for the win.

2) The Mocs were +11 on the boards (43-32). Mercer entered contest leading SoCon in rebound margin (+2.7). The 43 boards is most against DI opponent this season, while the 21 offensive rebounds was a season high.

3) Casey Jones set new career highs with 24 points and 15 rebounds. It was his fifth 20-point effort fifth double-double on the season. He shot 9-19 from field, 0-2 3pt and 6-8 from the free throw line. He had six offensive and nine defensive boards.

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