UTC's Smith Named SoCon Hoops Player Of The Week

  • Monday, January 24, 2022

For the fourth time this season, Chattanooga Mocs men’s basketball sophomore guard Malachi Smith has been named the Southern Conference Player of the Week presented by GEICO following his efforts in road wins over UNCG and VMI last week, the league office announced Monday afternoon. 

Smith becomes the only Moc in program history to win the award four times in a season, besting Casey Jones who earned the honor three times in 2014-15. In addition, Smith is the first SoCon player to win the award four times in a season since Stephen Curry (Davidson) claimed the award eight times in 2008-09. 

Marking the fifth POTW selection of his career, the point guard is one of only two Mocs to ever win the award five times with Willie White also being selected five times over the stretch from 1981-84.

He also becomes just the 26th SoCon player to win it five or more times in a career since the award started during the 1968-69 season. 

The Belleville, Ill., native averaged 23.5 points on 48.6% (18-of-37) shooting, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 steals per game to help lead Chattanooga to a pair of road wins at UNCG and VMI last week and improve the team’s mark to 16-4 overall and a league-best 6-1 record in the conference. In Thursday’s 72-64 win at UNCG, Smith scored 22 points (8-of-19 FG), grabbed six rebounds and came away with three steals to help UTC secure its first win in Greensboro since 2016.  

During Saturday’s 78-74 win at VMI, Smith knocked down the game-winning jumper with 42 seconds to play and scored a game-high 25 points (10-of-18 FG) while posting a career-high six steals and adding five rebounds to lead the Mocs. The pair of games marked the 11th and 12th consecutive game that Smith has scored 20 or more points on the road.  

For the season, Smith leads the Southern Conference and ranks seventh nationally with a 21.7 points per game average while ranking third nationally in total points with 434. 

Chattanooga (16-4, 6-1) hosts Wofford (12-8, 4-4) on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. matchup against the Terriers before heading to Charleston, S.C., on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m. ET to face The Citadel in its second meeting of the season. 

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