UTC puts share of SoCon lead on the line when visiting Samford. The Mocs hope to get strong performances from (L to R) Trey Bonham, Frank Champion and Bash Wieland
photo by Trevor Jolley/GoMocs.com
In a battle between two teams atop the Southern Conference regular season standings, the Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball team travels to Samford for a huge mid-week showdown on Wednesday evening in Birmingham, Ala. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT) on ESPN+.
Winners of its last five overall and carrying a five-game win streak in road games, Chattanooga (17-8, 9-3 SoCon) moved into a three-way tie with Samford (19-6, 9-3 SoCon) and UNCG for first place in the SoCon standings. Having dropped two tight games to both Samford and UNCG, the Mocs are currently holding the No. 3 slot in the three-way tie, but evened things up in the loss column after Saturday's action.
Chattanooga is coming off an impressive 85-72 home win over Furman on Saturday while completing the regular season sweep of the Paladins in the process. Samford suffered a regular season sweep to ETSU after falling 66-59 in Johnson City over the weekend and will look to avoid its first back-to-back defeats in SoCon regular season play since road defeats at Furman and Wofford back in January 2023.
STORY LINES
CHATTANOOGA STAYS HOT; WINS FIFTH-STRAIGHT
Chattanooga improved to 17-8 and 9-3 in SoCon play after Saturday's 85-72 home win over Furman... extended winning streak to five. The Mocs have won eight of its last nine after starting league action 1-2... five-game win streak is the longest active streak in the SoCon.
Chattanooga moved into a three-way tie for first place in the SoCon standings with Samford & UNCG at 9-3 after Saturday's results. The Mocs have climbed to No. 126 in the NET Rankings... +90 spots (216) since the start of SoCon... second-best in the league (100, SAM).
SAMFORD RECENT RESULTS
Samford (19-6, 9-3 SoCon) is coming off a 66-59 road loss at ETSU on Saturday... Bucs completed the regular season sweep with the win. Samford is 2-2 over its last four including the loss at ETSU, wins over Mercer (2/5) & Citadel (2/1), and a road loss at Furman (1/29). The Bulldogs boast one of the best home court advantages in the country and have played to a 12-1 record at home this season.
SERIES HISTORY
Chattanooga & Samford will meet for the 114th time. UTC is 68-45 in the all-time series... 20-12 in SoCon regular season games.Samford won the first meeting this season, 73-69, inside McKenzie Arena after erasing a 16-point deficit late in the first half. Chattanooga is 23-30 all-time on the road against Samford. The Bulldogs have won three in a row over the Mocs and six of the last 10 meetings.
ROAD WARRIORS LOOKING TO CONTINUE STREAK
The Mocs have won five-straight road games in SoCon play dating back to the streak's start at The Citadel on January 4.It represents the first time with SoCon road winning streaks of five or more in back-to-back seasons since 1991-92 and 1992-93 campaigns. UTC tied a program record with six-straight in 2023-24... the Mocs are a combined 11-4 in road SoCon games since the start of 2023-24.
MILESTONE REACHED; MOCS ONE OF 17 NCAA DI TEAMS
Chattanooga currently has five players on its roster Trey Bonham, Frank Champion, Honor Huff, Jack Kostel and Garrison Keeslar who have scored 1,000+ career points at the NCAA level (DI, DII, DIII). Kostel (1,005) reached the milestone with his fifth point of the game during Saturday’s win over Furman. The Mocs are currently one of just 17 Division I programs this season who feature five or more 1,000-point NCAA scorers on its roster.