UTC’s Earl Deals With His Own Version Of March Madness As Mocs Face Bradley In NIT

This time of year, the phenomenon known as March Madness tends to captivate the fancy of even the most marginal of basketball fans.

Work productivity grinds to a halt as millions rush to get their brackets submitted prior to the opening tip of the NCAA Tournament, followed by four days of wall-to-wall viewing of games on television that extends well beyond most people’s normal bedtimes.

But for University of Tennessee at Chattanooga head coach Dan Earl and his staff, the past week has delivered a unique brand of madness that takes on a life of its own.

As the Mocs prepare to take on Bradley (28-8) in the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament at 7 p.m. Tuesday inside Carver Arena that will be televised nationally on ESPN2, Earl’s whirlwind schedule has allowed little time for leisurely enjoyment of March’s hoops spectacle.

“I’ve not watched a lot of other games, to be honest,” Earl said prior to Monday’s practice before the Mocs’ flight to Peoria, Ill. later that afternoon. “My father was in town, so we watched a little bit together. We've just been trying to prepare for each opponent, so I’ve watched much less than I have most any other year. I’ve been spending all my time preparing for MTSU, then Dayton and now Bradley. It doesn’t leave much time to watch a lot of the tournament.”

While Earl had plenty of postseason experience in the NCAA tournament and NIT as a player and assistant coach at Penn State, this is only his second time as a head coach. During the last of his seven seasons in charge of the VMI program, Earl led the Keydets into the College Basketball Insider tournament where they fell to UNC Wilmington in the first round.

But with Chattanooga (26-9) extending its season with its deepest run since making it to the third round of the NIT in 1985, there are new challenges to navigate in the current landscape of college basketball that didn’t formerly exist. Monday marked the first day that current Division I players could submit their names into the transfer portal, joining the hundreds of players who have hit the portal at other collegiate levels seeking greener pastures. The timing certainly adds a level of complexity to normal game day preparations for Earl.

“It’s already challenging, then you factor in this transfer portal and so the timeline is tough,” Earl said. “But our guys are on top of it. We almost took a trip last night if not for the weather to go see somebody in between, which is crazy. But you know, it's important to do that, stay on top of all the transfers and you have to have conversations with your own guys. It's a weird dynamic, still playing at this time with the way the recruiting timeline goes, but you have to figure it out and be ready to go no matter what happens.”

Further compounding the number of moving parts in play is the revolving door among the coaching ranks that takes place this time of year. As the Mocs have steadily improved their number of wins in each of Earl’s three seasons in Chattanooga, success tends to breed attention from other schools looking to upgrade their staffs.

“It's that time of year with the coaches and my staff as well,” Earl said. “I'm sure they're keeping their ears out, not that anyone's not happy. We love it here in Chattanooga and I'm not looking for anything. Our staff loves it here, too. We get along really well. I know how much value they add, but it's the reality of college basketball. It's not an ideal timeline, but it kind of happens so everyone's got to navigate it.”

It's plain to see that the level of March Madness experienced by Earl goes way beyond worrying about where he stands in his bracket contest. The demands of his profession can seem to be overwhelming, coupled with the fact he also must squeeze in time for his wife, Sheila, and their two daughters. But even with the tsunami of responsibilities, he’s not complaining.

“No doubt, it's awesome to be playing this time of year, and people are tuning in to what we’ve been able to accomplish,” Earl said. “After every game we get texts from people out there who are seeing us play high level basketball games. The wins over MTSU and Dayton were really good basketball games.”

Despite not reaching their original goal of making it into the NCAA Tournament, the fact UTC won the Southern Conference regular season title and has captured 14 of its last 15 games while dealing with the recent loss of second team all-conference forward Frank Champion has provided Earl with a keen sense of accomplishment.

“We were trying to get to the NCAA tournament, so it was disappointing in the Southern Conference tournament,” Earl said. “But early on I thought we could be a really, really good basketball team when we had the guys in the summer. Then we had some practices after Christmas where I left the gym thinking we could be really good. It was all about the unselfishness of our guys and their ability to move the ball well that was giving me a lot of high hopes. Then we corrected things defensively three or four games into the Southern Conference season and really started clicking.

“You're going to have ebbs and flows, highs and lows every season. But I think we've had a really good year, and we're playing our best basketball now. It’s really cool to be playing this late in March, and our guys are jazzed up for it, which is awesome. You don't always get that from some teams. They genuinely like each other and want to keep it going with a chance to cut down some nets.”

UTC will square off with Bradley for the fourth time in program history, with the Mocs having won two of the three previous meetings. Chattanooga lost to the Braves on the road, 66-65, in the 1991-92 season, then evened the score the next year with a convincing 75-55 win in the Roundhouse. The Mocs won the last encounter early in the 2002-03 campaign, claiming an 82-80 decision at Bradley.

Bradley lost in the Missouri Valley Conference tournament finals to regular season champion Drake, with the Braves finishing runner-up in league play as well. Like UTC, they feature a senior-laden team that is learning to adjust after a recent injury to an all-conference performer.

Forward Darius Hannah, a 6-foot-9 graduate student who made the all-MVC second team while averaging 12.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, suffered a knee injury in Bradley’s second-round 75-67 win at George Mason on Saturday and will be unavailable. Unlike the Mocs who have had four games under their belt since losing Champion prior to the SoCon tournament, Bradley has not had an opportunity to adjust to their star forward’s absence.

Bradley is led by first-team all-conference guard Duke Deen, a 5-foot-8 dynamo who averages 13.5 points and has connected on 109-of-276 3-pointers after transferring from Troy. Deen is among four Braves with at least 45 made 3-pointers as they convert at a 40% rate from long range.

The Braves also have two other players scoring in double figures in 6-foot-6 senior guard Zek Montgomery (12.2) and 6-foot-7 senior forward Christian Davis (10.0).

Chattanooga and Bradley share three common opponents on the season, with both squads posting wins over Southeast Missouri, MTSU, and Evansville.

The Braves advanced to the NIT quarterfinals after a first-round home win over North Alabama, 71-62, coupled with last Saturday’s victory at George Mason. UTC defeated MTSU on the road in triple overtime, 109-103, before winning in convincing fashion over No. 1 seed Dayton at McKenzie Arena, 87-72.

Chattanooga is making its fifth appearance in the NIT after earning four straight bids from 1984-87. The Mocs are led in scoring by junior guard Honor Huff with 15.2 points per game following his 26-point outburst against Dayton. Senior Bash Wieland, who scored a career-high 31 against MTSU, is next at 14.3, while senior Trey Bonham averages 14.1 after combining for 52 points in his two NIT contests.

MOCS CLUB HOSTING VIEWING PARTY: The Mocs Club and UTC Alumni team will host a live watch party from 6:30–9 p.m. in the Wolford Family Athletics Center Multipurpose Room. Your $20 per person ticket will cover food, drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic) and entry to the event. Those attending are asked to enter through the Wolford Center Entrance on Mocs Alumni Drive. Parking is available in the UTC Visitor Garage.

Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com