The Chattanooga Mocs will travel to Allen Arena to take on the Lipscomb Bisons this Sunday night in College Basketball action.
The Chattanooga Mocs improved to 6-1 on the season after defeating the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 82-65, this past Tuesday. Chattanooga trailed by a 41-35 margin at halftime, however, the Mocs dominated Tennessee Tech on both ends of the court in the 2nd half and was able to pull away after taking a 63-47 lead with 9:04 left in regulation. Chattanooga shot 54.8% from the field & 25.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Tennessee Tech to shoot 45.0% from the field & 30.8% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Mocs was Malachi Smith who had 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, & 1 steal.
On the season, Chattanooga is averaging 74.7 ppg on 47.5% shooting from the field. The Mocs are averaging 7.4 three-pointers per game on 33.3% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Chattanooga has been led by Malachi Smith (15.9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.0 apg, 1.7 spg), David Jean-Baptiste (15.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.4 spg), Silvio De Sousa (12.7 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.0 bpg), & Darius Banks (9.9 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.0 spg).
Defensively, Chattanooga is holding their opponents to an average of 56.7 ppg on 38.4% shooting from the field. The Mocs have a rebound margin of 8.9 and a turnover margin of 1.4.
The Lipscomb Bisons dropped to 5-3 on the season after being defeated by the Belmont Bruins, 94-65, this past Thursday. Lipscomb had no answers on the defensive end for the Belmont offense and could not fight back after going into halftime trailing by a 47-26 margin. Lipscomb shot 40.8% from the field & 26.3% from beyond the arc while allowing Belmont to shoot 48.6% from the field & 41.5% from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Bisons was Jacob Ognacevic who had 20 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block, & 1 steal.
On the season, Lipscomb is averaging 81.4 ppg on 50.5% shooting from the field. The Bison are averaging 8.9 three-pointers per game on 42.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Lipscomb has been led by Jacob Ognacevic (18.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 1.3 bpg), Ahsan Asadullah (17.0 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.7 bpg), Greg Jones (10.4 ppg, 3.3 rpg), & Parker Hazen (9.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg).
Defensively, Lipscomb is allowing their opponents to average 79.8 ppg on 42.3% shooting from the field. The Bison have a rebound margin of 0.8 and a turnover margin of -5.0.
The Mocs are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600. The Bisons are 1-8 ATS in their last 9 games vs. a team with a winning % above .600 and 1-4 ATS in their last 5 Sunday games.
Chattanooga has been solid on both ends of the court this season as they come into this game ranked 61st in FG%, t-11th in scoring defense, & 45th in defensive FG%. Lipscomb has been solid on the offensive end, ranking 48th in scoring offense, however, the defense has struggled for the Bison and come into this game ranked 327th in scoring defense & 328th in turnover margin.
Chattanooga is solid team, however, Lipscomb is a team that already has a 19-point victory at Dayton and is a team that should have success offensively on their home court. I’m expecting this to be a competitive game, however, I think the play here is to take Lipscomb and the points. Good Luck!