The Chattanooga Mocs will travel to Hooper Eblen Center to take on the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles this Tuesday night in College Basketball action.
The Chattanooga Mocs dropped to 5-1 on the season after being defeated by the Charleston Cougars, 68-66, this past Saturday. Chattanooga led by a 34-25 margin at halftime, however, the Mocs struggled offensively in the 2nd half and the Cougars were able to pull the victory after Dimitrius Underwood tipped in the game-winning bucket as time expired for Charleston. Chattanooga shot 43.4% from the field & 35.0% from beyond the arc while allowing Charleston to shoot 44.6% from the field & 31.6% from beyond the arc. Chattanooga outrebounded Charleston by a 35-30 margin, however, lost the turnover battle by a 16-11 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Mocs was Silvio De Sousa who had 21 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, & 3 blocks.
On the season, Chattanooga is averaging 73.5 ppg on 46.2% shooting from the field. The Mocs are averaging 7.5 three-pointers per game on 35.2% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Chattanooga has been led by David Jean-Baptiste (15.2 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.2 spg), Malachi Smith (13.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.8 spg), Silvio De Sousa (10.8 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 bpg), & Darius Banks (10.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.0 spg).
Defensively, Chattanooga is holding their opponents to an average of 55.3 ppg on 37.3% shooting from the field. The Mocs have a rebound margin of 9.0 and a turnover margin of 1.8.
The Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles dropped to 2-4 on the season after being defeated by the 15th ranked Tennessee Volunteers, 80-69, this past Friday. Tennessee Tech gave Tennessee all they could handle and went into halftime with a 35-34 lead, however, the Golden Eagles struggled defensively in the 2nd half and could not fight back after Tennessee took a 64-51 lead with 6:51 left in regulation. Tennessee Tech shot 47.3% from the field & 42.9% from beyond the arc while allowing Tennessee to shoot 50.8% from the field & 26.1% from beyond the arc. Tennessee Tech was outrebounded by Tennessee by a 31-29 margin and lost the turnover battle by a 19-12 margin in the loss. Leading the way for the Golden Eagles was Jr. Clay who had 19 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, & 2 steals.
On the season, Tennessee Tech is averaging 74.7 ppg on 44.8% shooting from the field. The Golden Eagles are averaging 7.2 three-pointers per game on 33.9% shooting from beyond the arc. Offensively, Tennessee Tech has been led by Keishawn Davidson (12.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 3.8 apg), Jr. Clay (12.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 5.8 apg, 2.8 spg), Mamoudou Diarra (11.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg), & Diante Wood (7.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.3 spg).
Defensively, Tennessee Tech is allowing their opponents to average 74.0 ppg on 48.1% shooting from the field. The Golden Eagles have a rebound margin of 6.3 and a turnover margin of 1.0.
The Mocs are 5-1 ATS in their last 6 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600 & 35-16 ATS in their last 51 road games. The Golden Eagles are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall & 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games.
Chattanooga is the team to beat in the Southern Conference, however, despite having been outstanding defensively to start the season, the Mocs already had all they could handle at home against Tennessee Tech in a 69-62 win earlier this season. Tennessee Tech only has two wins on the season, however, the Golden Eagles have played some solid teams tough on the road and beat a decent Lipscomb team by double-digits at home last week. Tennessee Tech has been decent on the offensive end this season and between the fact that they protected the ball well in their first matchup against Chattanooga and that they had the edge on the boards, I think the Golden Eagles will do enough at home with the points to cover. Good Luck!