Reigning NIT champs Mocs up next for Bucs

One of the best rivalries in the Southern Conference is renewed when the East Tennessee State basketball team visits Chattanooga on Wednesday at 7 p.m. The reigning NIT champion Mocs have hit their stride after a disappointing start. Chattanooga (9-10 overall, 3-3 Southern Conference) was the preseason league favorite. They Mocs got off to an 0-3 start in the SoCon, but have won their last three games. ETSU (13-6, 5-1) is off to a great start, one game ahead of the trio of Furman, Mercer and Wofford a third of the way through the SoCon schedule. The Bucs have seen how tough road games are in the league. They lost 72-68 at Western Carolina last Wednesday and needed a Blake Barkley tip-in to win 76-75 at Samford on Saturday. "They hit the three and I thought the world was going to end. Jaylen (Smith) had the ball and he went downhill," Barkley said. "I knew he was one of our best finishers so I just went and followed the ball. It was awesome just to be able to come out with a win." Savage made the decision to let the game play out at the end instead of calling a timeout. He said it's a combination of looking at the situation and also a gut feeling for a coach in that moment. Blakely, a 6-foot-8 sophomore forward with boundless energy has climbed to the top of the Bucs' charts at 14.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. He had career highs of 26 points and 11 rebounds against Samford. He has scored in double figures in 10 of the last 11 games, and scored 20 or more points in five of those games. Brian Taylor II, the 6-4 senior guard, is also averaging 14.4 points per game, along with 4.5 rebounds. Cam Morris III has been in double figures at 14.1 points per game and has been in double figures in six of the last seven games. Smith, coming off the bench, ranks among the team leaders in minutes played. He is averaging 9.7 points per game in addition to a team-best 33 steals. As a team, the Bucs are averaging 78.1 points per game to 66.9 points for opponents. Jordan McCullum and Allen Strothers have been consistent as other starters, while Maki Johnson has become one of the top defenders with 25 steals. Savage pointed out that Samford had to hit a lot of long-range shots to score 70 points. "We lost 14-6 on the threes, but we outscored them by 22 in the paint," Savage said. "It took 13 threes for them to hit 70. There are going to be nights like that, but you have to stay the course. We did a good job of keeping them from hitting ones at the rim." RIVALRY GAME No surprise in the modern era of college athletics, this year's Chattanooga team scarcely resembles the squad that won the NIT Championship. The Mocs have dominated the ETSU rivalry recently with wins in four of the last five contests. The notable exception is the 2024 Southern Conference tournament semifinals when the Bucs rallied from 20 points down for an 85-84 victory. Jordan Frison, a 6-1 junior guard from Memphis, leads the Mocs in scoring at 15.3 points per game. The Mocs' scoring is spread out from that point with 6-7 junior forward Billy Smith at 9.8 points per game. Freshman guard Tate Darner and senior guard Teddy Washington Jr. each are averaging 9.4 points per game. Brennan Watkins, a senior transfer from North Dakota State, and Jikari Johnson, a graduate student, are other leaders on a guard-heavy team which has taken 159 more 3-point shots than ETSU over the first 19 games. Savage expects another tough challenge inside Chattanooga's McKenzie Arena. "Their personnel is obviously different, but they're high-powered offensively, making a bunch of threes," Savage said. "They've had some injuries so it's taken a while to get where they want to go. They're playing the best they have all year, and as well as anybody in the league right now."