First-place Bucs ready to host rival Mocs

East Tennessee State is where many expected Chattanooga to be at this point of the basketball season. The Bucs are 18-7 overall and leading the Southern Conference with a 10-2 record. Chattanooga, which won the SoCon regular-season and NIT championships last season, was picked to win the league again. Instead, the Mocs are 10-15 overall and 4-8 in the league. The rivals are scheduled to meet Wednesday 7 p.m. at Freedom Hall Civic Center. The Bucs are looking for a regular-season sweep after winning 67-66 at Chattanooga back on Jan. 21. ETSU coach Brooks Savage believes his team must be better on the offensive end this time around. The Bucs are coming off one of their best offensive performances of the season at VMI. They won 87-70 after having 26 assists to 17 turnovers, against a VMI zone in a tough environment. "We shared the ball great. You've got to move it," Savage said. "I thought we did a good job not settling for like the first, just okay, shot. We got good shots and, when we didn't turn it over, we scored." In the transfer portal era, neither team resembles last season's squads. ETSU is a more balanced team than a year ago when two players combined for nearly 50 percent of their scoring. This year's team has seen different players contribute at different times. Cam Morris III and Blake Barkley have been leaders as the pair of 6-foot-8 post players are at 14.7 and 14.3 points per game, respectively. Barkley is coming off a 22-point performance in the win over the Keydets. He's also the player who made a pair of free throws with four seconds left to lift the Bucs to their win at Chattanooga. Brian Taylor, the 6-4 transfer from SIU Edwardsville is averaging 13.8 points per game, and Jaylen Smith is at 9.6 points. Others have stepped up with Jordan McCullum, another 6-8 post, in double figures each of the last three games. Maki Johnson went 5-for-6 behind the arc for 15 points against VMI, and Milton Matthews III has scored at least nine points in the last four games. Point guard Allen Strothers has been a great facilitator with 14 assists over the last three games. The Bucs have now scored 84 or more points in the last four out of five games. The only game that didn't happen was the Bucs' 75-71 overtime win over Furman when they were held to 23 points in the first half. "Against Furman, we just didn't play great offense. It took us a minute to adjust their size, and they were really packed in," Savage said. "Other than that, we've been pretty good. We've got to stay with it. It's a high scoring, high offensive league. You've got to be able to score." The Bucs are scoring 78.8 points per game, and have a 4.7 positive assist-to-turnover ratio. RIVALRY RENEWED Chattanooga is averaging 75.2 points per game, but giving up 73.6 points to opponents. The Mocs have lost five of their last six games, although a 79-75 win over Mercer is mixed in the results. Brennan Watkins, a 6-0 senior guard, led Chattanooga in the back-and-forth game against ETSU with 19 points. Tate Darner, a 6-4 freshman, and Jordan Frison, a 6-0 junior, each scored 14. Colin Mulholland, the 6-11 sophomore post, had his moments with 11 points. But, ETSU won the rebounding battle, 38-31, in that game, and finished with 13 more shot attempts. Frison is the only Chattanooga player averaging double figures at 14.9 points per game. Darner and Watkins are at 9.7 and 9.5 per game. Teddy Washington Jr., a 6-2 guard who played just five minutes and didn't score in the first ETSU game, had 16 and 12 points against Furman and Mercer. Strothers, a redshirt senior, has plenty of experience against Chattanooga. He expects the Bucs to get the Mocs' best shot and another tight game on Wednesday night. It has been an intense rivalry with Chattanooga holding a 56-47 series lead. The Mocs have just a 22-20 edge over the last 25 years. Strothers knows how much this game means to the fans and both teams. "That would be big if we could sweep them," Strothers said. "I like the Chattanooga rivalry. It's real fun when we play. I think they will try to come out and be more aggressive and physical, but we'll see. That's regular that they should want payback."