Hoop Mocs get 'big wake-up call'

Sometimes the coach can see the future.

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball coach John Shulman tried to raise the point in practice late last week that the Mocs aren't as good as an 85-76 win over East Tennessee State.

"When you think you're good, you get complacent," Shulman said before practice last Thursday. "I'll let them know when they're good."

Reality sank into the Mocs on Sunday with a 75-49 loss at Richmond in which UTC began the game down 14-0 and was never closer than 18 points in the second half.

"For me individually, it was a wake-up call, and as a team it was a big wake-up call," junior college transfer Ridge McKeither said Monday via cell phone. "We can't afford to take a break, and we found that out last night."

The Mocs traveled from Richmond to Columbia, Mo., on Monday for a game tonight at 8 in Mizzou Arena against the Tigers (2-0), who crushed Texas-Pan American 100-44 on Sunday.

"That was our first road game and we have such a young team, so we need to have a short-term memory and get Sunday out of our minds," sophomore point guard Keegan Bell said over the phone. "We have to get ready for Missouri and learn from Richmond, and I think that's what we're doing."

The poor showing Sunday did not surprise Shulman. He said the lack of production on offense zapped the Mocs' energy and focus on the defensive end of the floor.

"I'm not shocked about this," he said. "We've got no experience, this was their first road game, and four guys are out. That's a recipe for disaster."

Playing Richmond and then Missouri is akin to spending one night in the Sahara and then one in Antarctica -- their styles are polar opposites. Richmond played a 2-3 matchup zone on defense and ran Princeton sets on offense.

Missouri will trap anywhere on the court and runs few sets -- just fastbreaks and dribble-drive to the basket.

"It's difficult because you're not going to find two teams more opposite," Shulman said. "Missouri is wild and crazy. They're going to press, trap and scramble.

"Nobody in the country plays like Missouri."

When the Mocs played at Missouri last year -- a 103-75 Tigers win -- UTC won the opening tip and two Tigers trapped point guard Keyron Sheard when he gathered the ball.

"We can't play nobody else's game, and we know that's its a tougher matchup than any game we've had in the past," McKeither said. "It's going to be a challenge for us."