The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball Mocs took consecutive days off for the first time since Christmas break on Sunday and Monday.
They were much-needed days.
"We're just trying to stay as fresh as we can when we're going through the grind of the season and at a difficult point in the season," coach John Shulman said from his office while watching games. "It's been a long season and a long year. Most of them are grinds, even the good ones."
The Mocs have been practicing in some form since August, before they took an exhibition trip to Canada over Labor Day weekend. They are 5-9 in the Southern Conference, 13-14 overall, and have lost seven of their last nine games. The last two were a 78-54 blowout by Samford and an 87-78 loss to Furman.
"When you're not playing great, it lasts longer," Shulman said. "I feel like I'm 53 and I'm really only 43."
With a Saturday afternoon game at Samford next on the schedule, the goals for this week are to rest and improve.
"We'll try to get our juice back, get our confidence back," Shulman said. "It was a two-point game in the second half against Samford, and it was a four-point game in the second against Furman. Both of those games were very winnable. We made them losses.
"Have to keep your head down and keep working. You're not going to fix it by not working."
The Mocs could have made Saturday's game even closer, perhaps a win, if they would have made more free throws.
UTC entered the game shooting 61.9 percent from the stripe, which is last in the SoCon, and 319th out of 334 Division I men's teams. Saturday, the Mocs shot 57.1 percent (16-of-28) from 15 feet away with no defenders in their faces.
"We didn't do the simple things that we're supposed to do," sophomore guard Ricky Taylor said after the game. "It's because of the simple things Coach has talked about since August. It came down to the simple things, and we didn't make the simple plays."
Through Sunday's games, only 11 teams in the country struggle more at the free-throw line than UTC.
"That's confidence," Shulman said. "Keegan (Bell) is a good free-throw shooter and he's not getting to the line; the same for Ty (Patterson). It's confidence, and it's contagious just like enthusiasm."
The Mocs have four regular-season games remaining to correct their problems and begin a potential run to the SoCon tournament championship game.
"We need to get better and get on a run," point guard Bell said Saturday. "We could make history and win four in a row."