The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is dominating its division.
But the Mocs are a ways from a championship despite owning a 3 1/2 game lead with seven Southern Conference games left. They host Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. Thursday and play Saturday night at Davidson.
UTC (13-10, 9-2) has yet to wrap up the North Division and is playing just well enough to win, and its two league losses were by massive margins.
"We haven't performed offensively like we would like," junior Chris Early said. "We still have problems defensively.
"We have a high ceiling and can improve."
The Mocs blew chances for blowouts in their last two games. A 20-point lead against UNC Greensboro evaporated last Thursday, and UTC had to rally in double-overtime to win. Then Saturday, a 17-point lead disappeared against Elon in an 85-76 win.
They were wins, but championship teams normally would have cruised to victory instead of needing extra time or getting into a one-possession game with less than five minutes to play.
"It's frustrating," point guard Keegan Bell said. "I don't know if we come out dead in the second half or if we just get comfortable."
Coach John Shulman ensured that his team wasn't comfortable with the way it's been playing during a night meeting and practice Sunday.
During the meeting, Shulman said, he kept the players grounded yet opened a discussion about what happens when they do relax. They lose big - such as in games at Florida International, Austin Peay, Wofford and Furman - or almost give away games they easily should win.
"We lose focus and get complacent," Shulman said Monday, the team's off day. "It's like a class you start well in, then it looks like you'll make a D or F, then you panic and come out with a B or an A. We addressed it last night."
The Mocs tend to get lax on the defensive end, especially in the second half when they're guarding at the opposite end of the floor from the UTC bench.
UTC limited UNCG to 29 points in the first half but allowed 54 in the second half. The Phoenix scored 25 in the first half and 51 after the break.
"We can talk them through things when they're in front of our bench," Shulman said. "But away, they have to figure things out on their own. Like parenting. Lots of times kids are on their own and they'd better make the right decision."
Communication is crucial. All five players need to know how the team is defending ball-screens - switch, squeeze, hedge or double.
"I think our team needs medication," the coach joked. "I think our team has ADD."
It's not a joke that leading scorer Omar Wattad has been receiving medical attention for an injury to the sacroiliac joint in his lower back.
Wattad did not start Thursday against UNCG because he couldn't loosen up, but he played 42 minutes. He took a determined approach to warmups on Saturday, played 29 minutes and scored 19 points. He did not practice Sunday and is questionable to practice today.
"I have to fight through it, and it will get better," Wattad said Saturday. "It started [hurting] right after Wofford. I've done deep-tissue massage, yoga, rehab and a shot.
"We're trying to get it right."
In more ways than one.