UTC men's basketball releases non-conference schedule

UTC coach Matt McCall yells during the game against Citadel Monday, Feburary 1, 2016, at McKenzie Arena.
UTC coach Matt McCall yells during the game against Citadel Monday, Feburary 1, 2016, at McKenzie Arena.

UTC men’s basketball 2016-17nonconference schedule

Nov. 4 — Covenant (exhibition)Nov. 11 — at Tennessee (Maui Mainland)Nov. 13 — at North Carolina (Maui Mainland)Nov. 16 — HiwasseeNov. 19 — Maui Mainland (vs. TBD at West Point, N.Y.)Nov. 20 — Maui Mainland (vs. TBD at West Point, N.Y.)Nov. 26 — at Kennesaw StateNov. 29 — at Coastal CarolinaDec. 3 — Louisiana-MonroeDec. 6 — MarshallDec. 14 — Tennessee WesleyanDec. 17 — at VanderbiltDec. 21 — Jacksonville State

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team will receive a visit from Marshall and face three Power 5 conference programs as part of its 2016-17 nonconference schedule, which was announced Wednesday.

The Mocs, who finished 29-6 last season and made their first NCAA tournament appearance in seven seasons, will travel to 2016 national runner-up North Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt. The UNC and Tennessee games are part of the Maui Invitational mainland event.

The Mocs will host an exhibition game against Covenant College on Nov. 4, with the trip to Knoxville opening the season Nov. 11. The Mocs travel to face the Tar Heels on Nov. 13 before their home opener against Hiwassee College on Nov. 16.

The Southern Conference schedule will be confirmed later.

UTC head coach Matt McCall said there had been some talk of the Mocs playing Georgetown in the Maui Invitational, but he added that it made "more sense regionally" to face Tennessee and North Carolina.

"Since we bus a lot of places, playing 'money' or 'guarantee' games regionally makes more sense for our student-athletes," McCall said. "Instead of having to sit in an airport and fly commercially, you can bus to the games and you miss less class.

"These are going to be two great games for us. How many people can say they played in the Dean Dome?"

UTC also will play in the Maui Invitational on Nov. 19-20 in West Point, N.Y. The other teams have yet to be determined. In the past two seasons, the Mocs have won the Battle 4 Atlantis and Emerald Coast Classic mainland tournaments.

The Marshall matchup Dec. 6 at McKenzie Arena will be the first for the former Southern Conference rivals in Chattanooga since Dec. 2, 1997.

The Mocs also have games at Kennesaw State and Coastal Carolina and home games against Louisiana-Monroe, Jacksonville State and Tennessee Wesleyan.

Coastal Carolina and Louisiana-Monroe each topped 20 wins during the 2015-16 season, with the Warhawks defeating the Mocs 64-54 on Nov. 30 in Monroe, La.

"We wanted to get home games our fans could really get behind," McCall said. "Our fans are terrific in league play, so you want to reward them as best you can in nonleague games. The fact that we were able to add a game like Marshall, which is an old-school rival, is going to be an exciting game in December worthy of that terrific environment."

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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