Lamont Paris prefers to look at Saturday's matchup at Samford as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team's "next game."
The first-year Mocs coach is right, but there's a certain level of significance that's tied to it as well. It's the first Southern Conference game for not only a few of the players but the staff as well.
The Bulldogs, picked to finish second in the SoCon in both the coaches' and media preseason polls, struggled to a 4-9 record in their nonleague schedule. That was in large part due to injuries to senior point guard Christen Cunningham and junior forward Wyatt Walker, each a starter since he was a freshman but both listed as day to day with the Mocs (6-7) due for a visit.
For Paris and his assistants, there's a level of excitement in getting a chance to see the league first-hand as opposed to simply analyzing opponents on video.
"There's no denying it's the conference (opener), but we choose not to make it a big deal," Paris said after Thursday's practice. "There's no denying the games here on out are league games. If we're trying to win a league championship, then it's the next grouping of games that will come one by one. We take them one game at a time, no game is more important than another, but the next thing is conference play.
"The next goal is to play well in the conference, but we have to do that one game at a time."
Only five players on UTC's roster - juniors Dylan Brewster, Nat Dixon and Makinde London, and sophomores Rodney Chatman and Makale Foreman - have played in a SoCon game. By default, they'll become the players who are leaned on early.
"In this league, every game is a hard game and you have to bring your 'A' game every game," Foreman said. "Everybody wants to get to the (NCAA) tournament and it's hard, so we have to play hard, play smart and play together.
"We just have to stick to the course and trust the process. Every game is going to be something hard, but I think we'll be ready. I think this team has grown, and going into conference play, we'll be pretty strong."
Paris and his staff were basically working with a makeshift roster during nonconference play. Three of the Mocs' five scholarship freshmen - forwards Justin Brown, James Lewis and Duane Moss - have missed time, with Brown not having yet played and Moss missing the past six games with a back injury. Lewis hasn't missed a game yet but is questionable after an injury to his left shoulder that happened during last Saturday's 71-48 loss to Georgia State, the Mocs' most recent game.
Lewis, who is 6-foot-6, practiced some Thursday.
"We've been short-handed with a lot of adversity from a lineup standpoint, so we haven't had consistency that way," Paris said. "The vast majority of that was uncontrollable, so we have to roll with the punches. Whoever is healthy and ready to play will play."
Forward Joshua Phillips practiced Thursday as well. The 6-8 senior missed the past three games due to a violation of team rules. When asked about Phillips' status Thursday, Paris would not commit.
"We'll see on game day," the UTC coach said. "He's been practicing; he's not practicing for nothing. He wasn't practicing before, and we're working on finding a resolution that allows him to play. It could be Saturday, it could be the next game, but he practiced, so we'll see how things go between now and Saturday."
Regardless, the focus now is Samford, because it is the next opponent for the next game. London - the team's leader in scoring, rebounding, blocks and steals this season - said winning in the league will be all about "the details."
"It's the simple things we take for granted sometimes," London said. "We have to make sure everybody is doing what they're supposed to be doing and hope for the best.
"It's a long schedule, and there's a lot going on. There will be lots of ups and downs, but our focus will keep us right where we want to be. If we're not too high or too low on any given day and we keep our focus in the right place, I think we'll be all right."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.