Using comparative scores to judge college basketball teams is always a dangerous exercise. For instance, California beat Southern Cal by eight points last week. Southern Cal beat Tennessee by 22 points in mid-December. UT beat former No. 1 Kansas by eight points last Sunday. So theoretically, Cal should be 38 points better than KU.
Only trouble is, Kansas played Cal earlier this season and won by 15.
Yet when it comes to our University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Mocs, at least one line of comparative scoring proves fairly accurate, especially in light of their 90-66 loss to the College of Charleston on Saturday in McKenzie Arena.
Follow closely: About this time last month the Mocs lost 95-64 to Georgia Tech at home. Tech beat North Carolina 73-71 at UNC on Saturday. Two weeks ago, Charleston stunned the Tar Heels by three in overtime at Charleston.
Allowing for slight variances between home games and road games, the Cougars whipped UTC by pretty much what you’d expect if you believe Georgia Tech is about 30 points better than the Mocs.
And Charleston coach Bobby Cremins seemed to say as much after his veteran team boldly reversed last year’s SoCon tourney title game loss to the Mocs inside McKenzie.
“John’s coming off a championship year,” Cremins said of UTC coach John Shulman. “Sometimes you’ve got to rebuild, though.”
The Mocs looked like they were using Lincoln Logs against the Cougars. They lost virtually every single statistical category. Outshot from both the field and the foul line — as well as the 3-point line — they were also out-rebounded, committed more turnovers, handed out fewer assists, grabbed fewer steals and blocked fewer shots.
They were credited with more fastbreak points (6 to 4) and bench points (16-11), but Cremins dismissed that, noting, “We may have the least experienced bench in college basketball.”
Charleston’s starters are anything but inexperienced, however. The Cougars go with two seniors, two juniors and a sophomore. Led by Andrew Goudelock with 22 points, four of those five scored in double figures against the Mocs.
And Goudelock — the UTC student section often called him Goldilocks — might have been enough all by himself. After all, it was his deep 3-pointer that forced overtime against UNC.
As Cremins said of his star junior guard, “We have one of the best shooters in college basketball, one of the best scorers in Goudelock.”
Then there are the Mocs, who are trying to defend last year’s tourney title with five new starters, at least two of whom seem to always be hurt or sick, making the development of chemistry as hard to find as kind words for Lane Kiffin.
“Our chemistry’s good in that we like each other, we love each other,” said UTC point guard Keegan Bell.
Countered forward Ridge McKeither: “We’re deep into the season and we still haven’t found our chemistry (on the court).”
Shulman believes the chemistry will come, much as it did last year at tourney time.
“This is good for us,” he said. “We now know where the top (of the Southern Conference) is, and we know what it will take for us to get there.”
Comparative scores or not, it’s not hard knowing the two best teams in the SoCon at this moment. Charleston has beaten North Carolina. Western Carolina has won at Louisville. If there’s a close third it’s Wofford, the tenacious Terriers beating both Georgia and South Carolina while losing respectably at Pitt, Illinois and Michigan State.
Everyone else is in the middle, possibly capable of surprising wins but also likely to endure shocking losses.
“I’d much rather them get a piece of us now and (rebound) to go to the NCAA tournament,” Shulman said after the Mocs’ first loss in seven games dropped them to 11-7 for the year.
Comparatively speaking, what UTC fan wouldn’t?