This isn’t revenge; it’s redemption.
The Samford men’s basketball team spanked the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga 78-54 in McKenzie Arena 10 days ago.
They meet again today at 3 p.m. EST in the Hanna Center in Birmingham for a rematch and third place in the Southern Conference North Division standings.
“They came into our house and beat us by a good margin,” UTC junior center Jeremy Saffore said. “We’re going to go down there and play the game like we’re supposed to.”
At least that’s the plan.
The Mocs couldn’t have played it much worse than they did in the first matchup. Samford set its season high for points in that game.
The Bulldogs scored three straight times on backdoor plays and finished the game 25-of-41 from the floor with Josh Davis contributing 30 points. And Samford won the rebounding battle 39-25.
“That left a bad taste in our mouth and had to be one of the worst home losses in Chattanooga history,” sophomore guard Jasper Williams said. “I’m not going to say there’s revenge. We want to be on a winning streak going into the SoCon tournament.
“We can’t just turn it on and off.”
The Mocs (13-14, 5-9) have been off a lot more than they’ve been on lately. They’ve lost eight of their last 10 games and allowed an average of 71.1 points during that stretch.
And coach John Shulman suspended Josh Odem and Ridge McKeither on the afternoon of the Samford game, which cracked an already emotionally shaky squad.
“It was a perfect storm,” Shulman said. “They were suspended, we were coming off two losses on the road, and I think — Samford is good now; offense is great and defense is frustrating to play against — we made them look better.
“They’re one of those teams that can make you look silly.”
Coach John Shulman reinstated Odem and McKeither for today’s game.
Samford led Wofford at halftime last Saturday while the Mocs were in an eventual 87-78 loss to Furman. Neither the Mocs nor the Bulldogs (10-16, 4-10) have played since.
“They’re still going to do the same things, but I think we’re more prepared for the speed,” Shulman said. “We told them before the game that was going to happen. But it shocked us last year, too, and we barely got through it and figured it out.”