It was about this time a year ago that Matt McCall realized the advantage his University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team had in the friendly environment of McKenzie Arena.
“It was in league play,” McCall said Thursday. “You could really see the fans coming out. They love and live for Southern Conference basketball.”
The Mocs (14-4, 5-1) are the only SoCon men’s team undefeated at home this season, and they are 21-1 at McKenzie Arena under McCall. They look to add to that record when they face Samford (13-6, 4-2) at 5 p.m. today in the second game of a doubleheader with the UTC women.
Today is military appreciation day at McKenzie, and veteran and active service members and their immediate families receive free general-admission tickets for the game.
Fifth-year senior forward Casey Jones, who saw the Mocs go from 9-9 at home in his first season to the 8-0 mark they currently hold, says the “McKenzie Mob” is definitely part of the team’s success, saying that “sometimes they can get a little bit rowdy in there.” He said the Mocs are aiming for an undefeated slate at McKenzie, something that hasn’t happened since the 1993-94 season.
“We don’t want to lose at home,” Jones said. “We plan on going undefeated here. That’s something that none of us can say we’ve done before. Out of all the accomplishments that we’ve had as a team or individual players, none of us can say we’ve gone undefeated at home, and that’s something we want to do.”
Samford’s Bulldogs gave the Mocs three stiff tests last season, including a 59-54 UTC escape in a SoCon tournament quarterfinal, the Mocs’ first tournament victory in five seasons.
McCall has continually pushed for fan support, noting how helpful the home crowd has been and calling it “amazing.”
“It gets fun when our players are into it,” McCall said. “Once we get out on the break, get some highlight-reel dunks or (Justin) Tuoyo has a big block, the crowd gets even more energized and into the game. Hopefully the community will continue to get behind this team, because this team deserves it, especially the senior class.
“They deserve to play in front of good crowds every single night.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.