ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Regardless of whom the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team faces Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference tournament, there will be recent familiarity with the opponent.
The Mocs (26-5) faced their two possible opponents, Samford and Virginia Military Institute, a combined three times in their last four games. UTC won all three games, defeating VMI 85-59 in Chattanooga on Feb. 18 and 67-65 in the delayed regular-season finale Monday in Lexington, Va.
The Mocs clinched the top seed in the tournament with a 77-66 win over Samford on senior day last Saturday.
VMI and Samford face off today at 5 p.m. at the U.S. Cellular Center.
“It helps in a sense that on Friday at 7, we know who we’ll play,” UTC coach Matt McCall said this week. “The guys will know certain plays, and that will help prepare our team.”