University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men vs. Furman at Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina
Time: 7 p.m.
Video/radio: ESPN+/96.1 FM
Likely lineups (with heights and scoring averages in parentheses)
UTC (10-10, 5-2 Southern Conference)
Projected starters: F Kevin Easley (6-6, 15.1); G David Jean-Baptiste (6-1, 9.0); G Jerry Johnson Jr. (6-1, 9.9); F Jonathan Scott (6-4, 6.4); F Ramon Vila (6-8, 11.8).
Key reserves: C Thomas Smallwood (7-0, 6.3); G Donovann Toatley (5-9, 11.9).
FURMAN (15-4, 4-3)
Projected starters: F Noah Gurley (6-8, 8.7); G Alex Hunter (5-11, 8.5); G Jordan Lyons (5-11, 16.7); F Clay Mounce (6-7, 10.7); F Matt Rafferty (6-8, 17.7).
Key reserves: G Andrew Brown (6-5, 8.5); G Tre Clark (6-5, 5.3).
MOCS REPORT
UTC hits the road after a 3-0 homestand. The Mocs are proficient from long range, ranking 46th nationally at 37.6 percent behind the 3-point line. When taking only Southern Conference games into account, the team’s 39.9 percent 3-point shooting is tops among league teams. Freshman Easley is the SoCon’s reigning men’s basketball player of the week and has posted four of his six performances with 20-plus points since conference play began. Vila, an Arizona State transfer who was cleared to play in December, has shot 50 percent or better in each of his first 10 contests with the Mocs. He has shot a league-best 72.9 percent in conference matchups and has topped double figures in six of the past seven games. Jean-Baptiste has a 2.09 assist-to-turnover ratio (46-to-22), and it’s even better (2.92) since entering the lineup as the starting point guard 11 games ago against Virginia Military Institute. Toatley has reached double digits in points in seven of the past eight games, averaging 13.9 points per contest over that span and shooting 53.7 percent.
PALADINS REPORT
Furman started the season 12-0, including wins over 2018 NCAA champion Villanova and tournament darling Loyola-Chicago, and was ranked in the AP Top 25 for three weeks. The Paladins, however, have lost their past two SoCon games, to UNC Greensboro and Wofford, and are fifth in the league standings. Furman, which is 9-0 at home this season, is led by the reigning SoCon men’s basketball player of the month, Rafferty, who ranks as the only league player in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding, assists per game, steals per game, blocked shots per game, field-goal percentage and assist-to-turnover ratio. Sophomore point guard Hunter leads the SoCon with a 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio.
KEY MATCHUP
Rafferty leads the Paladins in nearly every statistical category, so it makes sense for the Mocs to focus on him. He and Lyons (67 3-point makes) are a strong inside-out threat, so double teams will have to come from elsewhere if possible. The Mocs must take care of the ball to pull off the upset, because Furman has averaged right at nine steals per game this season.