DES MOINES, Iowa – There is no substitute for experience.
And going into next season, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team will have it not only on the court but also in the postseason.
The Mocs, who won a school-record 29 games this season and advanced to the program’s first NCAA tournament since 2009, will have six seniors on their 2016-17 roster. Five of them played in Thursday’s 99-74 loss to fifth-seeded Indiana at Wells Fargo Arena. The sixth, Casey Jones, will be back after redshirting this season after dislocating a foot in December.
They were disappointed about the loss to the Hoosiers, partially because it marked the end of the careers of seniors Alex Bran, Duke Ethridge, Dee Oldham and Eric Robertson.
“We know how it feels,” UTC center Justin Tuoyo said Thursday. “We know what it takes to get here, and with everybody returning, we got the same feel we had leading up to this season. We’re not satisfied with what we did this year. I mean, we had a great run, but we’re not done. Next year we’re going to be on the same grind.”