The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team has proved it’s capable of beating favorites in the Southern Conference.
The Mocs (4-5, 2-0) now get to see how they stack up against a usual Ohio Valley Conference power. They host Murray State today at 3 p.m. in McKenzie Arena.
“This is a great matchup because we’re two of the best mid-majors in the country,” said UTC guard Ricky Taylor, who rarely holds a grudge but has something personal against the Racers program. “We can send a message to the whole basketball nation that we’re about business this year and we look forward to making a run in the NCAA tournament.”
Murray State (4-4) has represented the OVC in the national tournament four times in the last eight years, including last season, when it knocked off Vanderbilt, 66-65, in the opening round and then fell by two points to eventual runner-up Butler. The Racers are 1-1 in league play this season.
“The only team that played Butler better than [champion] Duke in the tournament,” Mocs coach John Shulman said, “was Murray State.”
For the record, Michigan State also lost by two to Butler.
The Mocs have represented the SoCon in the NCAA tournament twice under Shulman and made a run to the Sweet 16 in 1997 under former coach Mack McCarthy.
“It’s a game where people look at it and go, ‘What on Earth are they playing each other for?’ because it’s not the most intelligent thing if you’re concerned about your record,” Shulman said. “The best thing for us is that Murray gives you a very true read on yourself. They are very sound offensively and defensively.
“You don’t luck into beating them, so we’ll know exactly where we stand.”
The Mocs’ marketing and promotion crew has put extra effort into drawing fans to McKenzie Arena, going so far as to hire the ZOOperStars for down-time entertainment and offering online $4 general-admission tickets.
“They’ve done their job,” senior Troy Cage said. “We have to do ours.”
The game between UTC and MSU last year had a big swing in Kentucky. UTC led by 10 points in the first half, and then the Racers led by 13 in the second before winning 73-62.
“They went to the top 32 last year,” Taylor said, “and if we can beat them, then we have a chance to go to the top 32 this year.”
He came very close to committing to the Racers instead of the Mocs out of Haywood County High School in West Tennessee.
“They’re a top-notch program. They recruited me heavily and I had a choice to go there or here; then they said something about recruiting a junior college player,” Taylor said. “I chose Chattanooga.
“It’s a rival game for me.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchiyamaCTFP.