Staff photo by Doug Strickland / UTC forward Justin Tuoyo, right, and teammate Tre’ McLean, center, celebrate a point near ETSU guard Deuce Bello during the Mocs’ home basketball game against ETSU at McKenzie Arena on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tenn.Currently holding the top record in the Southern Conference, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team could embrace the role of the hunted.
But the Mocs can’t, because in their minds they’re still hunting.
UTC (16-3, 5-1) plays tonight at UNC Greensboro in the first of three consecutive road games. After tonight’s contest, the Mocs will attempt to travel to Lexington, Va., for a game Saturday at Virginia Military Institute.
Lexington is expecting 5-8 inches of snow today, and 3-5 more is forecast for Saturday.
UTC center Justin Tuoyo said that his team’s hot start – its best since the 1983-84 season – means nothing at this point.
“We haven’t done anything,” he said. “We’re having a good regular season, but Wofford is back-to-back champs, so we have to go out and play every game like we want respect until then.
“We’re going out there and showing everybody what we can do.”
That doesn’t mean the 6-foot-10 reigning SoCon defensive player of the year doesn’t realize the Mocs’ place in the standings. They were the preseason pick to win the conference, after all.
“We know everybody is going to give us their best game,” Tuoyo said. “It’s conference play, so there’s no reason for us to not play our best. We have a target on our back, so we have to be prepared for every game, but we also have to be happy because being targeted is what you want, so you shouldn’t back down from any challenge.”
The Mocs’ focus is tonight against a dangerous Spartans team. The teams played a pair of tough games last season, with the Mocs winning a nine-point game in Chattanooga and 61-58 in Greensboro on a 3-pointer by Ronrico White at the buzzer.
UNCG returns three starters from that team: point guard Diante Baldwin and frontcourt players R.J. White and Kayel Locke. The Spartans are 6-12 overall but have a 6-2 record at home and have won both of their SoCon games at Greensboro Coliseum.
“We have to go in and focus on our defensive principles and not go in the game playing off their record,” point guard Greg Pryor said. “We can’t underestimate the team and their talent, because they’re real talented and a good team. Their record just doesn’t show it.”
UTC coach Matt McCall said that dictating pace will be crucial in tonight’s game. The Spartans are going to want to slow the tempo and get the ball inside to big bodies White and Locke, two of their three leading scorers.
McCall called freshman guard Francis Alonso, who is second on the team with 12.3 points per game, “one of the best shooters in the league.”
“We have to get our style of play in the game. I’d like to get going up and down the floor,” McCall said. “Trying to get our press into the game will be a focus of ours.
“I don’t think their record is any indicator of how good they are. They beat Furman (which defeated UTC) and had ETSU beat. They’re a dangerous team with a lot of talent.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.