The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball team looked solid in its final home nonconference game of 2024, jumping out to a 21-point lead Wednesday night at McKenzie Arena on the way to a 99-52 win over NAIA member Tennessee Wesleyan University from nearby Athens.
The Mocs (8-4), winners of eight of their past nine games after an 0-3 start, will travel to face Big Ten program Indiana (8-3) in a noon matchup Saturday in Bloomington before starting Southern Conference play on Jan. 1 against Mercer in Macon, Georgia.
For the second consecutive game, the Mocs never trailed, assuming control against the Bulldogs (3-9) with a 12-0 run to build a 23-7 lead.
“We talked to our guys about having a mature mindset,” UTC coach Dan Earl said, adding of the Bulldogs: “They aren’t a Division I team, but they’ve got a lot of pride and they’re going to look at this as their Super Bowl, and sometimes teams at our level play high majors and it’s a similar-type situation, so you have to go in and play the right way.”
Earl pointed out the Nov. 21 matchup against another NAIA opponent, Johnson, in which the Mocs led by just two points at halftime before pulling away late to win by 20. He also alluded to Division II member Michigan Tech’s win Wednesday over Division I’s Green Bay as another reason why it was important to take control from the outset.