Mocs head coach John Shulman calls his team in during a timeout. The Mocs defeated the Tigers 65-63 Friday night at McKenzie Arena.One program has expectations of winning a Southern Conference championship. The other has dreams of winnings of winning more than one Southern Conference game.
They both need a win -- soon.
Either the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will halt a surprising early-season skid and return confidence to a veteran squad.
Or Georgia Southern's fledglings will earn an early SoCon victory that could boost their confidence and unlock the gates that restricted them last season when the Mocs face the Eagles tonight in Hanner Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.
"Last year, my entire team was young, scared cats," GSU coach Charlton Young said. "We're growing. All we need is that one big win to get the confidence. Once we get that first one, we'll take off."
The Mocs tripped during their early season take-offs with respectable losses at Indiana and at Butler. But then came a loss to Kennesaw State, a two-point win over Savannah State, and an overtime loss to Gardner-Webb which left coach John Shulman steaming mad.
He's taken a deep breath or two since Sunday.
"You have to look at yourself in the mirror, too," Shulman said. "I'm not sure it's helping with me blasting everybody. Rephrase that -- I know it's not helping us."
The Mocs (2-4) walked through a variety of plays on Monday, they took Tuesday off, and practiced again on Wednesday with players appearing in good spirits -- joking with each other, trying crazy shots, and practicing free throws in McKenzie Arena prior to the session.
"There is enough pressure on all of us, and you have to remember that it's a game, and I'm making it out to be life or death," Shulman said. "I'm the leader of the pack, and a smile from me isn't going to hurt things. But I can't remember the last time I smiled."
Nevertheless, the loss column of UTC's record is filled with more numbers than the win column of the season ledger.
The Mocs are 0-0 in the SoCon.
Two wins this weekend -- at GSU followed Saturday at College of Charleston -- would give UTC an advantage in the North Division and put the non-conference losses in the rear-view mirror.
Two losses and would put them in the hole for a month until the next SoCon game and magnify the stumbles so far.
"If we go and get this 'W' on the road, we start feeling better," said Bell, who leads the SoCon with 6.3 assists per game. "When you have two road games, you at least want a split. Starting 0-2 is a hole.
"It wouldn't be over, but it makes it harder. Winning two would be huge for our momentum going forward."
The Eagles (1-4) earned one SoCon win last year. It came with a roster full of freshmen and sprinkled with sophomores and one junior. Young welcomes back fifth-year senior guard Willie Powers -- who missed all of last year and most of the previous season due to knee injuries -- to a mix of lightly seasoned pups.
"Our program is definitely on the rise," said Young, who was Shulman's associate head coach for the 2005 SoCon championship team. "People see that we're dangerous."