Chattanooga Moccasins
Record: 29-5 (15-3 Southern Conference)
Head Coach: Matt McCall (1st season)
Season Recap: In McCalls' inaugural season, the Moccasins—winners of the Southern Conference in the regular and postseason—tied for the second-most wins in the country this year, despite losing preseason Conference Player of the Year Casey Jones for the season Dec. 11. Chattanooga is 5-0 in games decided by two points or less or that have gone to overtime, and posts signature nonconference wins against Dayton and Georgia. The Mocs play a slow tempo—they rank 265th in basketball statistician Ken Pomeroy's adjusted tempo metric—and feed athletic big men Tre' McLean and Justin Tuoyo—their only starters in double-digits—for much of their offensive production.
Chattanooga likes to be aggressive in the lane offensively and lives at the charity stripe, where it scores almost 22 percent of its points.
How they make a run: The Mocs play aggressive—getting the necessary blocks, steals and foul shots—to overwhelm an Indiana team that is more perimeter-oriented.
How they falter: Chattanooga is forced to play fast-paced basketball against the Hoosiers and does not get production out of their back court, which still badly misses Jones, as the Mocs bow out in their opening game.
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