Chattanooga (13-5, 4-5) vs. East Tennessee State (11-6, 7-2)
Freedom Hall Civic Center, Johnson City, Tennessee; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: East Tennessee State looks for its 11th straight win in the head-to-head series over Chattanooga. In its last 10 wins against the Mocs, East Tennessee State has won by an average of 15 points. Chattanooga’s last win in the series came on March 7, 2016, a 73-67 victory.
SAVVY VETERANS: Both of these teams have depended heavily on their seniors this year. Ledarrius Brewer, Damari Monsanto, David Sloan and Silas Adheke have combined to account for 62 percent of East Tennessee State’s scoring this season. For Chattanooga, David Jean-Baptiste, Stefan Kenic, Darius Banks and A.J. Caldwell have combined to account for 49 percent of all Chattanooga scoring, including 69 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.
SOCON IMPROVEMENT: The Buccaneers have scored 76.6 points per game against conference opponents thus far, an improvement from the 60.8 per game they recorded in non-conference play.MIGHTY MALACHI: Malachi Smith has connected on 34.3 percent of the 67 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 4 of 9 over his last three games. He’s also made 83.3 percent of his free throws this season.
PERFECT WHEN: The Buccaneers are 8-0 when they turn the ball over 13 times or fewer and 3-6 when they exceed 13 turnovers. The Mocs are 12-0 when they hold opponents to 72 points or fewer and 1-5 whenever opponents exceed 72 points.
STREAK STATS: East Tennessee State has won its last seven home games, scoring an average of 83.4 points while giving up 67.4.
DID YOU KNOW: Chattanooga has committed a turnover on just 16.4 percent of its possessions this season, which is the lowest rate among all SoCon teams. The Mocs have turned the ball over only 11.4 times per game this season.
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