UTC's Shaq Preston puts the ball up in the game against Hiwassee College Friday night.In a span of around 44 hours, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball Mocs go from playing as heavy favorites to playing as heavy underdogs.
Yet it's a challenge they feel they're prepared for.
The Mocs will battle the nation's No. 3-ranked team, Wisconsin, this afternoon at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. The Badgers were a Final Four team last season that came within a miracle shot by Kentucky's Aaron Harrison from advancing to the national final. They return four starters from that team, including preseason first-team All-American Frank Kaminsky, a 7-footer.
The Badgers have additional size with versatile 6-9 forward Sam Dekker and 6-8 sophomore Nigel Hayes. Six-10 redshirt senior Duje Dukan is having to miss their first two games of the season. They started their regular season with a 62-31 win over Northern Kentucky, whom the Mocs host on Dec. 16.
"It's going to be a challenge," UTC coach Will Wade said after Friday's 110-53 win over Hiwassee College. "We're going to have to hit jump shots. It's probably going to be tough sledding in the paint, so we're going to have to shoot the ball well, but I feel confident we can do that. We'll compete and see what happens up there, but they'll be far and away the best outfit we'll play all season."
The Mocs were balanced in their scoring against Hiwassee, as nine of the 12 players scored from nine to 13 points. Justin Tuoyo, who sat out last season after transferring from Virginia Commonwealth, had an impressive UTC debut with 11 points, 13 rebounds, two blocks and two steals against the Tigers. This afternoon will present a much bigger test, as he goes against Kaminsky -- the Big Ten's preseason player of the year -- and the rest of the Badgers' size on the interior.
"I'm ready for it," Tuoyo said. "I feel like I'm a high-level player, and so I'm going into the game ready to play with everything I've got. As a team, this is where we want to be -- playing with teams and competing against teams of this level."
This is the first of two Mocs games as part of the Battle 4 Atlantis. They travel to Butler for a Tuesday game with a 9 p.m. tipoff, before hosting the Mainland Event on Nov. 26-27 with Robert Morris, Coastal Carolina and Lousiana-Monroe coming to McKenzie Arena.
But for now, the focus is on today's big challenge -- and opportunity.
"We're going into today's mindset that this is where we want to be," said UTC point guard Greg Pryor, who had 13 points and three assists in Friday's win. "We're letting all the rankings go out the window. That's the only thing we can do.
"We just have to play to the best of our ability."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.