UTC Mocs hope for more breaks against Butler

photo UTC basketball coach Will Wade, right, directs player Duke Ethridge during practice.

How much of a difference can one player make?

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men's basketball team will get an opportunity to find that out tonight.

The Mocs will be in historic Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis tonight for a game against Butler University. It will be the second game of the season for the Bulldogs, who returned Roosevelt Jones from a wrist injury that kept him out of the 2013-14 season.

The 6-foot-4 versatile forward was third on the team in scoring and second in both rebounding and assists two years ago. Without Jones, the Bulldogs finished 14-17 in their first season in the Big East Conference.

He had 14 points, nine assists and four rebounds in Butler's 99-57 season-opening win over Maine. He will be a focal point for the Mocs, but not the only point. The Bulldogs had six players in double figures against Maine, led by Kellen Dunham with 18 points on 5-for-7 shooting from 3-point range. Point guard Alex Barlow had six points and six assists for a team that had 29 helpers on 41 made field goals.

"They are a good outfit," UTC coach Will Wade said. "They struggled a little, but Jones wasn't with them last year. It's going to be a challenge for our guys, but I know they will be ready to go and we'll be excited to be there. We are going to compete, and we are going to see what happens four minutes at a time."

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The Mocs will quickly get a chance to wipe out the memories of Sunday's 89-45 defeat at the hands of No. 3 Wisconsin. Two of the things they pride themselves in -- fast-break points and offensive rebounds -- were nonexistent against the much taller Badgers. UTC never was able to get out on the break and was credited with only three offensive rebounds in a 32-percent shooting afternoon.

"Offensive rebounding is a big part of what we do," Wade said. "We were top 15 or 20 in the country in offensive rebounding percentage. ... We work on it every day, and you're not going to get any second-chance shots on (the Badgers). They're very good at that. We knew our first-shot offense was going to have to be good, but it wasn't. We got some good looks but we have to knock them in, and we will. We have good shooters and we've put a lot of time into it. They'll knock them in and our average will rise."

The Mocs are still finding their way, which was to be expected with so many newcomers. Rotations still have yet to be firmly set; players are working in lineups that aren't quite familiar to them. But the team feels good about its chances against the Bulldogs.

"We're going to have to follow the scouting report and do the best we can," senior guard Ronrico White, who had a team-high 15 points against Wisconsin, said Sunday. "We had some guys nervous against Hiwassee because it was the first game, and we still have to mesh better. We have the off-court chemistry, and the on-court chemistry is going to come.

"Once we get that clicking on the court, it's going to be a special ride."

Tipoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. The game can be seen on Fox Sports 2.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.

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