Mocs Taking Big Stage in Big Dance With Big Boys of College Basketball

Chattanooga-(WDEF) When the Chattanooga Mocs arrive in Des Moines for the opening round of the NCAA tournament, they’ll be joined by some of the premiere programs in all of college basketball like Kentucky, Kansas, and Indiana.
And since UTC has won a school record 29-games, maybe that will give them the confidence that they can compete with the big boys on the big stage.
UTC remains revved up to open the Big Dance on Thursday against Indiana.
Said head coach Matt McCall-“I think obviously our first round opponent is one of the most historic basketball programs in the history of the sport.”
The Hoosiers are iconic because they win a lot of titles with some really good players.
Said McCall-“I mean Michigan State. Everyone wants to talk about them as maybe a team that can win a national championship. No offense. Michigan State didn’t win the (regular season) Big 10. Indiana did. I think Yogi Ferrell is one of the best point guards in the country. No question about it. Arguably would have been a first round draft pick if he came out last year. But this is going to be the biggest key in the game. You get so caught up and consumed with guarding Yogi, and he goes down the lane and finds shooters on the perimeter. That’s how they really, really hurt you.”
Coach McCall hopes his team is not overwhelmed by facing Indiana on the Big Dance Stage.
Said McCall-“You walk out on that floor, it’s a different feeling in the NCAA tournament. It just is. I’m calling it like it is. They need to be prepared for that. I know that the teams that get distracted and caught up in the hoopla of being in the NCAA Tournament get eliminated, and they get eliminated early.”
Said guard Greg Pryor-“We live for these moments. We live for these type of games, so it’s going to be nothing new for us.”
Said forward Chuck Ester-“We’ll be ready to go. We’ll go out there and play hard and just have fun.”
Added McCall-“We’re 29-5. We’ve had some big wins this year, and we need to do what has gotten us to 29-5.”
UTC and Indiana will tip at 7:10pm on Thursday, and the game will be televised on News 12 Now.