Men's Basketball Southern Conference

Chattanooga Releases 2002-03 Men's Basketball Schedule

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.---A visit from NCAA Tournament Elite Eight participant
Kent State and a trip to last year's NCAA West Regional No. 1 seed
Cincinnati highlight the 2002-03 Chattanooga men's basketball schedule, the
first slate under new head coach Jeff Lebo.

The Mocs, who traveled to Kent State last December, get a return trip from
the Golden Flashes on Dec. 18. The Cincinnati matchup Jan. 2, played at
the Shoemaker Center on the UC campus, marks the first meeting between the
two programs.

"The Cincinnati game is exciting for our players," Lebo said. "We like to
play one or two of those a year against nationally-recognized programs.
Our kids will know all the history of Cincinnati and about all their
players. At Tennessee Tech, we were able to go out and play at North
Carolina, at Notre Dame and at Louisville. We like to play in good
environments and play at places that are at a higher notch than we are used
to."

The Mocs, who went 16-12 overall last season and ended in a three-way tie
for first in the Southern Conference South Division, tip off the season
with a two-game trip to Birmingham, Ala. UTC plays at Samford Nov. 22 and
at UAB Nov. 24.

UTC plays its traditional home-opening game against Tennessee Wesleyan Nov.
27. The Mocs also have non-conference road trips to Bradley and Illinois
State. Samford completes a same-year home-and-home series with UTC on Dec.
21 at The McKenzie Arena, and the annual Dr Pepper Classic will be played
at UTC Dec. 29-30 with Lipscomb, Maine and Weber State in the field of four.

"This year's schedule was mostly complete when we got here," Lebo said.
"We only had to get three or four games. For our team, with the
inexperience that we have coming back, this is probably a little difficult.
It is a very challenging schedule even for a veteran team. We will find
out early where we stand."

The SoCon schedule includes the usual home-and-home series with the South
Division rivals. Furman comes for an earlier-than-usual visit to UTC on
Dec. 16. The Mocs, who tied Georgia Southern and the College of Charleston
for the South Division title, host the Eagles on Feb. 3 and the Cougars
Feb. 22.

The SoCon North Division also had a three-way tie for first between
Davidson, East Tennessee State and UNC Greensboro. Davidson was the SoCon
Tournament Champion and NCAA Tournament representative. UTC hosts the
Wildcats Jan. 13 after back-to-back road games at UNCG and the College of
Charleston. ETSU comes calling Feb. 1.

The Mocs close the regular season with consecutive road games at Georgia
Southern Feb. 24 and at Western Carolina March 1. The SoCon Tournament is
March 6-9 at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, S.C.

"We don't have any control over the Southern Conference schedule," Lebo
said. "But it will be an adjustment. We played on Thursdays and Saturdays
at Tech, and now we will play on Saturdays and Mondays. We, as a staff,
will have to prepare differently. The conference season will be a bear
just as it is in every conference. There are no easy games and no places
to hide."