UTC men’s hoops slate challenging

Sixteen regular-season home dates highlight Lamont Paris’s first season as the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga men’s basketball coach, with a number of regional matchups and nonconference battles also standing out on the Mocs’ schedule, which was released Wednesday.

“Scheduling is a challenge every year,” Paris said in a news release. “The number-one thing you always want to do is prepare your team to be playing their best in March. Every season is a process of getting better from the start of practice in October to March. Every single day, we want to get better both individually and as a group.”

Six teams on UTC’s nonconference schedule won at least 20 games last season. Of those, Jacksonville State won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship, while Akron won 27 games and advanced to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

The Mocs could face the Gamecocks twice, because the two teams are in the Cayman Islands Mainland Event that will be played at UTC on Nov. 20-21. UTC plays Alabama State in the first round, while Jacksonville State plays Savannah State. The Mocs and Gamecocks would face off in the championship if they both win.

In the road contests associated with that event, the Mocs will travel to Wyoming — which won 24 games and the College Basketball Insider postseason tournament last season — and Alabama-Birmingham.

The Wyoming game is the official season opener on Nov. 10, six days after an exhibition game at home against NCAA Division II member Francis Marion.

There are also home matchups against 2015 NCAA tournament media darling Georgia State, UT-Martin and Charlotte, plus road battles against Marshall, Tennessee Tech and Jacksonville State prior to Southern Conference play beginning Dec. 30 at Samford.

“We hope this is the right mix to get us to conference (competition) as a better team than we are right now,” Paris said. “And hopefully, SoCon play gets us to the tournament ready to compete at a high level.

“Every game is important. It’s a gauge for how you are improving as the season progresses. You want to play your best basketball when March rolls around … that’s the goal of every team in college basketball.”

Contact Gene Henley at ghen ley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenleytfp.