Belmont head coach Casey Alexander calls to his team during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Dayton, Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Jacob M. Langston)
Chattanooga (9-1) takes on Belmont (8-3) in a Southern/OVC matchup Wednesday, December 15th, at 6:00 pm ET in Nashville
The Mocs are coming off a 104-55 win against NAIA school Tennessee Wesleyan Sunday, while the Bruins beat Saint Louis 64-59 on the road last Tuesday
See the current moneyline, point spread, and game total, plus predictions
The Chattanooga Mocs (9-1) take on the Belmont Bruins (8-3) in a battle between two teams that are the highest-rated squads in their respective league by KenPom Wednesday at Curb Event Center. Tip off is at 6:00 pm ET on ESPN+.
Belmont enters the contest as favorites according to oddsmakers and KenPom predicts the Bruins will win 72-65.
Chattanooga vs Belmont Odds
Team
Moneyline
Spread at DraftKings
Total
Chattanooga
TBD
+6.5 (-110)
O 139 (-115)
Belmont
TBD
-6.5 (-110)
U 139 (-105)
Odds as of December 14th 2021.
Lamont Paris’ club beat up on Tennessee Wesleyan Sunday by 49 points. Prior to that display, the Mocs won three straight true road games over Tennessee Tech, Lipscomb and UNC-Asheville.
Meantime, Casey Alexander’s club has been road warriors of late as well. The Bruins took down the Billikens by five in the Gateway City last week. Two days prior to that win, Belmont beat Samford 85-73 in Birmingham.
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Ride the Snake
The Mocs have not played in the NCAA Tournament since 2016. But if the three-headed monster of Malachi Smith, David Jean-Baptiste and Silvio De Sousa — who are all averaging in double-digits for the Southern school — have their way, they might just get back to the Big Dance The group looked good in a tune-up game over the weekend.
Smith leads the way with 18.1 points per game this season. The sophomore guard has been especially hot against Division I opponents lately. In Chattanooga’s last three victories — all on the road — he’s averaged 27.7 points per game (on a combined 32-of-46 shooting from the field) and seven assists an outing.
From an efficiency standpoint, Paris’ group in the 3rd-rated team in the country in offensive rebounding percentage and the 105th-rated team overall, per KenPom. The Mocs are also the class of the Southern — ahead of teams like Wofford, Furman and East Tennessee State.
Belmont is one of the better mid-majors in the country. But the Bruins will be hard-pressed to defend its homecourt against this in-state program.
Tight Game Bruin?
Belmont has had a full week off to prepare for this intriguing home tilt. The last time Casey Alexander’s club was on the court, senior guard Grayson Murphy had 14 points, nine assists and eight rebounds as Belmont beat Saint Louis.
Belmont also owns wins over Drake and Furman during the 2021-22 campaign. The Bruins are the 54th-rated team overall by KenPom, good for the top spot in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Senior center Nick Muszynski is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 17.0 points per game. Ben Sheppard (15.3) and Will Richard (11.6) are also putting up double-figure scoring for a team that has the 15th-best offensive 2-point field goal percentage in the land.
The Pick
Each of these teams have played well away from their home arena — while Belmont is undefeated (3-0) at home thus far. Wednesday’s tilt just happens to be at Curb.
Can the Mocs’ impressive run of three straight road victories continue in Music City? It seems unlikely, especially considering the Bruins’ balanced attack. Smith has been on fire of late for Chattanooga. But his recent run is not sustainable.
The Mocs have been a great story so far, but Wednesday will be their second loss of the season.
Blair Johnson is a veteran journalist and seasoned sports content creator. He has been writing and producing content as long as he can remember, with such familiar names as CNN, NFL Media and Yahoo. Blair currently lives and works in the greater Los Angeles area.
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