Mocs Close Out Regular Season Home Schedule Wednesday Against Tampa

Moccasin Game Notes vs. Tampa

MOCCASIN QUICK NOTES
* - This is the 88th season of Moccasin basketball.
* - The Moccasins began the 2014-15 campaign by posting an 86-75 home win over Warner in an exhibition contest on Nov. 12.
* - FSC opened the 2014-15 season with a 93-76 win over West Alabama in the SSC/GSC Challenge in Lakeland. It marked the third consecutive season and the 13th time in the last 15 years that FSC had opened the season with a victory. 
* - The Mocs opened the season with an 11-0 record for the second consecutive season and 10th time in school history. Last year, FSC opened the season by winning its first 18 games. 
* - FSC finished the 2013-14 campaign with a 26-5 record. The Mocs took home the regular season SSC title for the second straight year and won its third consecutive SSC Tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time consecutive season.
* - The Mocs were tabbed to repeat as the SSC Champions in the Preseason SSC Coaches' Poll and was ranked sixth in the Preseason Division II Bulletin Poll. 
* - The Mocs were ranked ninth in the Preseason NABC/D-II Coaches' Poll and it marked the 13th time since the NABC began a preseason poll in 1996-97 that FSC has been preseason ranked and the second consecutive year they were ranked in the Top 10 as FSC was ranked ninth in 2013-14 preseason poll. 
* - The Mocs are ranked No. 1 in this week's 12th regular season NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll. The Mocs have been ranked in the Top 10 for 26 of the past 28 regular season polls.
* - FSC returns two starters and five key players from last season's squad, including senior guard Kevin Capers, who averaged 21.5 points per game last season en route to earning consensus All-America honors.  
* - Over the past seven-plus seasons, FSC is the second winningest NCAA men's basketball program in the state of Florida as they have won 199 games. Only Florida has won more games (203) over that same span than the Mocs. 
* - FSC stands 18th all-time in wins in NCAA Division II with 1,364 wins and is one of 23 D-II programs to record more than 1,300 all-time victories.
* - The Mocs have now won 20 or more games for eight consecutive seasons. FSC is one of just three Division II schools (West Liberty and Findlay) to post 20 win campaigns the past seven seasons.
* - FSC has won an SSC-best 21 regular season titles and 22 SSC Tournament titles and made its 28th all-time NCAA Tournament appearance last season, which is third-most all-time in Division II.
* - The Mocs have advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament the past seven seasons and are one of just two Division II schools to play in the NCAA Tournament the past seven seasons, the other one being Seattle Pacific, who earned its 10th consecutive tournament berth in 2013-14. 
* - Moccasin head coach Linc Darner is in his ninth season in Lakeland and he has won five SSC Coach of the Year honors and is second on the school's all-time win list with 207 all-time victories.

TOP-RANKED MOCS CLOSE REGULAR SEASON HOME SCHEDULE ON SENIOR NIGHT AGAINST TAMPA
Top-ranked Florida Southern (25-1 overall, 13-1 SSC) is set to play its fifth consecutive game as the No. 1 ranked team in Division II on Wednesday, Feb. 25 as the Moccasins close out the regular season home portion of its schedule on Senior Night at Jenkins Field House (1,800) against Tampa (17-8, 9-5 SSC) in a Sunshine State Conference match-up at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday's game will mark the final home regular season game for the Mocs six-player senior class, who will be honored in a pregame ceremony.  The game will also mark the second meeting this season between the two teams as the Mocs earned an 81-75 win in Tampa on Jan. 21.  

FSC is playing its 17th home game of the season on Wednesday as the Mocs are 15-1 at home this year and have won six straight games on its homecourt since suffering its first loss of the season on Jan. 3 against then 11th-ranked Barry and are 6-1 at home in SSC play. Dating to last season, the Mocs have won 13 of its last 15 SSC games at home. Wednesday's game with Tampa will mark FSC's second consecutive game as the Mocs picked up an 87-66 win over Lynn this past Saturday.

The game will also the second of a doubleheader at Jenkins Field House as the Moccasin women (12-12, 6-8 SSC) will face the Tampa women (15-9, 8-6 SSC) at 5:30 p.m.

FSC, who is once again ranked No. 1 in this week's 13th regular season NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll, enters play Wednesday looking to extend its win streak to 15 consecutive games since suffering its first and only loss of the season at home on Jan. 3 to Barry. FSC's latest victory on its current 14-game win streak came less last Saturday as the Mocs collected an 87-66 win against Lynn. The win over Lynn followed the Mocs 86-65 win last Wednesday at Eckerd and its 82-79 overtime win at Florida Tech on Valentines Day. Those three wins came after FSC's home win over Saint Leo (70-56) on Feb. 11 and followed FSC's home win nearly two weeks ago over Nova Southeastern (82-58) and the NSU victory followed the Mocs 88-79 win at Miami Shores against then third-ranked Barry on Feb. 4. The win at Barry came just four days after the Mocs concluded its regular season non-conference schedule with a 93-67 win at Palm Beach Atlantic. The victory over PBA extended the Mocs regular season non-conference win streak to 31 consecutive games dating to the 2012-13 season and came just two days after the Mocs closed out the first half of SSC play with its 74-70 home win over Rollins.

Along with picking up wins over Nova Southeastern, Barry, Palm Beach Atlantic and Rollins during its current 10-game win streak, FSC has also collected home wins over Eckerd (80-62) and Florida Tech (109-96) and road victories over Saint Leo (71-66), Nova Southeastern (77-74), Tampa (81-75) and Lynn (87-77). The loss to Barry in its SSC opener on Jan. 3 was FSC's first loss of the season after opening the 2014-15 campaign by winning its first 11 games. The loss to Barry to open league play was its first since falling 84-78 at Rollins to open the 2011-12 SSC slate. With its 12 straight wins in SSC play, the Mocs have now won 13 of its last 16 conference games dating to last season, including winning nine of its last 10 SSC road games with the only loss being a 71-69 setback in its final regular season road game last season at Tampa. FSC comes into Saturday's third to last regular season game sporting a 24-1 overall record and are in sole possession of first place in the SSC with a 12-1 record. With its win over Barry on Feb. 4, the Mocs achieved its eighth consecutive 20 win season and has posted a 77-12 overall record and a 36-9 record in SSC since the beginning of the 2012-13 season. 

14 GAME WIN STREAK IS TIED FOR LONGEST ACTIVE STREAK IN DIVISION II     
FSC comes into Wednesday's home game  with Tampa having won 14 consecutive games, which is currently tied with Mount Olive (25-2) for the longest active winning streak in Division II men's basketball. Bellarmine (24-2) has the second longest active win streak at 12 games.
   
WEDNESDAY'S TAMPA GAME WILL MARK FINAL REGULAR SEASON HOME GAME FOR MOCS SIX SENIORS
Prior to Wednesday night's regular season home finale against Tampa, the Mocs will honor its six seniors in a pregame ceremony. This year's seniors are forward Stephen Battle (Waldorf, Md.), guard Kevin Capers (Winter Haven, Fla.), forward Bubby Johnson (Waldorf, Md.), guard Tyler Kelly (Pickerington, Ohio), guard Tyler Logan (Landover, Md.) and forward Daniel Turner (McCordsville, Ind.). Capers and Kelly are the only four year seniors, while Battle, Johnson and Logan have played her for two years and Turner joined the team this year after beginning his collegiate career at Wisconsin-Green Bay. 

MOCS ARE ONE MORE WIN AWAY FROM EARNING SHARE OF ITS 22ND ALL-TIME SSC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
The Mocs come into play on Wednesday needing just one more win at least to earn its 22nd all-time SSC regular season title. FSC is currently sporting a 13-1 record in SSC play and is one game in front of Barry, who is 12-2 in league play. With a win over Tampa on Wednesday and a win by Barry over Lynn, the Mocs will earn no less than a share of the SSC regular season title for the third consecutive season. The Mocs, who finish the regular season on Saturday at Rollins, can win the SSC regular season title outright with at least one win and a Barry or two wins apiece from both Barry and FSC. 
  
FSC RANKED NO. 1 AGAIN IN NABC/D-II COACHES' POLL
On Tuesday, Feb. 10, the Mocs ascended to the top spot in the NABC/Division II Coaches' Top 25 Poll.  The No. 1 ranking is the first-ever for the Mocs since the Dec. 18, 2000. FSC has now been ranked No. 1 for  a total of 20 weeks all-time, which is tied for the fifth most weeks at No. 1 in Division II history as they remained atop the poll that was released on Feb. 24. In fact, only two other SSC programs have been ranked No. 1 all-time - Tampa and Rollins. The Mocs have now ranked No. 1 for three consecutive weeks.
 
SSC WIN STREAK REACHES 13 STRAIGHT GAMES
Thanks to its 87-66 win on Saturday over Lynn, the Mocs extended its SSC win streak to 13 consecutive games since falling to Barry in its league opener earlier this season. The 13 game conference win streak is the longest of the season for an SSC team and tied for the longest active win streak in league play in Division II. Mount Olive has also won 13 consecutive Conference Carolinas games coming into this week's action.

CAPERS NAMED DIVISION II BULLETIN PLAYER OF THE MONTH FOR FEBRUARY
Senior All-American guard Kevin Capers has been named the Division II Bulletin Player of the Month for February. Capers, who is in his fourth and final season as a Moccasin in 2014-15, earns the February Player of the Month honor from the Division II Bulletin after averaging 19.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game in six games during the month for the top-ranked Moccasins. 

He started the month of February by scoring 24 points in the Mocs 88-79 win at then third-ranked Barry on Feb. 4 and added eight rebounds, four assists and four steals in the win over the Buccaneers. Following the Barry game, Capers scored 27 points in the Mocs 82-58 home win on Feb. 7 over Nova Southeastern. In that game, Capers scored the 2,000th point of his career and is one of just two Moccasin men's basketball players to ever eclipse the 2,000 point barrier. He also scored 20 points in the Mocs win this past Wednesday at Eckerd.    

He was named the Sunshine State Conference Player of the Week on Feb. 9 following his two performances against both Barry and Nova Southeastern. It was the second time this season that Capers was named the SSC Player of the Week as he also earned the honor on Dec. 2, 2014. For the month, Capers scored in double figures in all six games and has now reached double figures in 24 of 26 games on the season, including entering the final week of the regular season having scored in double figures in 13 consecutive games.

FSC-TAMPA SERIES 
Wednesday's game with Tampa will mark the 165th meeting all-time meeting between the two schools as FSC holds a 93-71 edge in the series. The Mocs have won 15 of the last 16 games in the series with UT's only win coming in Tampa last season, 71-69. The win by the Spartans last season snapped a 13 game winning streak by the Mocs in the series, which was the  longest streak for any team in the series that dates to 1933. Since Tampa reinstated men's basketball in 1983-84, the Mocs have gone 62-36 against the Spartans.

FSC holds a 49-23 edge in the series in Lakeland and they have won six straight on its home court since UT collected a 78-72 win on Feb. 27, 2008, while the Mocs also hold a 13-11 advantage on neutral courts. UT leads 37-31 in Tampa, but the Mocs have won seven of the last eight games on UT's home court, including picking up an 81-75 win earlier this season. Darner is 16-4 all-time against the Spartans.  

SCOUTING TAMPA 
Tampa (17-8 overall, 9-5 SSC) comes into Wednesday's game having won six straight games and seven of its last nine overall since suffering an 81-75 home loss to the Mocs on Jan. 21. UT's latest win in this stretch came at home this past Saturday as the Spartans earned a 73-63 victory over Rollins. In addition to the win over Rollins, UT's other wins during its current six game win streak came on the road against Saint Leo (65-57), Palm Beach Atlantic (84-74) and Lynn (66-61) and at home against Florida Tech (70-62) and Eckerd (56-53). The six game win streak has helped improved UT's record to 17-8 overall and move the Spartans into fourth place in the SSC standings with a 9-5 mark.

Wednesday's game is the first of two this week against nationally ranked foes to close the regular season as the Spartans conclude the regular season at home against fourth-ranked Barry. UT has been strong away from home this season as they have posted a 7-5 record away from home, including a 5-2 road record in SSC play. The Spartans have won three straight road games since suffering a 99-93 loss at Barry on Jan. 28.

Tampa, who was tabbed to finish tied for fourth in the Preseason SSC Coaches' Poll,  has already recorded back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since posting 10 consecutive winning seasons from 1999-08. UT returned one starter and six lettermen from last season's 20-10 squad that finished tied for second in the SSC standings with a 10-6 mark and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2007-08 season.

The Spartans are coached by Richard Schmidt (Western Kentucky, '64). Schmidt is currently the second-longest active coach in the SSC as he is in his 32nd season with the Spartans. In 32 years at UT, Schmidt has compiled a 627-306 record and has a career mark of 658-333 in 34 years as a collegiate head coach as he spent two seasons (1979-81) as the head coach at Vanderbilt before coming to Tampa. He was inducted into the UT Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 and has led the Spartans to 30 winning seasons and 16 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances. In 2011-12, Schmidt became just the fourth active Division II coach to win 600 career games.    

UT, who has three players averaging ranked in the eight in the SSC in scoring, are led by the play of senior forward/center Eugene McCrory. McCrory, who is a transfer from UCF and played junior college basketball with Spartan guard Jordan Davis, is fourth in the SSC in scoring (16.9 ppg) and is tied for second in the SSC and 25th nationally in rebounding as he averages 9.3 boards per game and leads the SSC and Division II in field goal percentage (69.8 percent). He has scored in double figures in 23 games and has recorded nine double-doubles, which is tied for second-most in the SSC.

In addition to McCrory, sophomore guard/forward Austin Rettig is seventh in the league in scoring as he is averaging 15.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and is shooting 46 percent from the field, 36 percent from the 3-point line and 75 percent at the free throw line. Rettig has scored in double figures in 21 games, including nine times in his last 10 games and has posted three double-doubles, while senior guard  Jordan Davis is eighth in the league in scoring at 14.9 points per game, fifth in rebounding (6.8 rpg), second in assists (7.2) and eighth in steals (1.8). In addition, he is shooting 36 percent from the field, is third in the SSC in made three-pointers per game (2.5) and is fourth in the league in free throw shooting percentage (87.5 percent). Davis, who has a 2.2 assist/turnover ratio on the year and is the reigning SSC Player of the Week, has scored in double figures in 20 games and has posted six double-doubles and recorded a triple-double of 16 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists earlier this season against Cedarville. 

Other key performers for the Spartans are sophomore guard Matt Johnson, freshman forward Othniel Shelton and freshman forward Marcel Robinson. Johnson is averaging 7.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game and is shooting 31 percent from the field, 41 percent from the 3-point line and 64 percent from the free throw line and has reached double figures in seven games and is second in the SSC in assist/turnover ratio at 2.3, while Shelton is averaging 6.8 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 58 percent from the field and has reached double figures in three games and posted a double-double of 18 points and 10 rebounds in UT's first game this season against the Mocs and Robinson is averaging 6.2 points and 2.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 40 percent from the field, 31 percent from the 3-point line and 70 percent at the free throw line and has had six double-digit scoring efforts.  

As a team, the Spartans are one of the top defensive teams in the league as they are third in scoring defense (68.9 points per game) and second in field goal percentage defense (42.1 percent) and is second in rebound margin (+4.6). In addition, UT is fourth in scoring margin (+4.6) and sixth in both steals (6.6 spg) and blocks (2.8 bpg). On offense, the Spartans are averaging 73.5 points per game and have scored 70 or more points in 16 games and are shooting 45 percent from the field and 35 percent from the 3-point line and is sixth in the league in free throw shooting (71.5 percent).