Moccasin Game Notes vs. Barry
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 second in this week's 10th regular season NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll. The Mocs have been ranked in the Top 10 for 24 of the past 26 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 193 games. Only Florida has won more games (202) over that same span than the Mocs.
* - FSC stands 18th all-time in wins in NCAA Division II with 1,358 wins and is one of 23 D-II programs to record more than 1,300 all-time victories.
* - The Mocs have won 20 or more games for seven consecutive seasons and is one win shy of accomplishing the feat for the eighth consecutive season. 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 201 all-time victories.
SECOND-RANKED MOCS LOOK FOR ITS 20TH WIN WEDNESDAY AT THIRD-RANKED BARRY
Second-ranked Florida Southern (19-1 overall, 7-1 SSC) is set to return to Sunshine State Conference action on Wednesday, Feb. 4 as they open the second half of its league slate with a 7:30 p.m. game in Miami Shores against third-ranked Barry (17-1 overall, 9-0 SSC) at the Health and Sports Center (1,500) on the Barry campus.
Wednesday's game will mark the second meeting this season between the two teams as Barry snapped FSC's 11 game win streak to open the season en route to posting a 107-102 win in Lakeland on Jan. 3. FSC is also playing its eighth road game of the year on Wednesday as they are 7-0 away from home on the season, including being 4-0 on the road in SSC play. The game will also be the second of a doubleheader at the Health & Sports Center as the Moccasin women (9-9, 3-5 SSC) will meet the Barry women (10-10, 2-7 SSC) at 5:30 p.m.
FSC, who is ranked second in this week's 10th regular season NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll, enters Wednesday's action looking to extend its win streak to nine straight games since suffering its first and only loss of the season at home on Jan. 3 to then 11th-ranked Barry (107-102). FSC's latest win in this stretch came this past Saturday as they closed out its regular season non-conference slate with a 93-67 victory at Palm Beach Atlantic. The PBA victory, which extended the Mocs regular season non-conference win streak to 31 consecutive games dating to the 2012-13 season, came just two days after the Mocs closed out the first half of SSC play with a 74-70 home win over Rollins.
Along with picking up wins over Palm Beach Atlantic and Rollins during its current eight-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 seven straight wins in SSC play, the Mocs have now won eight of its last 11 conference games dating to last season, including winning six of its last seven SSC road games with the only loss being a 71-69 setback in its final regular season road game at Tampa.
FSC comes into Wednesday's action sporting a 19-1 overall record and are sitting in sole possession of second place in the SSC standings with a 7-1 record and is one victory shy of achieveing its eighth consecutive 20 win season. Since the beginning of the 2012-13 season, the Mocs have posted a 71-12 record, including going a 30-9 record in SSC games.
SECOND TOP 5 MATCH-UP OF THE SEASON WEDNESDAY FOR THE MOCS
Wednesday's game at Barry will mark FSC's second game this season where both opponents are ranked in the Top 5 of the NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll and the first since the Bellarmine game on Dec. 13. In that game, Bellarmine was ranked No. 2 and the Mocs were ranked No. 3. In addition to being the second Top 5 match-up of the season for the Mocs, it will also be the Mocs sixth game this season against a nationally-ranked foe as FSC is 4-1 on the year against ranked opponents with the only setback being that 107-102 home loss on Jan. 3 to then 11th-ranked Barry. The ranked teams FSC has defeated this season besides Bellarmine are No. 13 Delta State (97-80), No. 3 Metro State (80-75) and No. 24 Lynn (87-77).
MOCS EIGHT GAME WIN STREAK IS TIED FOR SEVENTH LONGEST ACTIVE STREAK IN D-II
FSC comes into Wednesday's road contest with Barry having won eight consecutive games, which is currently tied with Western Oregon (18-3) for seventh longest active winning streak in Division II men's basketball. Lincoln Memorial, who is currently the only undefeated team left in Division II this season with a 20-0 record, has the longest active win streak at 20 games, while Augustana (21-1) and Angelo State (19-1) are tied for second with 14 consecutive victories and Minnesota State-Moorheard (24-1) is next as they have won 12 straight games. Barry (17-1) is fifth with an 11 game win streak and Mount Olive (20-2) is sixth with a nine game win streak.
MOCS CLOSE FIRST HALF OF SSC PLAY WITH 7-1 MARK FOR THIRD STRAIGHT YEAR Thanks to its 74-70 win last Wednesday at home against Rollins, the Mocs closed the first half of SSC play by winning seven of its first eight games for the third straight season and fourth time in the last seven seasons as FSC also started league play 7-1 in 2013-14, 2012-13 and 2008-09. Last season, FSC won its first seven league contests before suffering a loss at Rollins in its eighth league game of the year.
FSC-BARRY SERIES
Wednesday's game with Barry will mark the 62nd all-time meeting in the series and the second of two meetings this season. The Mocs hold a 45-16 edge all-time in the series and have won seven of the last ninegames in the series with the only losses being a 94-76 setback at Barry last season and a 107-102 setback in Lakeland in the team's first meeting this season on Jan. 3. FSC holds a 23-5 edge in the series in Lakeland, while also holding an 18-8 edge at Barry and leads 4-3 on neutral courts. Darner is 13-6 all-time against Barry.
SCOUTING BARRY
Barry (17-1 overall, 9-0 SSC), who is ranked third in this week's latest NABC/Division II Coaches' Poll, comes into this week's action having won 11 consecutive games since falling at home to then No. 9 ranked Indianapolis (78-73) on Dec. 16. Since that loss to the Greyhounds in Miami Shores, the Buccaneers concluded the 2014 calendar year two straight wins and have won nine consecutive games since the beginning of the 2015 calendar year. The 11 game win streak is the fifth longest active streak in Division II and the longest among all SSC schools. Barry is currently the lone undefeated team left in SSC play as the Bucs are 9-0 in the SSC after opening the second half of its league schedule with a 78-58 win this past Saturday at Saint Leo.
The Buccaneers come into the game defeating its opponents by a +14.0 margin, which is second in the SSC and 18th nationally. One of Barry's victories during its current win streak came against the Mocs in Lakeland on Jan. 3. Barry won the game, 107-102 and has now won two straight games over the Mocs as they also defeated FSC last season in Miami Shores. The Bucs have been strong at home this season as they are sporting a 10-1 mark on its home court and have won four straight at home since that loss to Indianapolis. In addition, Barry is 4-0 at home in SSC play and has won six of its last eight home conference games since that victory over FSC a year ago. Barry, who was tabbed to finish second in the Preseason SSC Coaches' Poll, has won 11 straight SSC games dating to last season's 75-71 home loss to Rollins on Feb. 22. The Bucs return four starters and eight letterwinners from last season's 19-9 squad that fell 82-77 in overtime to Delta State in the first round of the NCAA D-II South Regional Tournament in Lakeland.
The Bucs are coached by Butch Estes (North Carolina, '73), who is in his second season at Barry and his 31st season as a collegiate head coach, including his 19th season at a four-year school. He has compiled a 36-10 record at Barry and has compiled a 479-319 record, including a 306-252 mark at the four-year level. Among his coaching stops, Estes spent five seasons (1980-85) at Presbyterian, nine seasons at Furman (1985-94) and after serving as an analyst at Fox Sports Network, Estes returned to coaching at Guilford (1999-03) and then coached at Miami-Dade Community College (2003-06) and then was an assistant at Miami (Fla.) in 2006-07. He was also an assistant at Seattle University and was the head coach at both Shoreline College in Seattle, Wash., and came to Barry from Palm Beach State College.
Along with returning eight key players from last season's NCAA Tournament Team, Estes' second Buccaneer team also features three Division I transfers, including two 6-foot-8 inside players from North Carolina State and Fordham. The Bucs have four players averaging in double figures with junior forward Yunio Barrueta leading the way as he is averaging 18.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game and is shooting 53 percent from the field, 45 percent from the 3-point line and has scored in double figures in 17 of 18 games. Barrueta, who was named the SSC Newcomer of the Year and earned Second-Team All-South Region honors a year ago and has won three SSC Player of the Week honors, has posted seven double-doubles on the year and is third in the SSC in both scoring and rebounding.
In addition to Barrueta, senior guard Juan Ferrales is second on the team in scoring as he is averaging 13.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and 87 percent from the free throw line and has scored in double figures in 13 games, while junior guard Anders Haas is third on the team in scoring as he is averaging 12.1 points, 3.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game and is shooting 43 percent from the field, 39 percent from the 3-point line and is second in the SSC in free throw shooting at 89.8 percent. Haas, who is a transfer from the University of Albany, has scored in double figures in nine games, including an SSC season-high tying 35 points against Nyack and senior guard Deric Hill is the team's fourth double-digit scorer as he is averaging 10.1 points per game and leads the SSC and third nationally in assists as he averages 7.9 per game and is second in the SSC in steals (2.7 per game) and is pulling down 2.6 boards per game. Hill is shooting 44 percent from the field, 35 percent from the 3-point line and 81 percent at the foul line and has scored in double figures in 11 games and has posted three double doubles and has a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio.
Other key performers this season for Barry are sophomore guard Adrian Gonzalez, sophomore guard Arie Williams, senior forward Savad Garner and senior forward Jevoni Robinson.
Gonzalez, who averaged 22 points per game in two games last season against the Mocs, is averaging 9.3 points and 2.6 rebounds per game and is shooting 64 percent from the field and 77 percent at the line and has scored in double figures in five games, while Williams is averaging 6.9 points per game off the bench and is shooting 40 percent from the field, 41 percent from the 3-point line and 83 percent from the free throw line and has reached double figures in three games. Garner is averaging 5.8 points and 4.5 rebounds per game and is shooting 45 percent from the field and Robinson, who is an N.C. State transfer, is averaging 5.4 points and is second in rebounding as he averages 7.0 boards per game as he has had seven or more boards in 12 games and posted a double-double of 10 points and 10 boards against Palm Beach Atlantic. Additionally, Robinson has blocked a team-best 22 shots (1.2 blocks per game). As a team, the Bucs are one of the top offensive teams in the league as they are second in the SSC and 11th nationally in scoring as they average 87.3 points per game and lead the league in field goal percentage (48.6 percent) and are second in the SSC in 3-point shooting percentage (39.5 percent). The Bucs have scored 89 or more points in 10 games, including scoring 90 or more points in three of its last five games. Barry also leads the SSC in rebound margin (+7.7) and leads the SSC and Division II in assists (20.4 per game). On defense, Barry is allowing 73.3 points per game and is holding its foes to 43 percent field goal shooting and 37 percent shooting from the 3-point line and is fourth in blocked shots as they average 4.1 blocks per game.
