Saturday, February 05, 2022 Mercer vs. Chattanooga (NCAABB) Chattanooga Premium Pick My Bookie Play Title: Mike's First CBB Pick Of The Season Play Selected: Point Spread: -11/-110 Rating: 8* (WIN) Now that we've seen the CBB season take root, we'll dive into it & play premiums with accents on sharp line play & the important intangible called motivation. HC Lamont Paris (5th season after coming over from the Bo Ryan coaching tree @ Wisconsin) has his Moccasins playing some excellent ball @ 18-5 SU overall & 8-2 in the Southern Conference just 1/2 game behind the 9-2 Furman Paladins. These 2 met last season with the Bears coming back to win an 81-77 OT thriller @ Hawkins Arena in Macon. Now we've changed venues in favor of Chattanooga who has that all-important incentive of revenge. I further feel the Mocs have by far the better backcourt with key all-conference playmaking guards Malachi Smith (21 PPG & a key transfer coming from Wright State last season) & David Jean-Baptiste (15 PPG). On the flip side, HC Greg Gary has a well-rounded team but they're not the same consistent squad on the road (3-7 SU). My bottom line says they'll have a tougher time matching up inside with the Chattanooga frontcourt (that includes the 6'9" forward & Kansas transfer Silvio De Sousa-11.5 PPG & 7 RPG) which should separate these 2 down the stretch. I look for the Navy, Old Gold & Silver (who have 4 starters back) to make a lot more noise & play some inspired ball this time around in the SoCon Tournament @ Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville starting March 3rd. They're playing with fire & eager to erase the 1 & done last post-season after having to sit Malachi Smith & Darius Banks who remained in COVID-19 protocol. as we inch closer to conference tourneys, we're going to travel to a jam-packed McKenzie Arena (10,000+) to play the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Moccasins (buying to a -8) as my 8* First CBB Pick Of The Season! Mike Handzelek's 2021-22 CBB Overall Record: 1-0 for 100% Mike's L25 NFL/CBB picks: 23-2 for a surreal 92%