Chattanooga Game Information
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Samford Game Information
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CHARLESTON, S.C. –The Citadel men's basketball team hits the road this week for the final two-game road swing of the season. The Bulldogs will first travel to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the Mocs of Chattanooga await a Thursday, Feb. 8 tilt. The 'Dogs will then travel down to Birmingham, Alabama for a game against Samford on Saturday, Feb. 10.

Tipoff of Thursday's game against the Mocs is slated for 7 p.m. with Saturday's game commencing at 8 p.m. Eastern standard time.

Heading into Thursday's game, Chattanooga has controlled the all-time series between the two, owning a 62-18 record over the Bulldogs dating back to the 1925-26 season. However, the Bulldogs have won the last two games, including a 110-101 overtime thriller back on Saturday, Jan. 13 in Charleston. The record in Chattanooga favors the Mocs 33-6 with the last Bulldog road win in the series coming on Feb. 18, 2012 when the 'Dogs won 48-46.

Chattanooga enters Saturday's game with an 8-17 record overall and a 2-10 mark in SoCon play. The Mocs have gone 2-6 since they last played The Citadel, with wins over Samford and UNCG at home. At home, the Mocs are 7-6 this season, including winning two of their last three. Chattanooga enters the week averaging 69.8 points per game while giving up 72.5 points per outing to their opponents. The Mocs' opponents have been shooting 47.5% from the field compared to 43.6% for Chattanooga. The Mocs' opponents have only made 6.4 3-pointers per game while the Mocs themselves average 8.6 treys per game.

Nat Dixon leads a trio of players in double-digit scoring with 14.9 points per game while shooting 44.7% from the field and 41.0% from 3-point range. He also leads the team in minutes played as he averages 36.7 per contest with Makale Foreman just behind, averaging 35.0 minutes per game. Makinde London is second on the team in scoring, averaging 13.6 points per game, but he missed four games earlier this season. London leads the team with 7.3 rebounds per game and 19 blocks on the year. Rodney Chatman is the final Moc to average double-digit points, scoring 12.9 per game in 33.2 minutes of work. He leads the team with 4.6 assists per game and has a team-best 29 steals. Dixon and Foreman lead the team with 57 and 51 3-pointers on the year.  Dixon, Chatman and Foreman have started all 25 games for Chattanooga while London has started 15 games and James Lewis, Jr. 13. Joshua Phillips has started 12 games for the Mocs and David Jean-Baptiste has started nine.

In the battle between the Bulldogs, The Citadel owns an all-time series record of 11-8 over Samford dating back to the 1991-92 season. Since Samford join the SoCon for the 2008-09 campaign, the series record is 10-7 in favor of the Bulldogs from Charleston. Prior to last year's second meeting, Samford had won three in a row, but The Citadel's 102-96 road win on Feb. 25, 2017 broke that streak. Earlier this season, Samford claimed a 107-91 win in Charleston. In Birmingham, The Citadel is 5-3 over Samford.

Prior to the season, Samford was tabbed second in both the coaches and media preseason SoCon polls, receiving four first-place votes by the media and three in the coaches poll. The Bulldogs are currently 8-17 on the year, including a 7-4 mark at home. After starting the SoCon slate 2-1, the Bulldogs have gone 2-7, including 1-7 since playing The Citadel back on Thursday, Jan. 11 with a win over VMI. Samford enters this week averaging 75.9 points per game, but is giving up 80.7 points per contest to opponents. Similarly, the Bulldogs have been shooting 46.2% from the field, but have allowed opposing teams to shoot 48.8%. Samford averages 8.9 3-pointers per game while their opponents have made 9.7 treys per contest.

A trio of Bulldogs have led the team in scoring this season with Demetrius Denzel-Dyson leading the way with 14.8 points per contest. Denzel-Dyson has averaged 30.4 minutes per game and is currently shooting 43.4% from the field while leading the team with 58 made 3-pointers so far this season, an average of 2.3 per contest. Behind him, Justin Coleman averages 13.7 points and 5.7 assists per game in 31.8 minutes per outing while shooting 44.9%. Alex Thompson averages 11 points, 23.9 minutes and 3.5 rebounds per game. Eric Adams leads the way under the net with 5.9 rebounds per game while Denzel-Dyson has averaged 5.0 boards per contest. Four players boast at least 25 steals on the year led by Josh Sharkey's 37, Adams' 29, Coleman's 29 and Denzel-Dyson's 25. Denzel-Dyson and Adams have been the two most reliable starters for the Bulldogs so far this season with Denzel-Dyson starting 24 contests and Adams starting 23. Coleman has started 21 games while Thompson and Triston Chambers each have 16 starts.

UP NEXT: Following the two-game swing through Tennessee and Alabama, the Bulldogs will return home for two games inside McAlister Field House, including the annual Pack the Mac game on Saturday, Feb. 17 against rival VMI. The Citadel will also host UNCG on Thursday, Feb. 15 for a 6 p.m. tilt. The Pack the Mac game against VMI will tipoff at 1 p.m.

NAJDAWI NAMED SOCON PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Zane Najdawi was named the Southern Conference (SoCon) Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the second time this season by the conference office, it was announced Tuesday afternoon. Najdawi, who is also featured this week in CollegeInsider.com contributing writer Angela Lento's "My5," was also named the SoCon Player of the Week back on Jan. 15, 2018 as well as twice last season, Nov. 15, 2016 and Dec. 6, 2016. In The Citadel's two wins last week, Najdawi led the 'Dogs with 22.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.5 blocks per game while shooting 53.8% from the field and 60% from 3-point range.

PACK THE MAC COMING UP
On Saturday, Feb. 17, The Citadel Department of Athletics will host the annual Pack the Mac event as the Bulldogs take on rival VMI at 1 p.m. Bulldog fans are encouraged to attend the game and have McAlister Field House loud for the annual rivalry battle between the Bulldogs and Keydets. Fans can purchase tickets ahead of the game for $5 using the promo code "PTM18" at CitadelSports.com/tickets. The special promotion will expire at 4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16.

2018 SOCON BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP TICKETS ON SALE
Tickets are now on sale for the 2018 SoCon Basketabll Championships held at the U.S. Cellular Center located in Asheville, North Carolina March 1-5, 2018. Ticket prices start at $20 for general admission to a single session. For more information or to order your tickets, call The Citadel ticket office at (843) 953-DOGS (3647) or visit CitadelSports.com and click on the "Tickets" tab.

For more information on The Citadel basketball team, follow @CitadelHoops and @CitadelSports or visit CitadelSports.com.