Chattanooga (5-3, 0-0) vs. Western Carolina (5-2, 0-0)
Ramsey Center, Cullowhee, North Carolina; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Western Carolina hosts Chattanooga as conference play starts for both teams. In conference play last season, Chattanooga finished with seven wins and 12 losses, while Western Carolina won four games and lost 15.
VETERAN PRESENCE: Senior leadership could play a big role in this game's outcome. Mason Faulkner, Carlos Dotson and Onno Steger have combined to account for 53 percent of Western Carolina's scoring this season. For Chattanooga, Matt Ryan, David Jean-Baptiste, Ramon Vila, Rod Johnson and Maurice Commander have combined to account for 76 percent of all Chattanooga scoring, including 79 percent of the team's points over its last five games.
CREATING OFFENSE: Faulkner has either made or assisted on 45 percent of all Western Carolina field goals over the last five games. The senior guard has 29 field goals and 34 assists in those games.
PERFECT WHEN: Western Carolina is a sterling 5-0 when its defense holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 43.9 percent or less. The Catamounts are 0-2 when allowing opponents to shoot any better than that.
STREAK STATS: Western Carolina has scored 79.7 points per game and allowed 59 over a three-game home winning streak.
DID YOU KNOW: Western Carolina is ranked second among SoCon teams with an average of 78.7 points per game.
