JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 28, 2018) – Coming off a successful non-conference portion of the schedule, the ETSU men’s basketball team bounces back into Southern Conference play as the Buccaneers host Furman Saturday afternoon inside Freedom Hall. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.

ABOUT THE BUCS  

ETSU (10-4, 0-1) is coming off back-to-back wins over Wyoming (76-53) and Norfolk State (89-61) to claim the 2018 Sun Bowl Invitational in El Paso, Texas ... The Bucs won the two games by a combined 25.5 points, while holding the opposition to 57 points and 35 percent shooting (35-101) ... As a team, ETSU shot 49 percent (61-125), outrebounded the opposition by 16.5 (45.5 to 29) and forced 42 total turnovers in the two contests ... The Bucs became the 25th team to win the prestigious holiday tournament and the 17th team to hoist the title in its first appearance.

HODGES NAMED TOURNAMENT MVP; WILLIAMSON EARNS HONOR

Bo Hodges earned Tournament MVP honors after averaging 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists, while shooting 67 percent (10-15) in two games at the Sun Bowl Invitational ... Daivien Williamson also landed a spot on the all-tournament team ... Williamson - who made his first two collegiate starts in El Paso - averaged 11.5 points, four rebounds and 3.5 assists.

BUCS NOTCH 10TH NON-CONFERENCE WIN

After defeating Norfolk State to secure the Sun Bowl Invitational title back on Dec. 22, ETSU joined an elite group in program history ... The win over the Spartans marked the 10th non-conference victory of the season, which marked just the fifth time in program history a Buccaneer team has accomplished the feat ... The previous four teams (1988-89, 1989-90, 1990-91 and 2016-17) have all gone on to play in the NCAA Tournament.

BUCS, RODRIGUEZ AMONG NATION'S BEST IN REBOUNDING

Fourteen games into the season, the Bucs have posted some of the  nation’s best numbers in regards to rebounding ... As of games played on Dec. 25, ETSU leads the country in rebound margin (+14.1) and total rebounds (605), while ranking seventh in total rebounds per game (43.21) and 13th in offensive rebounds per game (14.4) ... Individually, junior forward Jeromy Rodriguez leads all Division I players with 164 total rebounds, ranks fourth in rebounds per game (11.7), fifth offensive rebounds (3.9) and 14th in defensive rebounds (7.8).

HOME SWEET HOME

Since head coach Steve Forbes took over in 2015-16, the Bucs have had a lot of success playing inside Freedom Hall … Overall, ETSU is 44-8 (.846) inside Freedom Hall during this stretch, while the Bucs have also won 22 of their last 25 non-conference home games ... This season, the Bucs are 6-0 inside Freedom Hall.

HOME VS. ROAD

In the six home games this season, ETSU is averaging 89.7 points, while holding the opposition to 58.5 points (+31.2 scoring margin) ... The Bucs are shooting 55 percent from the field (196-359), 40 percent from three (55-137) and 72 percent at the free throw line (91-127) ... The Blue and Gold are also out-rebounding their opponents by 21 per game (46 to 25) inside Freedom Hall ... In games played away from home, ETSU is averaging 70.5 points, while opponents are at 69.1 points per game (+1.4 scoring margin) ... ETSU is shooting 42 percent from the field (211-504), 33 percent from three (62-189) and 62 percent from the free throw line (80-130) in eight road games ... Tray Boyd III is averaging 16.7 points per game inside Freedom Hall, while shooting 51 percent from the field (37-72) and 51 percent from beyond the arc (23-45) ... In the six road games, Boyd is averaging 8.8 points, while shooting 36 percent from the field (28-77) and 26 percent from three (12-46) ... Mladen Armus is averaging a double-double at home this year (12.2 points/10.0 rebounds), while shooting at a 71 percent clip (29-41); however, in the eight road games, the Buccaneer sophomore is averaging 6.0 points and 6.0 rebounds, while shooting 35 percent (17-49) ... Isaiah Tisdale is averaging 11.0 points per game in seven road contests, while posting 7.5 points in six home games.

NEW FACES EQUALS SAME RESULTS

According to Kenpom.com, the Bucs rank ninth among NCAA Division I teams in percentage of returning minutes from last season at 15.8% ... Mount St. Mary’s tops the country by only returning 6.6%; however, the ETSU is only one of three teams in the top 10 to post a winning record this season at 10-4 ... Wichita State ranks sixth at 11% and sits at 7-5, while Santa Barbara is 10th at 16% and sits at 9-3.

ABOUT FURMAN

Furman (12-1, 1-0) is coming off its first loss of the season as the Paladins suffered a 75-57 setback at LSU back on Dec. 21 … Furman became the first team to reach 12 wins this season, which is tied for the most in Division I.

The Paladins are currently ranked third in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll … Earlier this season, Furman defeated a pair of 2018 Final Four teams in Loyola-Chicago and Villanova.

Furman cracked the Top 25 for the first time in program history as the Paladins were ranked as high as No. 23 before their loss at LSU.

As a team, the Paladins rank second in the country in fewest personal fouls per game (13.5), fourth in total steals (123), sixth in win percentage (.923), 12th in total three-pointers made (139), 13th in total assists (226) and 25th in scoring margin (15.9).

Individually Jordan Lyons leads all Division I players in three-point field goal attempts (148) and ranks third in total three-pointers made (51) … Matt Rafferty ranks 14th in double-doubles (6), 16th in field goal percentage (.657) and 20th in total rebounds (120).

Lyons is averaging 17.8 points per game, while Rafferty is posting 16.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest.

As a team, Furman is averaging 81.6 points per game and shooting 48 percent from the field.

SERIES HISTORY

In a series that dates back to 1962, the Bucs lead the all-time series, 30-27, including winning two of the three games last season ... The teams have split the regular season series since the Bucs rejoined the league in 2014-15; however, last season marked the first time since that span the clubs did not defend their home court … The Bucs won 62-61 in Greenville on Desonta Bradford’s game-winning shot with 4.5 seconds remaining, while Furman defeated ETSU 79-76 in the regular season finale … The two teams then met in the semifinals of the SoCon Tournament and the Blue and Gold took down Furman, 63-52.

COVERAGE

Saturday’s game will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with David Jackson and Bruce Tranbarger on the call; CLICK HERE FOR LIVE VIDEO  

Fans can also tune into “Voice of the Bucs” Jay Sandos on the radio call via WXSM-AM 640 beginning with the Atmos Energy Pregame Show at 3:30 p.m.; CLICK HERE FOR LIVE AUDIO  

Live stats will also be provided via StatBroadcast… Fans can access live stats on their computers or mobile devices by clicking here or visiting BucsStats.com

TICKETS

Fans can purchase tickets online by clicking here … Single-game tickets start as low as $7.50 or you can purchase a “Family 4 Pack” for $20.  

For complete information on ETSU men’s basketball, follow the program via social media on Twitter (@ETSU_MBB) and Instagram (@etsubasketball). 

For more information on Buccaneer men’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s basketball link.