GREENSBORO, N.C. (Jan. 7, 2020) – The ETSU men’s basketball team wraps up its two-game road swing Wednesday night when the Buccaneers head to the Greensboro Coliseum for a clash with the  Spartans. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

COVERAGE

Wednesday’s game will be streamed live on ESPN+ with Scott Pryzwansky and Darryl Kosciak on the call; CLICK HERE FOR LIVE VIDEO

“Voice of the Bucs” Jay Sandos will have the radio call on WXSM-AM 640 beginning with the Atmos Energy Pregame Show at 6:30 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

Follow Buccaneer basketball on Twitter @ETSU_MBB and on Instagram @etsubasketball

LAST TIME OUT

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 4, 2020) – ETSU had its five-game win streak come to an end as the Bucs fell at Furman 65-56 last Saturday afternoon inside Timmons Arena.   

The Bucs, who shot 40 percent (24-60) for the contest and went 5-of-23 from beyond the arc, were held 23 points below their season average. 

Junior guard Bo Hodges (Nashville, Tenn.) was the lone Buccaneer to score in double figures as he finished with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists in 34 minutes. 

To go with the cold shooting, ETSU went 3-of-9 at the free throw line, compared to the Paladins finishing 10-of-12. The Blue and Gold were out-rebounded by 13, 41-28, but the Bucs outscored Furman by 12 in points off turnovers, 21-9. The Bucs turned the Paladins over 19 times. 

ETSU (13-3, 2-1) fell for the eighth time in the last 11 games played in Greenville, while also having its five-game win streak snapped. Furman won its sixth straight game and moved to 13-3, 3-0. Saturday marked the 60th all-time meeting in the series with the Blue and Gold winning 31 of them. 

WEDNESDAY NIGHT CLASH IN THE COLISEUM

ETSU (13) and UNCG (12) have combined for 25 wins this season, marking the most combined victories of any matchup on Wednesday night … The next closest is Xavier (12) vs. Seton Hall (10) as they have 22 combined wins … Wednesday’s matchup in Greensboro also features the top two preseason picks in the league as the Bucs were tabbed to win the conference and UNCG was picked second. 

SOCON WINS LEADER SINCE 2015-16

Since head coach Steve Forbes took over the reins in 2015-16, ETSU has won the most games in the Southern Conference with 57 victories … UNCG (56), Furman (53) and Wofford (51) are the other top win leaders in league play during this span. 

FORBES’ ERA HIGHLIGHTED BY UNPRECEDENTED NUMBERS

The Bucs’ total of 113 wins over the last four-plus years ranks sixth among mid-major programs (excluding the Power 5 Conferences, the Big East Conference and American Athletic Conference) and 19th in the nation among all teams. In addition, that four-plus year stretch is the best mark of any single head coach in ETSU’s program history. ... That is not the only area in which Forbes is breathing rarified air, as with a .729 winning percentage (113-41) since 2015, Forbes sits atop the all-time coaching list at ETSU. ... In fact, the closest former coach to Forbes would be Charles Reece, who coached the Bucs from 1918-22 and posted a .613 winning percentage in just 31 games during a different era for the sport. ... In the modern era – which we will define as beginning with legendary head coach Madison Brooks in 1948 – the next closest coach in percentage is Alan LeForce, who posted a .607 winning percentage from ’91-96. 

FORBES BECOMES THIRD ALL-TIME WINNINGEST COACH IN ETSU HISTORY

Head coach Steve Forbes became the third winningest coach in program history following the win over Milligan on Dec. 15 … Forbes passed Alan LeForce with 109 wins with the victory over the Buffs, while he moved to 110 career wins with the 74-63 victory over LSU … Forbes’ 113 wins only trails Murry Bartow (224) and Madison Brooks (370) on the ETSU all-time wins list. 

BOUNCING BACK UNDER FORBES

Since head coach Steve Forbes took over the program in 2015-16, the Bucs have bounced back following a loss as ETSU is 28-6 under Forbes (not including postseason games) ... In addition, ETSU has only had four occasions of losing two or more games during this run. 

LUCKY 13

As of games played on Monday, ETSU is only one of 18 Division I programs (353 total) to have recorded at least 13 wins. 

WINS COMPARED TO IN-STATE RIVALS OVER LAST FOUR YEARS

Since the start of the 2015-16 season, ETSU’s 113 victories are the most by any Division I team in the state, including Belmont (104), MTSU (96), Tennessee (96), Memphis (93), Lipscomb (90), Chattanooga (80), Austin Peay (78), Tennessee State (71), UT-Martin (68), Vanderbilt (67) and Tennessee Tech (61). 

BUCS IN THE NATIONAL RANKS

ETSU is among the national Division I leaders in several statistical categories … The Bucs rank 13th in total steals  (145), 17th in scoring margin (15.6), 19th in  three-point field goal percentage defense (27.4),  25th in field goal percentage (47.9), 26th in win percentage (.813), 28th in total blocks (73) and 30th in steals per game (9.1)  … Individually, Isaiah Tisdale ranks 32nd in assist/turnover ratio (2.58) and 40th in total steals (30). 

ABOUT UNCG

The Spartans enter Wednesday’s game with an overall record of 12-4 and a SoCon mark of 2-1. 

UNCG suffered is a 98-92 double-overtime loss at Wofford last Saturday … Isaiah Miller scored 28 points and dished out a  career-high nine assists versus the Terriers … Angelo Allegri (19), Keyshaun Langley (14) and Malik Massey (13) all had career-highs in scoring during that 98-92 double-overtime loss to Wofford, while Mohammed Abdulsalam set a personal best in rebounds (10). 

The Spartans’ 41 wins since the start of last year are tied for ninth-most in the country.

As team, UNCG ranks second nationally in turnover margin (7.3), sixth in steals (151) and three-point attempts (456), seventh in scoring defense (57.9), 16th in scoring margin (15.7) and 19th in total assists (146).

Individually, Miller ranks seventh in field goal attempts (270), 12th in made field goals (118), 13th in total steals (37) and 41st in total points (287). 

SERIES HISTORY

Wednesday marks the 32nd all-time meeting, with ETSU holding a 16-15 lead … UNCG has won the last four meetings, outscoring the Bucs 67.8 to 57.5 … The Bucs suffered a tough 60-59 setback in the last meeting on Feb. 24, 2019 in Greensboro, while the Spartans defeated ETSU 75-68 in Johnson City … UNCG is 8-5 all-time against the Bucs in Greensboro, while ETSU leads the series at home, 10-6 … The teams also met in back-to-back SoCon Championship games in 2017 and 2018 with ETSU winning the first, 79-74 and UNCG taking the 2018 title, 62-47.

MORE SERIES NOTES

The series has been tightly contested with 14 games being decided by three points or less (Bucs are 8-6); 14 by five or less (Bucs are 8-6); and 18 by nine or less (split 9-9) … The last  meeting was a one-point game (60-59) as Isaiah Miller scored the game-winning basket with 3.8 seconds remaining and the Spartans stole ETSU’s inbounds pass to secure the win …  Jeromy Rodriguez averaged 16 points and 15.5 rebounds in the two games last season, while Tray Boyd III totaled 14 points per game and was 8-of-14 (57%) from beyond the arc … The Bucs  averaged 63.5 points in the two meetings a year ago, with UNCG averaging 67.5 … The Spartans were plus-6 in three-pointers made (16-10) and outshot ETSU beyond the arc, 40 percent to 27 percent.

WHAT’S NEXT

ETSU heads home to host VMI on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. inside Freedom Hall.

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