Game to be televised on SEC Network

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (Nov. 13, 2021) – It’s a quick turnaround for the ETSU men’s basketball team.

Less than 48 hours after suffering a 69-67 season-opening loss at Appalachian State, the Buccaneers head to Knoxville to take on No. 17 Tennessee Sunday afternoon inside Thompson-Boling Arena. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m. on SEC Network.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Bucs are coming off a hard-fought 69-67 loss at Appalachian State on Friday night in Boone.
• In a game that featured nine lead changes and 10 ties, the Mountaineers won the game when Justin Forrest knocked down a pair of free throws with 11 seconds left to secure the two-point win.
• ETSU led by as many as 10 points in the first half, took a five-point lead into halftime and led by seven twice early in the second half.
• David Sloan (Louisville, Ky.) paced the Bucs with 15 points and tied a career high with eight assists, while totaling zero turnovers in 30 minutes of action, while Ty Brewer (Meridian, Miss.) added 12 points and eight rebounds.
• As a team, ETSU made 10 three-pointers and assisted on 16 of its 26 made field goals; however, the Bucs allowed 10 threes and were out-rebounded by seven, 36-29.

BUCS VS. POWER-5 PROGRAMS

The Bucs are looking to knock off an SEC team for the second time in three years, while eyeing a win over a Power-5 opponent for the fourth time in the last seven seasons … In 2019-20, ETSU went down to Baton Rouge and easily took down LSU, 74-63 … In 2015-16, the Bucs beat Georgia Tech on a last-second three from Ge’Lawn Guyn, and a year later, Hanner-Mosquera-Perea’s lay-up led the Blue and Gold to a 67-65 victory at Mississippi State … Since the 2007-08 season, ETSU has recorded six wins over Power-5 programs ... The Bucs defeated LSU in 2019-20, Mississippi State in 2016-17 and 2010-11, Georgia Tech in 2015-16, Arkansas in 2009-10 and Georgia in 2007-08.

ETSU VS. THE SEC

Sunday marks the 74th time ETSU will be taking on an SEC opponent … The Bucs have 17 all-time wins vs. the SEC – Ole Miss (5), South Carolina (3), Mississippi State (3), Tennessee (2), Georgia (2), Arkansas (1) and LSU (1).

ETSU VS. RANKED FOES

ETSU is searching for its first win over a ranked team since defeating No. 10 Arizona 87-80 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on March 20, 1992 … The Bucs, who are searching for their first ranked win in 10,832 days (29 years, 7 months, 26 days), have lost 28 straight games to ranked opponents.

BUCS OVER IN-STATE FOES

Following ETSU’s four-point setback to Tennessee on Dec. 22, 2016, the Bucs won 16 straight games against teams from the Volunteer state with an average win margin of 23 points per game ... The streak was snapped last season when ETSU fell 67-66 to Austin Peay … The Bucs then beat MTSU a day later, 57-43 and Lee on Dec. 19 … From there, ETSU lost two regular season games to Chattanooga before beating the Mocs in the SoCon Tournament … Overall, ETSU has won 19 of its last 22 games against teams from Tennessee.

WINS COMPARED TO IN-STATE RIVALS OVER LAST SIX-PLUS YEARS

Since the start of the 2015-16 season, ETSU’s 143 victories are the second-most most by any Division I team in the state, with Belmont leading the charge at 146 … The other DI programs in the state include: Tennessee (124), Memphis (123), Lipscomb (116), Chattanooga (109), MTSU (107), Austin Peay (106), Tennessee State (83), UT-Martin (81), Vanderbilt (80) and Tennessee Tech (72).

SLOAN SHINES IN SEASON OPENER

David Sloan had a strong season opener on Friday night at Appalachian State … Sloan scored a team-high 15 points and tied a career high with eight assists, while finishing with zero turnovers in 29 minutes of action … Sloan was 5-of-10 from the field and hit three three-pointers … Sloan is just the fourth Buccaneer since 2010-11 to finish with at least 15 points and eight turnovers in a game … The other Bucs to accomplish the feat during this span include Adam Sollazzo (twice), Desonta Bradford and Jalen Riley … Riley had 26 points and eight assists at Samford on Jan. 5, 2015, Bradford had 15 points and nine assists against Mercer on Jan. 24, 2018, while Sollazzo had 15 points and eight assists against Northeastern on Dec. 23, 2010 and 19 points and eight assists vs. FGCU on Feb. 25, 2012.

ABOUT TENNESSEE

• Tennessee is coming off a 90-62 home win over UT-Martin on Tuesday night. 
• The Vols outscored the Skyhawks by 20 in the second half, 47-27, while Tennessee knocked down nine of its program record 17 threes in the final 20 minutes. Overall, the Vols shot 43 percent from beyond the arc and held UT-Martin to a 30 percent clip from long range (7-23). 
• Four Vols scored in double figures, including Santiago Vescovi and Kennedy Chandler both finishing with 20 points, while Oliver Nkamhoua added 11 points and 14 rebounds. 
• Tennessee is ranked No. 17 in the Coaches Poll and No. 18 in the AP Top 25 Poll. 
• Tennessee was picked fourth in the Preseason SEC Media Poll. 
• The Vols have won eight straight non-conference games after going 7-0 in 2020-21 and picking up the season-opening win over UT-Martin on Tuesday. 
• Prior to the season, Kennedy Chandler was named to the Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 Watch List, Naismith Trophy Watch List, Bob Cousy Award Watch List and Lute Olson National Player of the Year Watch List. John Fulkerson was named to the Karl Malone Award Watch List and preseason first team all-SEC.

SERIES HISTORY

• Tennessee has won 16 of the 18 all-time meetings in the series.
• The last meeting came on Dec. 22, 2016 when the Vols defeated ETSU 72-68 inside a sold-out Freedom Hall … The game was just the second all-time contest played in Johnson City with the first being played on Dec. 9, 1963. 
• ETSU’s two wins in the series came in back-to-back meetings when the Bucs won 83-70 on Nov. 28, 1989 and then 87-70 on Nov. 25, 1991.
• This will mark the fourth time in the series where Tennessee has been ranked.
• Five of the last six meetings have been decided by 10 points or less and three by five points or less.

COVERAGE

• Sunday’s game will be televised on SEC Network with Roy Philpott (pbp) and Mark Wise (color) providing the call … Click here for live video.
• Sunday’s game will also be broadcast live on WXSM-AM 640 The Extreme Sports Monster, starting with Atmos Energy Pregame Show at 11:30 a.m. with “Voice of the Bucs” Jay Sandos provided the call … Click here for live audio.
• Live stats will be available for Sunday’s contest via UTSports.com. Click here to access the live stats feed.
• Twitter updates will also be available by following @ETSU_MBB.

UP NEXT

ETSU gears up for its home opener when the Bucs host USC Upstate on Thursday, Nov. 18 at 7 p.m. inside Freedom Hall.

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