Fans to receive a free Chick-fil-A coupon

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Nov. 17, 2021) – After opening the season with a pair of road games against 2021 NCAA Tournament teams, ETSU men’s basketball is set for its home opener when the Buccaneers host USC Upstate Thursday night inside Freedom Hall. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

FAN APPRECIATION NIGHT

Thursday is Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Food City, as fans will be treated to a postgame autograph session on the court. In addition, Chick-fil-A is giving away free coupons for a chicken sandwich. 

LAST TIME OUT

• ETSU is coming off a 94-62 setback to No. 17 Tennessee last Sunday inside Thompson-Boling Arena.
• Jordan King (Albany, N.Y.) scored a team-high 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, while knocking down four three-pointers. This marked King’s fourth career 20-plus scoring game.
• David Sloan (Louisville, Ky.) added 12 points and Ledarrius Brewer (Meridian, Miss.) netted 11. With his two three-pointers, Brewer has made at least two triples in 51 career games.
• With the Bucs down 26-20 with less than 10 minutes to play, Tennessee closed the half on a 20-3 run and led 46-23 at the half … ETSU couldn’t cut away at the deficit and suffered its 29th straight loss to a ranked team. 

HOME OPENERS

Since 1981-82, ETSU has won 36 of its 40 home openers … The Bucs have won 31 of their last 34 home openers, including six of the last seven … ETSU had its six-game win streak in home openers snapped last season when the Bucs fell to UAB, 65-61.

HOME SWEET HOME

ETSU has gone 77-16 (.828) inside Freedom Hall since the start of the 2015-16 season … In 2019-20, the Bucs won their first 12 games inside Freedom Hall to start the season, matching the best open since the 2003-04 Bucs went 12-0 … ETSU’s 16 wins that year were tied for the ninth-most in the country last season as Rutgers led all teams with 18 and a group of seven schools (Gonzaga, Wichita State, Creighton, Oregon, Liberty and Louisville) were tied with 17 … The 16 home wins by the Bucs were also the most in program history in the modern era (since 1960).

ON THIS DATE

Since the start of the 1960-61 season, ETSU has played twice on Nov. 18, with the Bucs splitting the two contests … ETSU defeated UVA-Wise 111-66 in 2014 and fell to Tennessee 106-83 in 2005.

BUCS SEARCHING FOR WIN NO. 1

ETSU has dropped its first two games to start the season and is looking to avoid its first three-game losing streak since Feb. 20-25, 2018 … The Bucs lost to The Citadel, Wofford and Furman during that stretch … Meanwhile, the Bucs haven’t started a season 0-3 since dropping four straight to open the 2013-14 season when ETSU lost to Charlotte, Morehead State, Western Kentucky and Winthrop.

ETSU SIGNS THREE EARLY

East Tennessee State University men’s basketball head coach Desmond Oliver and his staff signed three Buccaneers during the November early signing period … The class includes 6-foot-8 forward Jeremy Gregory (Charlotte, N.C.), 6-foot-10 forward Braden Ilic (Morristown, Tenn.) and 6-foot-7 guard Kristian Shaw (Hendersonville, Tenn.) … Gregory played at North Mecklenburg High School before transferring to Oak Hill Academy … He was ranked the No. 12 player in the North Carolina class of 2022 by Phenom Hoop Report … Ilic plays at Morristown East where he has totaled 1,231 points, 712 rebounds and 271 blocks in his first three seasons … Shaw plays at Beech High School in Hendersonville where he was named 2021 Player of the Year by Main Street Preps. 

BUCS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS

As a team, ETSU ranks among the national leaders in free throw percentage (7th, 86.4), fewest fouls (38th, 30) and fewest turnovers (39th, 24) … David Sloan, who is a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line, is one of 59 Division I players who are perfect at the charity stripe this season. 

ABOUT USC UPSTATE

• USC Upstate picked up its first win of the season with a 96-43 victory over St. Andrews on Monday in Spartanburg … The 53-point win was the largest by a Spartan team since 2014.
• Two Spartan players scored in double figures in Monday’s win with Bryson Mozone finishing with a game-high 18 points and Dalvin White adding 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc.
• USC Upstate opened the season with a 78-60 loss at South Carolina on Nov. 9 and fell at Charlotte, 76-64, on Nov. 12.
• Mozone is leading the team in scoring at 19.0 points per game, while he’s averaging 5.3 rebounds and shooting 51 percent from the field.
• As a team, USC Upstate is averaging 73.3 points per game, while shooting 47 percent from the field and 41 percent from beyond the arc.
• The Spartans were picked to finish sixth in the south division of the Big South Conference. 

SERIES HISTORY

• ETSU leads the all-time series over USC Upstate, 8-6.
• The Spartans have won the last five meetings, including a 79-73 win in the last matchup, which was Feb. 28, 2014 in Spartanburg.
• ETSU’s last win in the series came on Jan. 4, 2012 when the Bucs defeated USC Upstate, 88-73, in Johnson City.
• The Bucs are 5-2 all-time against the Spartans in Johnson City.
• Eight of the 14 all-time meetings have been decided by seven points or less.

COVERAGE

• Thursday’s game will be video streamed on ESPN+ with Mike Gallagher (pbp) and Bruce Tranbarger (color) providing the call … Click here for live video.
• The game will also be broadcast live on WXSM-AM 640 The Extreme Sports Monster, starting with Atmos Energy Pregame Show at 6:30 p.m. with “Voice of the Bucs” Jay Sandos provided the call … Click here for live audio.
• Live stats will be available for Thursday’s contest via StatBroadcast. Click here to access the live stats feed.
• Twitter updates will also be available by following @ETSU_MBB.

UP NEXT

ETSU heads to Florida for the Naples Invitational, which will be held Nov. 22-24 at the Community Schools of Naples … ETSU opens the tournament with Murray State on Nov. 22 at 5:30 p.m.

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