Fifth-seeded Bucs face fourth-seeded Western Carolina at 2:30 p.m. in Asheville

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (March 3, 2023) – The calendar flipping to March means only one thing – It’s Tournament Time!  

The ETSU men’s basketball team opens Southern Conference Tournament play on Saturday afternoon when the fifth-seeded Buccaneers take on the fourth-seeded Western Carolina Catamounts at 2:30 p.m. inside Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville.

IT’S TOURNAMENT TIME

DATE: Saturday, March 4, 2023

TIME: 2:30 p.m.

LOCATION: Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville   

TEAMS: #5 ETSU (12-19, 8-10) vs. #4 Western Carolina (17-14, 10-8)

LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+

BROADCAST TEAM: Pete Yanity (play-by-play), Dean Keener (analyst)

RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 | 104.9 NASH ICON

RADIO TEAM: Voice of the Bucs Jay Sandos

LIVE STATS: SoConSports.com

TWITTER: @ETSU_MBB

ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU finished the regular season with an overall mark of 12-19 and went 8-10 in league play to finish as the No. 5 seed
• The Bucs are coming off back-to-back wins as ETSU defeated The Citadel 78-70 last Wednesday and took down UNCG 63-62 in the regular season finale on Saturday inside Freedom Hall … In Saturday’s victory over UNCG, it marked the first time all season ETSU has won when having less made field goals (20 to 23) and being out-rebounded (33 to 35) … It was just the second time the Bucs have won when having a lower shooting percentage than their opponent (.400 to .418)
• ETSU has won consecutive games for just the third time this season and first since opening SoCon play with road wins at Wofford and VMI
• The last time the Blue & Gold won three straight games was last season when ETSU won five in a row, which included capturing the Naples Invitational title … The Bucs are looking for their first three-game win streak against conference foes since Jan. 18-30, 2021 when ETSU won four straight
• ETSU is 42-24 (.636) all-time in the SoCon Tournament and 22-13 (.629) in first round and quarterfinal games … The Bucs have won their last six SoCon quarterfinal games by an average of 11.3 points per game
• The last time ETSU was a five seed was in 2021 where the Bucs defeated Chattanooga, 63-53 … Since the SoCon started seeding teams in 1990, the No. 5 seed has never won a tournament title and has reached three title games – 2002 (Furman), 2006 (Chattanooga), 2014 (Western Carolina) … Since 2014, the No. 5 seed has won six of the nine games over the No. 4 seed … The No. 4 seed has a plus-3 scoring margin in those nine games (68.7 to 65.7), while five of those games were decided by six points or less, including one going to overtime – 2015 where No. 5 ETSU lost to No. 4 Western Carolina, 67-61
• The last time the SoCon Tournament fell on March 3-6, the Bucs were left cutting down the nets in Asheville as ETSU defeated Mercer in the quarterfinal (March 4), Samford in the semifinal (March 5) and UNCG in the final (March 6) … The Bucs also won their 2004 SoCon title on March 6 when ETSU took down Chattanooga, 78-62
• ETSU has won one conference tournament as the No. 5 seed, which came in 2010 when the Bucs were in the ASUN … ETSU took down No. 4 Campbell in the quarterfinals, 72-64, then defeated No. 8 Kennesaw State – who upset top seed Lipscomb – in the semifinals, 69-64 … In the championship, ETSU beat No. 6 Mercer, 72-66, on Mercer’s home court in Macon, Ga. … Ironically, those games were also held March 3-6 – same as this year’s tournament dates
• Jordan King (Albany, N.Y) and Jalen Haynes (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) were both named third team all-SoCon by the coaches and King was also third team by the media
• King finished conference play second in the league in scoring, averaging 17.1 points per game … King averaged 26.0 points, while he shot 53 percent from the field, 56 percent from beyond the arc and 92 percent at the free throw line in the two wins last week
• Haynes is posting 14.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in 31 games this season … The first-year Buccaneer has registered three double-doubles, while he has scored in double figures 21 times
• Jaden Seymour (Charlotte, N.C.) has set new career highs in scoring in each of his last three games – posting 15 points at Furman on Feb. 19, 16 points over The Citadel on Feb. 22 and 17 points last time out against UNCG … Over this three-game run, Seymour is averaging 16 points and 9 rebounds, while shooting 60 percent from the field and 73 percent at the free throw line
• ETSU has made at least one three-pointer in 1,123 straight games – the fourth-longest streak in the country

ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA   

• Western Carolina has won three of its last four games and enters postseason play with an overall record of 17-14, while finishing SoCon play with a 10-8 mark
• The Catamounts ended regular season play with an 85-66 win over VMI last Saturday
• Western Carolina had three players earn SoCon honors as Vonterius Woolbright and Tre Jackson were placed on the second team and Tyzhaun Claude landed third team honors
• The trio of Catamounts are all averaging double figures with Jackson leading the team at 15.9 points per game and Claude is at 15.4 per contest … Woolbright is posting 14.4 points per game
• Jackson has totaled 104 made threes and is shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc, while Claude – who missed the last meeting against the Bucs back in February – leads the team with 8.6 rebounds per game and 26 total blocks … Woolbright leads the club in free throws made (127), free throw attempts (193), assists (155) and steals (50)
• As a team, Western Carolina is averaging 74.5 points per game and allowing 71.0
• The Catamounts have knocked down 271 three-pointers – 94 more than their opponents … Western Carolina is 14-0 when making at least nine three-pointers this season

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday is the 91st all-time meeting between the two programs with ETSU leading the series, 62-28
• Western Carolina swept the regular season series with a 71-60 win on Jan. 4 in Johnson City and the Catamounts held on for a 68-66 victory on Feb. 15 in Cullowhee
• In the regular season series, three-point shooting and free throw shooting were the key storylines … The Bucs were 9-of-33 (27%) from beyond the arc and 19-for-32 (59%) at the charity stripe, compared to the Catamounts going 20-of-48 (42%) from three and 23-for-31 (74%) at the free throw line
• Jordan King averaged 18 points in the two games, while going 11-for-11 at the free throw line … Jalen Haynes posted 11 points and 9 rebounds in the series
• The Catamounts recorded their first regular season series sweep over the Bucs since 1984-85
• Western Carolina has won the last three games in the series, marking its longest win streak over the Blue & Gold since winning five straight from 1993-94 – 1997-98
• Prior to this three-game skid against the Catamounts, ETSU had won 14 straight in the series and 31 of the last 32
• This marks just the sixth time the two schools are meeting in the SoCon Tournament with Western Carolina winning three of the previous five matchups
• ETSU won the last meeting in the tournament when the Bucs took down Western Carolina 97-75 in the 2020 semifinal where the Blue & Gold went on to win the tournament and wrapped up the year with a program-record 30 wins
• This is the third time the two schools are meeting in the quarterfinal with Western Carolina winning the first two matchups – 67-61 overtime game in 2015 and 79-78 in 1994

HOW TO FOLLOW THE BUCS

• Fans can watch Saturday’s game on ESPN+ with Pete Yanity (pbp) and Dean Keener (analyst) on the call
• Saturday’s game will also be broadcast on WXSM-AM 640 and 104.9 NASH ICON with Voice of the Bucs Jay Sandos on the call, starting with the Atmos Energy Pregame show at 2 p.m.
• Live stats will also be available via SoConSports.com

UP NEXT

The winner of Saturday’s quarterfinal advances to the Sunday’s semifinal game, which tips off at 4 p.m. The winner will await either Furman or Mercer/The Citadel.

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