GREENSBORO, N.C. (Jan. 5, 2024) – The ETSU men's basketball team looks to open Southern Conference play with back-to-back wins for the second straight season as the Buccaneers head to UNCG on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. inside Greensboro Coliseum. 
 
GAME INFO
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 6
TIME: 4 p.m. 
LOCATION: Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro, Coliseum)  
TEAMS: ETSU (9-5, 1-0) at UNCG (10-4, 1-0) 
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: UNCGSpartans.com
RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 | 104.9 NASH ICON (Jay Sandos)
TWITTER: @ETSU_MBB
 
ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU enters the weekend with an overall record of 9-5 and a 1-0 mark in SoCon play
• The Bucs are coming off an 80-69 victory over Mercer on Wednesday night inside Freedom Hall 
• ETSU is looking to open SoCon play with back-to-back wins for the second straight season and sixth time in the last eight years … Last year, the Bucs opened with road wins at Wofford and VMI
• Quimari Peterson is coming off his third straight 20-point scoring night, becoming the second Buccaneer to accomplish the feat this season … Ebby Asamoah had three consecutive 20-point scoring games back in November against Davidson, Cleveland State and Alabama A&M
• Over the last three games, Peterson is averaging 21.0 points, 4.3 rebounds 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals
• Jaden Seymour is posting 20.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks, while shooting 54 percent from the field (19-35) over his last three contests 
• Over the last five games, ETSU is shooting 81 percent at the free throw line, while Jaden Seymour (81%, 34-42), Quimari Peterson (83%, 19-23), Gabe Sisk (100%, 8-8), Jadyn Parker (87%, 20-23) and Tyler Rice (83%, 5-6) are all over 80% at the line during this stretch 
• ETSU, who has won six of its last seven games, is holding opponents to 64.3 points, 37% percent from the field and 25% from beyond the arc during this run … The Bucs are also holding the opposition to less than 30 points per game (29.6) in the first half during this seven-game stretch
• ETSU extended its streak of making at least one triple to 1,138 straight games after sinking six triples versus Mercer, marking the third-longest streak in the country 
• The 2023-24 Buccaneer roster features 15 players ... ETSU's roster consists of one graduate player, two redshirt juniors, four juniors, one redshirt sophomore, three sophomores and four freshmen … Three players hail from North Carolina and Indiana, and one each from Tennessee, Iowa, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Kentucky, Virginia and Maryland
• The Bucs return four players from last year's roster who logged minutes, including starters Jaden Seymour and Allen Strothers, along with Justice Smith and Braden Ilic … Overall, ETSU only returns 29 percent of its scoring, 37 percent of its rebounding and 38 percent of its minutes played in 2022-23 … Seymour totaled 253 points, 218 rebounds and 1,793 minutes, Smith posted 237 points, 111 rebounds and 683 minutes, while Allen Strothers recorded 109 points, 51 rebounds and 776 minutes and Braden Ilic added for 46 points, 33 rebounds and 199 minutes
• After losing three starters and eight players from last year's team, head coach Brooks Savage and his staff brought in 11 new guys for the 2023-24 season … Seven of the Bucs are transfers – Ebby Asamoah (Delaware), Karon Boyd (USC Aiken), DJ Hughes (Butler), Jadyn Parker (North Florida), Quimari Peterson (John A. Logan), Tyler Rice (William & Mary) and Timmy Fasehun (Gulf Coast State College) … Four Bucs are true freshmen – Maki Johnson (Huntington Prep), Gabe Sisk (Ballard HS), Jaxson Jones (The Skill Factory) and David Meriwether (Lawrence North HS) 

ABOUT UNCG

• UNCG enters weekend play at 10-4 overall and 1-0 in league play 
• The Spartans are coming off a 79-68 win over reigning conference champion Furman on Wednesday night 
• UNCG was picked to finish second in the SoCon coaches poll and received one first-place vote 
• The Spartans are currently ranked No. 20 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25
• UNCG ranks fourth (right behind ETSU) in scoring defense at 69.9, while the Spartans lead the league in opponent field goal percentage (.390) and rank second in three-point shooting (.389)
• The Spartans rank 15th nationally in three-pointers per game (10.0) and 16th in three-point percentage 
• The Spartans also rank first in the SoCon in assist/turnover ratio (1.46) 
• UNCG has three players averaging double figures in scoring with Mikeal Brown-Jones leading the way at 19.1 ppg … Brown, who missed three games back in December, is also posting 7.8 rebounds and shooting 56 percent from the field (66-117)
• Donovan Atwell is the Spartans' top three-point shooter as he has netted 41 on the season and is shooting at a 41 percent clip 
• UNCG is 6-0 at home this season 

SERIES HISTORY 

• ETSU leads the all-time series, 21-19
• The Bucs have won two of the last three meetings, including a 63-62 victory in last year's regular season finale inside Freedom Hall 
• ETSU has won three of the last four games in Greensboro and is 8-9 all-time at UNCG

UP NEXT 
ETSU returns home to host Western Carolina on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. inside Freedom Hall. 
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.