JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 31, 2024) – As we're set to ring in the New Year, the ETSU men's basketball begins its run for a Southern Conference title as the Buccaneers host VMI in the conference opener on Wednesday afternoon inside Freedom Hall. Tip-off is set for 12 p.m.  
 
GAME INFO
DATE: Wednesday, Jan. 1
TIME: 12 p.m.
LOCATION: Freedom Hall (Johnson City, Tenn)
TEAMS: ETSU (7-6, 0-0) vs. VMI (6-7, 0-0)
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+ (Keith Brake/Bruce Tranbarger)
LIVE STATS: ETSUBucs.com
RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 (Jay Sandos)
TWITTER: @ETSU_MBB
TICKETS: ETSUTickets.com
GAME SPONSOR: Advanced Call Center Technologies  
 
ABOUT THE BUCS
·      ETSU went 7-6 in its 13 non-conference games this season
·      The Bucs are coming off a 73-66 setback at Kansas City back on Dec. 21
·      Quimari Peterson scored a career-high 30 points in his last outing against the Roos … Peterson, who leads the SoCon in scoring at 18.7 points per game, was 9-of-16 from the field and 9-of-10 at the free throw line against Kansas City
·      Peterson is just one of six NCAA Division I players with over 240 points, 60 rebounds and 50 assists this season … Peterson has 243 points, 61 rebounds and 57 assists
·      ETSU is 6-1 at home this season with a +17.0 scoring margin (80.6-63.6)

• Wednesday is the 37th SoCon opener for the Blue & Gold with ETSU going 20-16 in the previous 36 … Since 2001-02, the Bucs have won 11 of the last 14 SoCon openers, including an 80-69 win versus Mercer last year 

·      Wednesday will be just the third time since 2012 where ETSU is playing on New Year's Day … The last time the Bucs played on New Year's Day was in 2020 when ETSU defeated Wofford, 49-48 inside Freedom Hall
·      ETSU has won 10 of its last 11 games when ringing in a new year

• Jaden Seymour scored his 1,000th career point and 1,000th point as a Buccaneer in the win over USC Upstate on Nov. 22 … Seymour became the 43rd 1,000-point scorer in program history and now is 29th in program history with 1,128 career points … Seymour needs 29 points to pass Marcus Reese (1981-84) for 28th … Overall, Seymour has 1,139 points with 11 of those coming during his freshman season at Wichita State.

·      After hitting nine threes against Kansas City, ETSU has made at least one three-pointer in 1,172 straight games – the third-longest streak in the country
·      ETSU was picked to finish third in the SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll … The Bucs picked up two first-place votes, while reigning champion Samford was pegged number one and Chattanooga was selected second
·      Jaden Seymour and Quimari Peterson landed SoCon preseason honors
·      The Bucs return 10 players from last year's 2023-24 roster
·      ETSU only lost 8% of its scoring and 9% of its minutes played from last year's roster to the transfer portal – the fewest amount of production from any SoCon program 
·      Coach Savage and his staff brought in five new players to complete the 2024-25 roster … The five newcomers include four transfers – Curt Lewis (Missouri), John Buggs III (North Texas), Davion Bradford (Wake Forest) and Roosevelt Wheeler (VCU) … In addition, true freshman Brandon Crawford is the fifth Buccaneer newcomer
 
ABOUT VMI   
·      VMI went 6-7 in its 13 non-conference games of the 2024-25 season
·      The Keydets are coming off a 78-71 setback to Richmond on Dec. 21
·      VMI is led by Indiana State transfer Augustinas Kiudulas as he's averaging 15.1 points and 6.6 rebounds; however, the 6-foot-8 forward has missed the last three games
·      TJ Johnson, a Lipscomb transfer, is posting 14.8 points and 4.3 rebounds, while leading the team with 38 made three-pointers
·      As a team, VMI is averaging 79.9 points and allowing 71.2, while the Keydets are averaging 10.3 made threes per contest
·      The Keydets are 4-1 at home, but have dropped five of their six on the road … VMI split its two neutral site games
 
SERIES HISTORY
·      ETSU leads the all-time series, 59-15
·      The Bucs have won five straight in the series, 18 of the last 19 and 28 of the last 30
·      ETSU is 28-6 all-time at home against the Keydets
·      The Bucs have won the last 14 games played in Johnson City with the last home loss coming back on Jan. 2, 1999, when VMI won 58-55
·      In nine career games against VMI, Jaden Seymour is averaging 13.3 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.4 assist in 28.8 minutes
 
UP NEXT
ETSU hosts Wofford on Saturday afternoon at 4 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.