BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Jan. 17, 2025) – A rematch of last year's Southern Conference Championship game is on deck as ETSU men's basketball takes on league-leading Samford Saturday night inside Pete Hanna Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. ET and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.  
 
GAME INFO
DATE: Saturday, Jan. 18
TIME: 6 p.m. ET
LOCATION: Pete Hanna Center (Birmingham, Ala.)
TEAMS: ETSU (10-8, 3-2) at Samford (15-3, 5-0)
LIVE VIDEO: CBS Sports Network (Dave Friedman/Dean Keener)
LIVE STATS: SamfordSports.com
RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 (Jay Sandos)
TWITTER: @ETSU_MBB
 
ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU is 10-8 overall and 3-2 in SoCon play
• This marks the second straight road game for the Bucs as ETSU dropped a 73-70 decision at Furman on Wednesday night
• Wednesday's game featured 12 ties and 13 lead changes
• Quimari Peterson posted his sixth 20-plus point scoring game at Furman as he netted a game-high 21 points
• ETSU grabbed 15 offensive rebounds and scored 23 second-chance points against the Paladins … After being held to six offensive rebounds (4 second-chance points) in the loss to Wofford on Jan. 4, ETSU has totaled 52 offensive rebounds for a total of 60 second-chance points in the last three games
• ETSU has outrebounded its opponents in 14 of the first 18 games this season … The Bucs have a plus-5.1 rebound margin (37.5-32.4), while ETSU is plus-62 in offensive rebounds, 240-178 … ETSU is averaging 13.3 offensive rebounds per game and rank 12th nationally in offensive rebound percentage at 38.2 (according to KenPom)
• In five SoCon games, Quimari Peterson (17.4 ppg), Jaden Seymour (16.8) and John Buggs III (15.0) are all averaging at least 15 points per game … Buggs is shooting 51 percent from the field (23-45) and 59 percent from beyond the arc (19-32)
• Quimari Peterson is just one of three Division I players with at least 330 points, 75 rebounds and 75 assists this season … In 18 games this season, Peterson has totaled 330 points, 77 rebounds and 76 assists … The only other players to hit those numbers are Marquette's Kameron Jones and Jacksonville State's Jaron Pierre Jr. … To go with leading the SoCon in total points scored and points per game, Peterson also ranks first in the league in field goals made (126) … Peterson also ranks third in total assists (76) and in total steals (33) and sixth in field goal percentage (.510)
• In his last 12 games, Buggs is averaging 13.8 points per game, shooting 47 percent from beyond the arc (42-90) and averaging 3.5 made three-pointers per contest … Buggs has scored in double figures in 10 of his last 12 games and has accomplished the feat in 13 of his 18 contests this season … John Buggs III is one of 24 Division I players to make at least 55 three-pointers this season … Buggs ranks 14th nationally in made threes (56), 26th in 3-point field goal percentage (.438) and 32nd in three-pointers made per game (3.1)
• 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 22nd in program history with 1,212 career points … Seymour needs six to pass Charlie Stuart (1974-77) for 21st, 13 to jump Winfred Reid (1979-82) for 20th, and 17 to pass Rusty Woy (1951-54) for 19th … Overall, Seymour has 1,223 points with 11 of those coming during his freshman season at Wichita State
• With ETSU's six made threes on Wednesday, the Bucs have made at least one three-pointer in 1,177 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 

ABOUT SAMFORD    

• Samford, the reigning SoCon regular season and tournament champion, sits at 15-3 overall and 5-0 in league play
• The Bulldogs have won six straight and are coming off a 75-74 win at Mercer on Wednesday night
• Samford has won 28 straight home games, which is tied for the second-longest active streak in the country … Houston has the longest active streak at 32 straight, while Samford is tied with Iowa State and UConn with the second longest streak nationally
• The Bulldogs are averaging 86.8 points and allowing 74.9 per game
• Samford ranks seventh nationally in scoring offense, while ranking third in turnovers forced per game (17.5), fourth in steals per game (10.5) and three-pointers per game (11.4), 15th in assists per game (17.9) and 16th in fastbreak points (15.8)
• Four Bulldogs are averaging double figures in scoring with Mississippi State transfer Trey Fort posting 14.8 points per game and UIC transfer Jaden Brownell averaging 14.6 per contest … Tulane transfer Collin Holloway (10.9 ppg) and Rylan Jones (10.8 ppg) are the other two players averaging double figures
• The four Bulldog players have accounted for 141 of their 205 made threes
• Jones ranks 16th in the country with 106 assists and Fort is 37th in made threes (51)
• Samford has made 60 more three-pointers than its opponents (205-145) and 88 more field goals (555-467)

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday is the 24th all-time meeting between ETSU and Samford
• The Bucs lead the all-time series, 16-7, but the Bulldogs have won the last six
• During Samford's six-game win streak in the series, the Bulldogs are outscoring the Bucs 76.2-67.7
• ETSU's last win over the Bulldogs was an 88-85 victory back on Jan. 5, 2022, in Birmingham
• In the three games last season, Samford outscored the Bucs 79.3 to 70.7, while shooting 50 percent from the field (82-164) … The Bucs shot 40 percent (71-179) … Samford made one more three than the Bucs in the three games, 26-25, and three more free throws, 48-45 … ETSU outrebounded Samford by 8.3 (40.0-31.7), but the Bucs turned the ball over 15.3 times per game
• The Bucs are 8-2 all-time against Samford in Birmingham

UP NEXT
ETSU returns to Freedom Hall for back-to-back home games starting Wednesday night when the Bucs host Western Carolina at 7 p.m.
  
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's basketball tab.