JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Dec. 19, 2025) – The trees are trimmed, the stockings are hung, and Freedom Hall's family has been hard at work assembling its presents in time for the big day.

The ETSU men's basketball team hosts Jacksonville State on Saturday at 4:00pm as Freedom Hall unveils its new video board on the south end of the court and LED ribbon boards on both baselines.

MATCHUP: ETSU (8-4) vs. Jacksonville State (4-6)
DATE: December 20, 2025, 4:00pm
VENUE: Freedom Hall Civic Center (Johnson City, TN)
TV: ESPN+ (Keith Brake, Ben Rhoda)
RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 (Jay Sandos)
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
TICKETS: ETSUTickets.com
GAME SPONSOR: ACT
 
The Bucs come into the final nonconference game of 2025-26 off their first consecutive losses of the season with a 77-58 loss to North Carolina on Tuesday following a 76-75 loss at Austin Peay last Friday. The Bucs have won 11 consecutive games at Freedom Hall dating back to February 2 against Furman and are 30-7 at home under Brooks Savage. They are 18-1 in nonconference home games under Savage with the only loss coming against Eastern Kentucky on November 8, 2024.

Through 12 games, Brian Taylor II leads ETSU in both scoring and rebounding per game and is second on the team in total assists. While plenty of season remains, Taylor's early work offers a chance to join a rare group: eight Buccaneers have led the team in both scoring and rebounding a total of 11 times since 1974-75, and only Desonta Bradford has led all three of points per game, rebounds per game, and total assists in one season en route to winning 2018 SoCon Player of the Year.

After going to the NIT last season, the Gamecocks have just one Division I win so far this season, a 74-67 victory over Coastal Carolina on November 14. Louisiana transfer Mostapaha El Moutaouakkil leads JSU and is second in Conference USA in scoring with eight double-figure games including 33 against the Chanticleers. El Moutaouakkil is also fifth in CUSA with 7.6 rebounds per game, seventh in field goal percentage (48.1%) and leads the conference and is 30th in the nation with 83 free throw attempts, making 52 at a 62.7% clip.

This is the third time in four years ETSU and Jacksonville State have met, having played a home-and-home series in 2022 and 2023. The Gamecocks won 61-59 at Freedom Hall in 2022 and the Buccaneers returned the gesture the following season with a 63-61 win.

For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com.