BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Jan. 16, 2026) - The Bucs are going national. 

The ETSU men's basketball team will play the first of four nationally televised SoCon games on Saturday when they visit the Samford Bulldogs. Tip is set for 2:00pm Eastern at the Pete Hanna Center. The game will be on CBS Sports Network. 

MATCHUP: ETSU (12-6, 4-1) at Samford (9-9, 2-3) 
DATE: January 17, 2026, 2:00pm Eastern (1:00pm local) 
VENUE: Pete Hanna Center (Birmingham, AL) 
TV: CBS Sports Network (Dave Friedman, Dean Keener)  
RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 (Jay Sandos) 
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast 

The Bucs dropped a 72-68 road decision to Western Carolina on Wednesday, their first loss in SoCon play. They shot just 38.6% from the field and were outrebounded 39-30. Brian Taylor II tied a career-high with 23 points. ETSU remains the SoCon's most efficient shooting team by field goal percentage (48.8%) and effective FG% (55.4%), and they are second in the SoCon KenPom's offensive efficiency rating (1.112 points per possession). 

Samford is in its first season under veteran head coach Lennie Acuff. The Bulldogs have dropped three of their last four, including a 77-73 loss to Furman in Birmingham on Wednesday where they never led in the second half but never trailed by more than nine points. Florida Southern transfer Jadin Booth is fourth in the SoCon with an average of19.9 points per game, and Lipscomb transfer Dylan Faulkner is sixth at 17.4. 

This is the 26th meeting between ETSU and Samford in men's basketball, a series which began in February of 1979. The Bucs lead the series 18-7 and swept Samford last season, including a 65-60 victory on CBS Sports Network in Birmingham last season. The last meeting was a 68-59 win in which Maki Johnson scored a then-career-high 18 points. 

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