JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 3, 2026) - In the words of OutKast: from this point on, it only gets rougher.
The ETSU men's basketball team plays four of its final eight games against the other three teams in the SoCon's top four, starting Wednesday with the Furman Paladins at 7:00pm at Freedom Hall.
MATCHUP: ETSU (16-7, 8-2) vs. Furman (16-7, 7-3)
DATE: February 4, 2026, 7:00pm
VENUE: Freedom Hall Civic Center (Johnson City, TN)
TV: ESPN+ (Keith Brake, Bruce Tranbarger)
RADIO: WXSM-AM 640 (Jay Sandos)
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
TICKETS: ETSUTickets.com
GAME SPONSOR: BrightRidge
The Bucs are in first place outright once again after a 14-point road win at Wofford on Sunday where post players dominated the scoresheet. Cam Morris III notched his fifth 20-point game of the season with 22 against the Terriers as well as a team-leading seven rebounds and a career-high five steals. Jordan McCullum broke through for his first double-figure game in over a month with 17 points, one shy of his career-high and the most he has scored against a Division I opponent.
With eight games left in the regular season, ETSU remains the SoCon's top defense and among the best in the country, ranking 39th in scoring defense (67.6) and 61st in field goal defense (41.5%). The Bucs are 12-1 when holding their opponent under 70 points this season and are KenPom's top SoCon team in defensive efficiency at 109.2 points per 100 possessions.
ETSU is also on an exceptional run of offensive efficiency, leading the league in field goal percentage (49.0%), ranking second in effective field goal percentage (55.5%) and ranking 64th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.45). The Bucs have had single-digit turnover numbers in six of their last seven games with an ATO of 1.96 in that span. Allen Strothers leads the team in that span with 19 assists and just four turnovers (4.75), and his full-season 2.96 ATO ranks third in the SoCon and 38th in the country.
The Paladins come to Johnson City on a three-game winning streak that started with a commanding 23-point win at UNCG on January 23. Cooper Bowser returned to the lineup after a 10-game absence on Sunday, scoring nine points with four rebounds in 24 minutes of Furman's 75-70 win over Chattanooga in Greenville. Furman has been boosted by an outstanding freshman campaign from guard Alex Wilkins, who averages 18.7 points per game and 5.1 assists. Wilkins has scored 20 or more points in three consecutive games, including 33 against Chattanooga with six made threes. The Paladins are the league's top rebounding team by margin and are second only to ETSU in scoring defense and shooting defense.
ETSU and Furman have met 71 times in men's basketball since 1962, with the Paladins holding a one-game edge in the all-time series. The Bucs snapped a five-game losing streak against Furman on February 2, 2025, when Jaden Seymour scored 23 and Karon Boyd had a double-double to help the Bucs hang on for a 72-69 win at Freedom Hall.
For more information on ETSU men's basketball, go to ETSUBucs.com.
