ETSU, Chattanooga meet for 97th time on Saturday

Published 3:40 pm Friday, January 20, 2023

 CHATTANOOGA – One of the longest running rivalries in the Southern Conference continues on Saturday when ETSU and Chattanooga clash for the 97th time in the Scenic City. The game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. in the McKenzie Arena. ETSU’s record is 7-13 overall and 3-4 in the conference, while Chattanooga is 11-9 overall and 3-4 in the conference.

• ETSU has dropped back-to-back games and sits at 7-13 overall and 3-4 in SoCon play

• The Bucs carry a five-game SoCon road win streak into this weekend’s game at Chattanooga, marking the longest streak in the conference

• ETSU is 3-0 on the road this season in league play, while the Blue and Gold won their final two road contests last season

During the three SoCon road games, ETSU is holding the opposition to 65.0 points, along with a 39 percent shooting clip from the field and a 21 percent mark from beyond the arc … The Blue and Gold are posting 77.7 points per game, along with shooting 49 percent from the field and 43 percent from beyond the arc (26-60) in these three games … The Bucs also have a plus-7.7 rebound margin and are only turning the ball over 11.3 times per contest (35 points off those miscues)

The last time ETSU won four straight SoCon road games was in 2019-20 when the Bucs won seven in a row

Jalen Haynes (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) registered his 12th double-digit scoring game of the season on Wednesday night as he finished with a team-high 18 points and eight rebounds against Samford

ETSU has made at least one three-pointer in 1,112 straight games – the fourth-longest streak in the country

ABOUT CHATTANOOGA

• Chattanooga, the reigning SoCon champion, sits at 11-9 overall and 3-4 in SoCon play

• The Mocs are coming off a 77-69 home loss to Furman on Wednesday where the Paladins ended the game on an 11-3 run

• Chattanooga is led by VMI transfer and Preseason SoCon Player of the Year Jake Stephens

• Stephens is averaging a double-double this season at 21.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 55 percent from the floor and 41 percent from beyond the arc

• Stephens leads the SoCon in both scoring, rebounding and blocks (2.4), while he ranks fourth nationally in double-doubles (11) … Stephens also ranks second in the country in points (435), fifth in points per game (21.8), seventh in rebounds (204), 10th in field goals made (150), 13th in rebounds per game and 15th in free throws made (93)

• Dalvin White leads the country in assist/turnover ratio (4.31) … White has 56 assists to just 13 turnovers, while he’s averaging 9.1 points and is shooting 44 percent from three-point range

• As a team, the Mocs rank second nationally in three-pointers made per game (11.7) and three-point attempts per game (31.0), while also ranking 12th in effective field goal percentage. (.564)

• Chattanooga is averaging 78.9 points per game and allowing 70.0 points

• The Mocs are 7-3 at home this season and 28-9 at home since the start of the 2020-21 season

• Saturday marks the 97th all-time meeting between the two programs with Chattanooga holding a slight 51-45 advantage in the series

• The Mocs have won four of the last five meetings in the series after ETSU had won 10 straight – marking the longest run between both teams in the historic rivalry

• ETSU has dropped 22 of its last 27 games at Chattanooga

The rivalry between the Buccaneers and Mocs is in many ways directly related to the similarities between the programs … Both teams’ successes have mirrored each other since their time in the SoCon … Overall, the teams have accounted for 54 overall championships (22 for ETSU), 33 regular season titles (including North Titles) with the Bucs winning 14, 23 NCAA appearances (11 by the Bucs), each program has one Sweet 16 appearance, 16 Players of the Year (10 by the Bucs) and 17 Coaches of the Year (9 by the Bucs) … The teams have met six times in the SoCon Championship game with both teams winning three of them … The most points scored by the Bucs against the Mocs was 104 in the win back in 1990-91, while UTC scored 107 in the victory back in 1973-74 … Thirty-four of the previous 96 meetings have been decided by five points or less, including five by one point.

• Fans can watch Saturday’s game on ESPN+ with Chris Goforth (pbp) and Todd Agne (analyst) on the call

• Saturday’s game will also be broadcast on WXSM-AM 640 and 104.9 NASH ICON with Voice of the Bucs Jay Sandos and Bruce Tranbarger on the call, starting with the Atmos Energy Pregame show at 2:30 p.m.

• Live stats will also be available via GoMocs.com

• TWITTER: @ETSU_MBB

ETSU continues its road swing as the Bucs travel to Macon, Ga. and take on Mercer Wednesday night at 7 p.m.

For more information on Buccaneer men’s basketball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s basketball tab.