ETSU and UNCG meet for the first time this season as the Buccaneers head to Greensboro to take on the Spartans Tuesday night on ESPNU. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. inside Greensboro Coliseum.
ABOUT THE BUCS
· ETSU is coming off a 73-62 road loss at Samford on Saturday where the Bucs moved to 9-16 overall and 5-7 in league play
· Over his last six games, Jalen Haynes (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) has totaled 128 points and 47 rebounds, while shooting 63 percent from the floor (50-79) … Haynes, who has scored in double digits over this six-game stretch, is averaging 21.3 points and 7.8 rebounds during this run … Haynes is coming off back-to-back 22-point performances in his last two games and has four 20-plus point games over this six-game run
· Jamarius Hairston (Salisbury, N.C.) has been heating up over his last five games … The Buccaneer guard is posting 11.4 points and 6.0 rebounds, while shooting 47 percent from beyond the arc (16-34) … Hairston has made multiple three-pointers over this five-game stretch, including back-to-back games with four made threes marking a career high
· In SoCon games, ETSU leads the league in three-point field goal defense (.294), rebounding offense (37.4), rebounding margin (+3.4), and defensive rebounds (26.8), while ranking second field goal percentage defense (.405) and blocked shots (3.0) and third in scoring defense (67.0)
· Individually, in league play, Haynes ranks eighth in scoring at 15.3 points per game, ninth in rebounding (6.7), third in field goal percentage (.561) and tied for third in blocked shots (0.9) … Hairston is second in three-point field goal percentage (.432)
· ETSU has made at least one three-pointer in 1,117 straight games – the fourth-longest streak in the country
ABOUT UNCG
UNCG is one of three teams tied atop the league standings at 16-9 overall and 10-2 in league play
The Spartans are coming off a pair of road wins last weekend as they defeated Mercer (69-49) and The Citadel (79-59)
UNCG’s two league losses have come at home to Samford (70-68) and Furman (69-57)
Keyshaun Langley leads the Spartans in scoring (13.6), field goals made (119), three-pointers made (63), three-point field goal percentage (.412) and steals (45)
As a team, UNCG leads the SoCon in scoring defense (62.8), field goal percentage defense (.397), three-point field goal percentage defense (.306) and turnover margin (+2.08)
SERIES HISTORY
· Tuesday marks the 39th all-time meeting in the series with ETSU holding a 20-18 lead
· The teams split last year’s series with both squads winning on the road … The Bucs won 73-69 in the season finale, while the Spartans won 80-76 on Jan. 26, 2022
· ETSU has won its last three games in Greensboro and are 8-8 all-time at UNCG
· Since the start of the 2015-16 season, UNCG has won 172 total games and ETSU has won 167, while the Spartans have won 98 SoCon games during this span and the Bucs have tallied 91 victories