East Tennessee State Buccaneers
Southern (30-4, 16-2)
East Tennessee State has had an amazing 2019-2020 campaign and they hope to continue that with some success in the NCAA Tournament. The Buccaneers have only lost four games this season and one of those was at Kansas. The other three were on the road too. ETSU’s best victory came at LSU in mid-December. That is the type of team they will face again in the NCAA Tournament and this group can pull off an upset.
Big Wins: 12/18 at LSU (74-63), 1/8 at UNC Greensboro (64-57), 2/19 Furman (75-66)
Bad Losses: 12/7 at North Dakota State (68-78), 1/4 at Furman (56-65), 1/29 Mercer (55-71)
Coach: Steve Forbes
Why They Can Surprise:
The Buccaneers can do damage from everywhere on the floor. They have six players who average at least 8.9 points per game. Tray Boyd is the best scorer of the bunch, averaging 13.6 points per game. He is a prolific three-point shooter and knocks down 37.7 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc. Daivien Williams, Isaiah Tisdale and Patrick Good are good shooters as well. Good is not even one of the players who averages over 8.9 points per game, but his ability to provide an offensive spark with his three-point shooting will be very important to this team.
Why They Can Disappoint:
The frontcourt is led by Lucas N’Guessan and Jeromy Rodriguez. Those two are solid interior scorers and the team as a whole is the best rebounding squad in the Southern Conference, but the frontcourt has not been tested defensively too often this season. If East Tennessee State cannot win the battle on the glass and contain a talented frontcourt, the trip to the NCAA Tournament could be brief. That means N’Guessan, a seven-footer, needs to stay out of foul trouble and it would be helpful if the rest of the team could too.
Probable Starters:
Tray Boyd, Senior, Guard, 13.6 ppg, 2.2 apg, 1.5 spg
Bo Hodges, Junior, Guard, 12.7 ppg, 2.5 apg, 5.8 rpg
Daivien Williamson, Sophomore, Guard, 10.4 ppg, 2.6 apg
Isaiah Tisdale, Senior, Guard, 9.2 ppg, 2.8 apg, 4.6 rpg
Lucas N’Guessan, Senior, Center, 8.9 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.1 bpg
Key Role Players:
Jeromy Rodriguez, Senior, Forward, 9.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg
Patrick Good, Junior, Guard, 7.5 ppg, 1.7 apg
Vonnie Patterson, Junior, Forward, 3.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.4 (42nd in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 63.3 (26, 2)
Field-Goal Percentage: 47.4 (19, 2)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.4 (156, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.6 (143, 9)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 34.3 (120, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.9 (249, 9)
Rebound Margin: 4.5 (50, 1)
Assists Per Game: 13.9 (104, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.1 (82, 4)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2019 | CIT | First Round loss to Green Bay |
| 2017 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Florida |
| 2014 | CIT | First round win over Chattanooga |
| 2014 | CIT | Second Round loss to Towson |
| 2011 | CIT | First Round win over Furman |
| 2011 | CIT | Quarterfinal win over Ohio |
| 2011 | CIT | Semifinal loss to Iona |
| 2010 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Kentucky |
| 2009 | NCAA | Round of 64 Loss to Pittsburgh |
| 2007 | NIT | First Round loss to Clemson |
| 2004 | NCAA | Round of 64 loss to Cincinnati |
*all team stats through 3/8
