STARKVILLE, Miss. (Dec. 13, 2016) – Coming off its second loss of the season, the ETSU men’s basketball team hits the road for the second of three straight games away from Johnson City, as the Bucs take on Southeastern Conference opponent Mississippi State Wednesday night at 8 p.m. inside Humphrey Coliseum.

The game will air on television courtesy of the SEC Network and fans can check their local listings for the channel in their area. In addition, the Buccaneer Sports Network will have the live radio call of the game on its local affiliated stations such as 640 WXSM-AM and 104.9 NASH ICON-FM, and through the audio streaming link located at ETSUBucs.com.

The Bulldogs, a team the Buccaneers beat the last time they visited Starkville, 63-62, back on Dec. 11, 2010, currently stand at 6-2 on the year. In addition, ETSU is 2-1 all-time against Mississippi State and have won two in a row against their SEC foe in a series that dates back to 1988.

ETSU will enter the game at 7-2 on the year and ranked 11th nationally in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll.

For more on Wednesday’s game, read the game notes below or click on the game notebook link to the right. For more on ETSU men’s basketball throughout the 2016-17 season, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s hoops link.

Game Notes:

We are “ETSU”

The ETSU Department of Intercollegiate Athletics would like to ask both the print and broadcast media to honor our request to be called “ETSU” ... East Tennessee State University in first reference is acceptable, but subsequent references should be ETSU ... On TV graphics please use ETSU ... Our nickname is the Buccaneers, but Bucs is also acceptable.

Buc bits

In his first season as head coach of the ETSU men’s basketball program in 2015-16, Steve Forbes wasted little time reinvigorating the Buccaneers’ program with an energetic style of play, an engaging approach with the fan base, and plenty of success on the court … In all, the Bucs finished the with 24 wins – which marks the program’s third highest win total in the modern era – and collected 14 victories in Southern Conference play, which is second only to the 15 collected by the Bucs’ 2003-04 squad … ETSU also reached the Southern Conference Tournament finals, which marked the 12th time the program has played in a conference championship game, and the team also earned a postseason tournament berth for the 14th time with an invite to the inaugural Vegas 16 Tournament … Heading into the 2016-17 season, the Bucs will be losing players such as first-team All-SoCon performer Ge’Lawn Guyn (Lexington, Ky.), 1,000-point club member Lester Wilson (Knoxville), high-flying dunk specialist Deuce Bello (Greensboro, N.C.), and steady point-guard presence Petey McClain (Mobile, Ala.) … Last year, Guyn averaged 18.3 points per game, while Bello and Wilson combined for another 16 points a contest … However, not all of the production from a year ago is gone, as All-SoCon selection T.J. Cromer (Albany, Ga.) returns after averaging 14.9 points and a team high 3.1 assists per game a year ago … In addition, players such as All-SoCon Tournament selection Desonta Bradford (Humboldt), who averaged 7.6 points and 2.9 rebounds a year ago, and veterans like A.J. Merriweather (Jackson) and Isaac Banks (New Orleans, La.) will be back on the court for the Bucs … Post Peter Jurkin (Juba, South Sudan) will also return after a season in which he showed marked improvement throughout and finished averaging 5.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game … Fans will also get to see two new players on the floor this year that sat out as redshirts a year ago … This duo includes transfers Hanner Mosquera-Perea (Istmina, Colombia) from Indiana and Tevin Glass (Norcross, Ga.) from Wichita State … Perea and Glass are both post players who will quickly add depth and talent in the paint … Along with these eight returning players, the Bucs will also be adding six new recruits to the team, a group that includes a couple of Junior College All-Americans and a great deal of offensive firepower … The class is comprised of guards Devontavius Payne (Carbondale, Ill.), Julian Walters (Madison, Wis.), Jason Williams (Detroit), Jermaine Long (New Orleans) and transfer Kanayo Obi-Rapu (Greensboro, N.C.), along with forward David Burrell (Milwaukee).

The series vs. Mississippi State

In a series that dates back to the first meeting in 1988, the Bucs hold a 2-1 advantage ... ETSU has won the last two meetings, including a 63-62 victory in Humphrey Coliseum back on Dec. 11, 2010.

Last time out against Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss. (Dec. 11, 2010) - In a game dominated by the ETSU men’s basketball team on the boards, it was the Buccaneers’ final offensive rebound that truly made the difference Saturday night in a 63-62 win over Southeastern Conference foe Mississippi State inside the Humphrey Coliseum. ... After senior guard Justin Tubbs (Trussville, Ala.) missed a potential game-tying free throw with 27 seconds left and the Bucs trailing 62-61, junior forward Curtis Wilkinson (Bude, Miss.) tapped the ball out to senior guard Micah Williams (Manchester), giving the Bucs another chance to take the lead. After a timeout by ETSU head coach Murry Bartow, Williams made good on the opportunity, driving the lane for a banked shot that found the bottom of the net and gave ETSU the one-point edge. ... While Williams had the game-winner and finished with 18 points, fellow senior guard Mike Smith (Vandalia, Mo.) posted a team-high 20 points to go along with a game-high nine boards in the victory. Meanwhile, Wilkinson - who was playing in front of his family and friends from Bude, Miss. - started the game and finished with seven points and five rebounds. ... ETSU shot 50 percent from both the field and the 3-point line, and enjoyed a 35-22 edge on the boards for the game. More impressive, the Bucs held a 15-9 edge on the offensive glass.

Last time out

DAYTON, Ohio (Dec. 10, 2016) – There is a reason the Dayton Flyers were the preseason pick to win the Atlantic 10 Conference. ... Forcing 18 turnovers and holding the ETSU men’s basketball team to 36 percent shooting on the night, the Flyers glided past the Buccaneers 75-61 Saturday afternoon inside the UD Arena. With the loss, the Bucs dropped to 7-2 on the season, while Dayton improved to 7-2. ... The Bucs, who won 73-68 when they last visited UD Arena back on Dec. 1, 2010 and are now 1-2 all-time against the Flyers, did not fare as well on this night. Dayton’s Charles Cooke finished with a game-high 24 points and teammate Kendall Pollard posted a double-double, as the Flyers built a 12-point halftime lead, shot 50 percent from the floor for the game, and never looked back from there. ... For ETSU, juniors Desonta Bradford (Humboldt) and David Burrell (Milwaukee, Wis.) were the only players to reach double figures with 12 points each. The Bucs finished the game being outscored 50-24 in the paint, 21-10 off turnovers, and 23-7 in fast break points. ... In the first half, the Bucs struggled with ball control and getting back in transition defense. The result was a 26-10 advantage in the paint and 14-7 edge in points off turnovers for the Flyers. In all, ETSU committed 12 turnovers in the first half and shot just 32 percent in the opening 20 minutes of play. ... After the intermission, the Dayton lead would increase to as many as 24 with 8:29 left in regulation, but at that point the Bucs put together a 7-0 run and had a 3-pointer rim out that would have cut the Flyers’ advantage to 13 with six minutes left. Instead, the Flyers’ Charles Cooke nailed a 3-pointer to end any ETSU hopes of a miraculous comeback.

Off and running: Bucs’ start one of the best ever

At 7-2 so far this season, the Bucs are off to their best start since the 1990-91 ETSU team opened the year at 14-1 ... That group -- led by ETSU legend and current Lees-McRae assistant coach Keith “Mister” Jennings -- went on to go 21-2 through their first 23 games and reached No. 10 in the national rankings ... That team also won a third straight Southern Conference Tournament title and advanced to the NCAAs for the third of four straight trips to March Madness.

Bucs currently ranked 9th by CollegeInsider.com

With their 7-2 start, the Bucs have moved up to No. 11 in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, which was released last Monday.

Bucs picked second; Cromer, Mos.-Perea earn honors

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Oct. 26, 2016) – The ETSU men’s basketball team was picked to finish a close second behind Chattanooga in both the preseason coaches and media polls released earlier in the year by the Southern Conference. ... ETSU was slotted second (74) and received two first-place votes in the coaches poll, along with four first place votes in the media poll. Head coach Steve Forbes led the Bucs to a 24-12 mark in his first season at ETSU. The Bucs went 14-4 in league play and advanced to the title game of the league tournament. ETSU advanced to the postseason in 2016 and participated in the Vegas 16 tournament. ... In addition, the Buccaneers’ placed senior guard T.J. Cromer (Albany, Ga.) and senior post Hanner Mosquera-Perea (Istmina, Colombia) on the preseason All-SoCon team. Cromer was an all-conference selection a year ago, while Mosquera-Perea is entering his first season at ETSU.

Bucs ranking among nation’s best statistically

Entering November’s Sanford Pentagon Showcase, the Bucs led the nation in field goal percentage, shooting a blistering 58.8 percent from the floor three games into the season ... Currently, ETSU ranks 29th nationally at 49.3 perent ... With a 68.3 percent clip in the game against UDM, ETSU came up just half a percentage shy of the program’s single game record ... Other categories where the Bucs are excelling include rebound margin, assists per game and scoring margin ... A complete list of the Bucs’ current position in the national statistics can be found in the column to the left of this note.

Banks money so far this season from the field

The Bucs posted high shooting percentages in two of their first three games the season, and much of that is due to the accurate efforts of the team’s inside players ... For instance, entering the Mississippi State game, senior post Isaac Banks (New Orleans) is 26-for-33 from the field this season, ranking first in the country at 79 percent from the field ... Along with Banks, players like fellow senior post Hanner Mosquera-Perea (Istmina, Colombia) is 31-of-51 from the field for a 61 percent from the field.

Depth, bench play coming through in the clutch for Bucs

The depth of the ETSU bench is becoming more apparent with each game this season ... Through the first nine games of the year, the Bucs’ bench players have outscored their opponents in seven of those nine contests ... For instance, in the win over UC Irvine (11/27), junior guard Julian Walters (Madison, Wis.) came off the bench to hit three critical 3-pointers in the game, and in the win over South Dakota State Jermaine Long (New Orleans) entered the game to post five rebounds, five points and two asissts in just 11 minutes of game action. ... Other players like Devontavius Payne (Carbondale, Ill.), who is averaging 7.7 points per game this year, and David Burrell (Milwaukee), who is averaging 8.4 points and 3.9 rebounds a game, have also provided much-needed production.

ETSU offense thrives on assists, unselfish approach

Through nine games this season, the Bucs have dished out 152 assists on 247 total made baskets ... In other words, 62 percent of the time a made shot by the Bucs is coming off an assist ... Three times this season, the Bucs have eclipsed 20 assists, with those games coming against Fordham, Detroit Mercy and South Dakota State.

Basketball Times’ ranks ETSU JuCo recruiting class #2

In a Basketball Times’ story by Tony Jimenez earlier this year, ETSU head coach Steve Forbes and his staff are were praised for their recruiting efforts at the junior college level. ... In fact, the Bucs’ 2016-17 recruiting class -- which includes JuCo first team All-Americans -- was ranked No. 2 in the nation behind only Southeastern Conference member Arkansas ... In all, the Bucs’ seven-player recruiting class for this year included five junior college additions.

Forbes makes USA Today list of “coaches on the rise”

ETSU head men’s basketball coach Steve Forbes was recently named to USA Today’s list of 10 coaches on the rise heading into the 2016-17 season. Below is an excerpt from the story by Jon Rothstein and a link to the entire list: Which coaches are on the rise in college basketball? Check out our list below as we look at 10 coaches in the sport trending upwards. In no particular order … Steve Forbes, East Tennessee State: Forbes won 24 games in his first season as a head coach in Division I and should be a perennial contender in the SoCon. A tenacious recruiter when he was an assistant at both Tennessee and Wichita State, Forbes knows how to find players. The Bucs currently have three players on their roster — Peter Jurkin (Indiana), Hanner Mosquera-Perea (Indiana), and Tevin Glass (Wichita State) that were all recruited to play at a significantly higher level before Forbes lured them to East Tennessee State.

Bucs continue on 3-point streak list

Since Feb. 16, 1987 in a game against Davidson, the Bucs have made at least one 3-pointer in 904 consecutive games. ... ETSU was 0-for-8 in that 1987 game. ... The Bucs currently rank as the 7th longest streak in the NCAA.

Bucs make history with win at Georgia Tech

While ETSU has enjoyed its share of wins over “major” opposition in the past, the Bucs’ win over Georgia Tech last season marked the programs first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference school since defeating N.C. State back in 1991 ... It was also the team’s first win over a “Power 5” Conference team since dropping Mississippi State back during the 2010-11 season, and the first win over Georgia Tech since the 1978-79 campaign.