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BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Samford University basketball team will continue play in its 2017-18 Southern Conference-opening homestand Thursday at 7 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs square off against the ETSU Buccaneers in a momentous early-season league showdown to be held at the Pete Hanna Center.
 
Thursday's game will be broadcast live on ESPN3, as well as on the radio at 91.1 FM locally with "Voice of the Bulldogs" Blake Gardner calling the action from his spot on press row. The ESPN3 announcers for the contest will be Chris Stewart (Play-by-play) and Bill Jones (Color).
 
SAMFORD BASKETBALL PRE-GAME CAPSULE
ETSU Buccaneers at Samford Bulldogs | Thursday, Jan. 4
 
TIP:  7 p.m. (CT), at the Pete Hanna Center in Birmingham
 
WEBSTREAM:  ESPN3
 
RADIO:  91.1 FM locally in Birmingham

SAMFORD
1). The Bulldogs (5-9, 1-0 SoCon) head into Thursday's contest riding the positive momentum of a conference-opening 73-56 home victory against Chattanooga on Saturday. Samford's triumph proved to be its largest over Chattanooga since Feb. 10, 2010, when the Bulldogs posted a 78-54 victory at The McKenzie Arena in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee.
 
2). Samford senior Eric Adams is ranked No. 41 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game this season with an average of 3.14.
 
3). Injuries have been prevalent for Samford this year. The Bulldogs' Justin Coleman (leg), Christen
Cunningham (illness), Alex Peters (nose), Josh Sharkey (leg) and Wyatt Walker (leg) have all been injured at different points throughout the season. The aforementioned players have already missed a total of 24 games due to either injury or illness this year.
 
4). Samford's senior guard Demetrius Denzel-Dyson is currently ranked fifth in the SoCon in scoring at 14.6 points per game. The Bulldogs' native of Covington, Tennessee, is also ranked sixth in the conference in 3-point field goals made with 2.3 per game.
 
5). Samford will be meeting ETSU for the 11th time in school history Thursday. The Bulldogs trail in the all-time series against the Bucs, 1-9, and have suffered five straight losses in the rivalry. Samford's lone win in the series occurred Feb. 7, 2015, as the Bulldogs rallied for a 71-68 road victory held in Johnson City, Tennessee. Last year, ETSU defeated Samford, 81-72, in the SoCon Tournament.
 
ETSU
1). The Buccaneers (10-4, 1-0 SoCon) enter Thursday's matchup riding the positive momentum of a four-game winning streak. Since coming up just short at Xavier on Dec. 16, 68-66, ETSU has rattled off consecutive victories against Detroit Mercy, 81-73, Georgia Southern, 79-59, Tusculum College, 84-65, and Mercer, 74-55.
 
2). Since Nov. 22, the Buccaneers have been victorious in eight of their last nine outings and own a 4-3 record in road games this season.
 
3). ETSU is ranked No. 20 in the nation in steals per game (8.9) and No. 23 in total steals (124) this year. The Buccaneers' All-SoCon performer Desonta Bradford leads the team with 24 steals this season.
 
4). Bradford also paces ETSU with 13.9 points per game, while Jalan McCloud follows closely with an average of 11.9 points per contest.
 
5). ETSU, under the direction of Head Coach Steve Forbes, registered a 27-8 overall record last year and won the 2017 SoCon Tournament with a 79-74 victory over UNCG. The Buccaneers earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and lost to No. 4-seed Florida, 80-65, in the opening round of the competition.
 
INSIDE STUFF
Samford's Coleman leads the SoCon in both assists (73) and assists per game (5.2) this season. The Bulldogs' junior point guard is also averaging 13.1 points per outing this year.
 
NEXT
Following Thursday's matchup, the Samford University basketball team will next be in action Saturday at 7 p.m. (CT) as the Bulldogs conclude play in their key three-game SoCon homestand against the Western Carolina Catamounts. The contest will be held at the Pete Hanna Center and broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
TWITTER
For quick score updates, breaking news and links to all of your favorite articles featuring the Bulldogs, please follow @SamfordHoopsFOE and @Samford_Sports on Twitter.

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