East Tennessee State (12-10, 8-6) vs. Samford (6-12, 2-9)
Pete Hanna Center, Homewood, Alabama; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: East Tennessee State looks for its 12th straight win in the head-to-head series over Samford. East Tennessee State has won by an average of 10 points in its last 11 wins over the Bulldogs. Samford’s last win in the series came on Feb. 7, 2015, a 71-68 win.
TALE OF TWO ROSTERS: East Tennessee State has been fueled by senior leadership this year while Samford has depended on freshmen. For the Buccaneers, seniors Ledarrius Brewer, Damari Monsanto, David Sloan and Silas Adheke have combined to account for 63 percent of the team’s scoring, including 79 percent of all points over its last five. On the other hand, freshmen A.J. Staton-McCray, Logan Dye and Jaron Rillie have combined to account for 32 percent of Samford’s scoring this season and 47 percent of the team’s points over its last five games.LOVE FOR LEDARRIUS: L. Brewer has connected on 39.6 percent of the 134 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 12 for 23 over the last three games. He’s also converted 68.4 percent of his free throws this season.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Bulldogs have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Buccaneers. Samford has 34 assists on 72 field goals (47.2 percent) over its previous three outings while East Tennessee State has assists on 31 of 66 field goals (47 percent) during its past three games.
GET OUT AND RUN: The opportunistic Samford offense has averaged 76.4 possessions per game this season, ranking the Bulldogs fourth nationally. East Tennessee State has operated at a slower pace and is averaging only 67.5 possessions per game (ranked 266th).
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