Greenville, S.C. – Furman opens a two-game Southern Conference road swing when it visits East Tennessee State for a 4 p.m. clash on Saturday at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tenn.
 
Head coach Bob Richey's Paladins enter Saturday's action at 11-5 overall and 2-1 in league play following a 97-72 rout of The Citadel on Wednesday evening at Timmons Arena behind 27 points from fifth-year senior guard Mike Bothwell. Sophomore Alex Williams and freshman Ben VanderWal chipped in with career-highs of 19 and 14 points, respectively, as Furman claimed its ninth straight win over the Bulldogs.
 
Bothwell, who needs just two points to reach 1,700 career points and 10 points to break into the top 10 on Furman's career scoring ledger, ranks 21^st nationally averaging 19.9 points per game. The Paladins are 19^th in the country in scoring at 82.7 points per game. Furman ranks fourth in the nation in assists per game (19.7), sixth in effective field goal percentage, eighth in field goal percentage (50.2%), 14^th in three-point baskets per game (9.9), and 17^th in assist-to-turnover ratio.
 
Saturday's matchup marks the 66^th all-time meeting between Furman and ETSU with the Buccaneers holding a 34-31 series advantage. The teams have split the regular season home-and-home series in each of the past eight years with both teams posting a 7-1 record on their home floor. Furman's last win in Johnson City, its only victory on ETSU's home court since the 2004-05 campaign, came in the 2017-18 regular season finale.
 
The Bucs are 6-10 overall and 2-1 in the SoCon following a 71-60 loss at home to Western Carolina on Wednesday. ETSU began SoCon play with road victories over Wofford and VMI.
 
The Furman-ETSU matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+ and fans can listen to the action on 97.7 FM, 1330 AM, and through the Audacy app with Dan Scott and Tom Van Hoy on the call. 
 
Furman continues its road trip with a 7 p.m. tip-off at Mercer on Wednesday before returning to Timmons Arena to host UNC Greensboro on Saturday, January 14.