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Basketball Seems Secondary As UNCG Travels To ETSU
Saturday’s game seems anticlimactic, and not just because both teams are slumping.
It seems as if this afternoon’s North Carolina-Greensboro (17–8, 12–5) at East Tennessee State (12–10, 8–6) men’s basketball game has key ramifications in the Southern Conference men’s basketball race.
If the visiting Spartans, a 1 1/2 point underdog, win, they will have a chance to win the Southern Conference regular season title if Wofford defeats Furman.
Which seems like a big if, because if UNCG wins they would eliminate the Terriers from their own chance of winning the SoCon title, and with a 4 pm tipoff the Spartans game will be over by the time Wofford takes their court at 7 pm.
But that’s not what this game is about.
It’s about how the Buccaneers can regroup after not just a 10-day layoff, but the team kneeling for the playing of the national anthem on February 15 prior to their game at Chattanooga.
The Bucs have had their supporters. They’ve had their detractors, including the Republicans of the State Senate, who sent letters to the chancellors and presidents of nine universities expressing their displeasure.
What the Bucs haven’t had is a public statement from the players stating why they knelt.