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More Than a Potential NCAA Tournament Berth at Stake When ETSU Plays Chattanooga in the Southern Conference Tournament Saturday.
The future of the Buccaneers’ men’s basketball program might just be at stake.
Could the entire future of the East Tennessee State men’s basketball program be at stake when they play Chattanooga in the Southern Conference Tournament on Saturday afternoon at 2:30 pm eastern?
Lose the game in Asheville, and the Bucs will follow up their 30–4 season with a 12–12 mark, their first non-winning record since 2012–13.
And then the question “where does the program stand” must be asked.
Is this just one bad year? The Kentucky Wildcats are 8–15. Nobody really thinks UK is going to fall in to the second division of the Southeastern Conference or become a long term basketball loser.
And with players like Southern Conference freshman of the year Damari Monsanto, leading scorer Ledarrius Brewer, and Maryland transfer Serrel Smith Jr. coming back to ETSU next season, it would seem the cupboard wouldn’t be bare moving forward.
But ETSU is not Kentucky. And instead of being true contenders for the SoCon crown in 2021–22, it’s just as likely the Bucs could continue mediocrity or, even worse, fall to the bottom of a highly…
