jake johnston vs. wofford
Randall K. Wolf

Men's Basketball

VMI faces ETSU in SoCon Tournament opening round

LEXINGTON, Va. – With the regular season in its wake, the VMI basketball team looks ahead to the 2024 Ingles Southern Conference Basketball Championship where the No. 10 seed Keydets will face the No. 7 seed ETSU Bucs Friday night at 7:30 p.m. at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
 
The Keydets enter the league tournament with a 4-27 overall record and 1-17 mark in conference play while the Bucs own a 16-15 overall record and 8-10 in the league. The winner will advance to face No. 2 seed UNCG Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
 
Tournament Bracket
 
Broadcast Information
No. 10 VMI vs. No. 7 ETSU – Friday, Mar. 8 – 7:30 pm                        Watch on ESPN+  |  Live Stats
 
VMI finished the regular season last week with a loss to UNCG on the road last Wednesday before falling to Wofford by a hard-fought 74-62 score Saturday in Lexington.
 
ETSU closed the season with a 2-0 week after a convincing 81-63 win at The Citadel last Wednesday before turning around and upsetting UNCG by a 66-65 count at home Saturday.
 
VMI vs. ETSU Series History: 15-58
Friday's game marks the 74th all-time meeting between the schools dating back to 1952. VMI has won 15 times in the all-time series, although the Bucs are currently on a four-game win streak over the Keydets. VMI last tasted victory over ETSU on Jan.29, 2022, a close 83-79 win at home. ETSU won both contests this season, including a hard-fought 74-73 battle in January at Cameron Hall and an 82-69 setback in late February in Johnson City.
 
QUICK HITS
* The Keydets are coming off a pair of SoCon losses from the final week of the regular season to UNCG and Wofford
* VMI is one of the top rebounding teams in the Southern Conference, ranking fifth in rebounds per game (36.6) and second in defensive boards (27.2)
* Taeshaud Jackson II is the primary force in rebounding, averaging 10.4 per game for second most in the SoCon. He also ranks 9th in the league in steals at 1.3 steals per game
* Freshman Stephen Olowoniyi ranks seventh in the league in field goal percentage at .554 and ninth in blocks at 0.8
* Senior center DJ Nussbaum is presently sixth in the SoCon in field goals percentage at .545
* Junior Brennan Watkins - injured for the last 5 games of the season - ranks third in the league in free-throw shooting at .873 (69/79). He is also 12th in scoring at 15.2 ppg, 11th in assists at 3.0 and 11th in assist/turnover ratio at 1.0
 
A WIN OVER ETSU WOULD ...
-- Be VMI's first SoCon Tournament win since the 2020-21 season when the Keydets defeated Furman in OT, 91-90
-- Put an end to the Bucs' four-game win streak over VMI
-- Be VMI's 16th all-time win against ETSU
-- Be VMI's second win over a SoCon opponent this season
 
FIRST TIME vs. ETSU - January 24, 2024 - ETSU 74, VMI 73 - Lexington, Va.
    Neck-in-neck most of the game with visiting ETSU, the VMI basketball team fell by a close 74-73 score on Jan. 24 at Cameron Hall. The Keydets got down by as many as 11 in the opening half but battled back to go into halftime down by just four, 35-31. The Bucs (10-10, 2-5) quickly rebuilt the lead back to 11 early in the second half, but VMI again showed resilience by fighting back and ultimately pulling ahead, 66-65, with 6:43 to play after a Taeshaud Jackson II three-pointer.
    Both teams fought to the finish line as Brennan Watkins pulled the Keydets to within one, 74-73, after a three-pointer with 37 seconds on the clock. VMI was unable to tack on another bucket in the final moments as the Bucs escaped Cameron Hall with their second SoCon victory of the season.
 
LAST TIME vs. ETSU - February 21, 2024 - ETSU 82, VMI 69 - Johnson City, Tenn.
   Down 52-30 at the break, the VMI basketball team rallied to outscore host ETSU by a 39-30 margin in the second half but the deficit proved too large as the Bucs pulled away for an 82-69 win over the Keydets February 21 at Freedom Hall in Johnson City, Tennessee.
    Fighting to the end, VMI (4-24, 1-14) pulled within 10 at the 6:53 mark of the second half off a Butler And-1 after Jackson heaved the ball downcourt to DJ Nussbaum, who skipped it over to Butler who was fouled as his layup went in.
    Jackson earned his ninth double-double of the season and 14th of his career by registering a team-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field to go with 11 rebounds.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

DJ Nussbaum

#42 DJ Nussbaum

C
6' 9"
Junior
Brennan Watkins

#1 Brennan Watkins

G
5' 11"
Sophomore
Taeshaud Jackson II

#2 Taeshaud Jackson II

G
6' 4"
Freshman
Stephen Olowoniyi

#10 Stephen Olowoniyi

F
6' 8"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

DJ Nussbaum

#42 DJ Nussbaum

6' 9"
Junior
C
Brennan Watkins

#1 Brennan Watkins

5' 11"
Sophomore
G
Taeshaud Jackson II

#2 Taeshaud Jackson II

6' 4"
Freshman
G
Stephen Olowoniyi

#10 Stephen Olowoniyi

6' 8"
Freshman
F