Men's Basketball Southern Conference

East Tennessee State Visits Chattanooga Saturday On Fox Sports Net South

East Tennessee State will play at Chattanooga on Saturday, Feb. 1 in the Southern Conference Game of the Week broadcast live on Fox Sports Net South.

Mike Hogewood and Bobby Cremins will call the action.

East Tennessee State has a special place in the back
of Chattanooga head coach Jeff Lebo's mind. The Johnson City, Tenn.,
school is where Lebo began his coaching career in 1990.

Despite the ties, he still would like nothing better than a victory
Saturday over the Buccaneers in The McKenzie Arena.

ETSU, 11-7, 5-2 SoCon, has won or owned a share of the Southern Conference
North Division title each of the last two years and is picked to win the
North Division again this season. The Bucs have won 24 league games over the
last two years, more than any other school.

"ETSU is very good, well coached and athletic," Lebo said. "They can beat
you in a number of ways. They have both experience and depth."

The Bucs, who have won four of the last five games, are led by one of the
most explosive players in the league. Forward Zakee Wadood is averaging
14.4 points per game and a team-high 7.2 rebounds. Guard Tiras Wade is the
leading scorer at 16.3 points, and point guard Tim Smith looks to be one of
the top freshmen in the SoCon.

While the Bucs had a five-game winning streak snapped with Monday's loss to
Davidson, UTC ended its three-game losing skid with a win over The Citadel.

The Mocs, 13-6, 5-3, got solid play out of their inside players against the
Bulldogs. Forward Ashley Champion scored 14 points and pulled down nine
rebounds, freshman forward Alphonso Pugh tallied 14 points and two boards,
forward Nick Benson registered six points and a season-high nine rebounds
and center Aaron Morgan collected eight points, six rebounds and three
blocks. Overall, the inside men scored 42 of UTC's 79 points and combined
to make 63.0 percent of their field goal attempts.

UTC is in second place in the South Division, one-half game behind the
College of Charleston. The Mocs have beaten the Bucs five straight times
and have not lost to ETSU at home since 1992.