# 2024–25 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

The 2024–25 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represents East Tennessee State University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by second-year head coach Brooks Savage, play their home games at the Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as members of the Southern Conference.

## Previous season

The Buccaneers finished the season 19–16, 8–10 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated VMI, UNC Greensboro, and Chattanooga to advance to the championship game of the SoCon tournament where they lost to Samford.

## Offseason
### Departing players

Departing Players :
| Name | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Tyler Rice | 3 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Junior | Columbia, South Carolina | Transferred to Hampton |
| Justice Smith | 12 | G | 6'6" | 215 | RS Junior | Lyons, New York | Transferred to Niagara |
| Ebby Asamoah | 14 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Graduate Student | Rockville, Maryland | Completed College Eligibility |
| Braden Ilic | 23 | F | 6'9" | 225 | Sophomore | Morristown, Tennessee | Transferred to Carson–Newman |
| Jadyn Parker | 24 | F | 6'10" | 200 | RS Junior | Shallotte, North Carolina | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Curt Lewis | 4 | G | 6'5" | 215 | Graduate Student | Louisville, KY | Missouri |
| John Buggs III | 7 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Graduate Student | Homer, LA | North Texas |
| Davion Bradford | 8 | F/C | 7'0" | 270 | Senior | St. Louis, MO | Wake Forest |
| Roosevelt Wheeler | 12 | F/C | 6'11" | 245 | Senior | Richmond, VA | VCU |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Brandon Crawford F | Irmo, South Carolina | Overtime Elite | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 8, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 14, 2024. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 27, 2024* 4:00 p.m. | | High Point | L 56–71 | | Freedom Hall Civic Center Johnson City, TN |
| Non-conference Regular season ||||||
| November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Newberry | W 72–51 | 1–0 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,109) Johnson City, TN |
| November 8, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Kentucky SoCon/ASUN Challenge | L 78–82 | 1–1 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,435) Johnson City, TN |
| November 13, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tusculum | W 82–54 | 2–1 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,078) Johnson City, TN |
| November 16, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Davidson | L 70–76 | 2–2 | John M. Belk Arena (2,490) Davidson, NC |
| November 22, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | USC Upstate ETSU MTE | W 87–76 | 3–2 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,689) Johnson City, TN |
| November 24, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Queens ETSU MTE | W 82–67 | 4–2 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,347) Johnson City, TN |
| November 27, 2024* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Charlotte | W 75–55 | 5–2 | Dale F. Halton Arena (2,117) Charlotte, NC |
| November 30, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 79–57 | 6–2 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,467) Johnson City, TN |
| December 3, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at James Madison | L 61–71 | 6–3 | Atlantic Union Bank Center (3,364) Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 7, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State | L 87–96 | 6–4 | Charles Koch Arena (5,602) Wichita, KS |
| December 14, 2024* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville SoCon/ASUN Challenge | L 52–60 | 6–5 | Swisher Gymnasium (1,000) Jacksonville, FL |
| December 18, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Elon | W 84–58 | 7–5 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,177) Johnson City, TN |
| December 21, 2024* 3:00 p.m. | | at Kansas City | L 66–73 | 7–6 | Swinney Recreation Center (699) Kansas City, MO |
| SoCon Regular season ||||||
| January 1, 2025 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | VMI | W 84–69 | 8–6 (1–0) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,311) Johnson City, TN |
| January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wofford | L 78–81 | 8–7 (1–1) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,107) Johnson City, TN |
| January 8, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Mercer | W 70–68 | 9–7 (2–1) | Hawkins Arena (2,217) Macon, GA |
| January 11, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | The Citadel | W 70–52 | 10–7 (3–1) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,476) Johnson City, TN |
| January 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 70–73 | 10–8 (3–2) | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (2,347) Greenville, SC |
| January 18, 2025 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Samford | W 65–60 | 11–8 (4–2) | Pete Hanna Center (4,723) Homewood, AL |
| January 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Carolina | W 85–58 | 12–8 (5–2) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,490) Johnson City, TN |
| January 25, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | L 63–71 | 12–9 (5–3) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,015) Johnson City, TN |
| January 29, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | L 65–70 | 12–10 (5–4) | Fleming Gymnasium (1,588) Greensboro, NC |
| February 2, 2025 2:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Furman | W 72–69 | 13–10 (6–4) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,211) Johnson City, TN |
| February 5, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at VMI | W 62–55 | 14–10 (7–4) | Cameron Hall (2,100) Lexington, VA |
| February 8, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Samford | W 66–59 | 15–10 (8–4) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,472) Johnson City, TN |
| February 12, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | L 67–76 | 15–11 (8–5) | Ramsey Center (1,917) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 15, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | L 71–78 | 15–12 (8–6) | McKenzie Arena (4,406) Chattanooga, TN |
| February 19, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | UNC Greensboro | W 65–49 | 16–12 (9–6) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,507) Johnson City, TN |
| February 22, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wofford | W 73–68 | 17–12 (10–6) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,787) Spartanburg, SC |
| February 26, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mercer | W 59–58 | 18–12 (11–6) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,830) Johnson City, TN |
| March 1, 2025 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | W 81–66 | 19–12 (12–6) | McAlister Field House (1,237) Charleston, SC |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2025 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (6) Wofford Quarterfinals | L 60–72 | 19–13 | Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source: