How to Watch ETSU vs VMI Basketball Online Without Cable

The Eastern Tennessee State Buccaneers (27-4, 16-2) will take on the VMI Keydets (10-23, 4-15) in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference Tournament Saturday.

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The game (Noon ET start time) will be on Nexstar TV, but if you don’t have that channel or don’t have cable, anyone in the U.S can watch ETSU vs VMI live on ESPN+:

Watch ETSU vs VMI on ESPN+

ESPN+ is the digital streaming service from ESPN that has exclusive coverage of over 1,500 college basketball games this season (including all the other SoCon Tournament quarterfinal and semifinal games), plus other live sports every day, all the 30-for-30 documentaries, and additional original content (both video and written) all for $4.99 per month.

Or, if you also want the new Disney+ streaming service and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to 25 percent savings.

Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle

Once signed up for ESPN+, you can then watch ETSU vs VMI live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.

VMI vs ETSU Preview:

VMI faced Samford Friday night and won handily, 96-78. Center Jake Stephens stepped up, leading the Keydets in scoring with 24 points, which was a season high. Junior guard Greg Parham chipped in 16 points in a convincing victory that saw five Keydets scoring in double figures. VMI will now face an East Tennessee State team that has been eagerly awaiting its opponents.

ETSU head coach Steve Forbes said earlier in the week that his team would be ready for whomever they faced. Whether that holds true remains to be seen.

“As soon as the game’s over on Friday we’ll know who we’re playing and we’ll do something in the hotel. We’ll do something in the hotel on Saturday too and be ready to go. It’s not like we haven’t played them before. It will be the third time. I think the guys have a pretty good feel for who they’re playing,” Forbes said.

As it turns out, the Buccaneers will be facing the Keydets. Eastern Tennessee went 2-0 against VMI during the regular season, winning 72-67 in February and 61-55 on January 11.

Eastern Tennessee has been the slightly better team on offense, scoring 73.8 points a game, which is fourth in the Southern Conference. The Keydets are averaging 70.4 points per contest, which is second to last in the conference.

ETSU has the definite edge when it comes to defense, as well. The Buccaneers are giving up just 64.9 points a game, which is second in the conference, whereas the 76.1 points allowed by the Keydets per contest is eighth in the Southern Conference.

The Buccaneers have three players scoring in double figures, including Tray Boyd III (13.6) Bo Hodges (13.2) and Daivien Williamson (10.1). This game could very well come down to a different player for ETSU, however — one whose defensive skills have won the team games: guard Isaiah Tisdale. His stats aren’t flashy (8.5 points, 4.6 rebounds a game), but Tisdale has been one of his team’s key players.

“People tend to look at stats,” Forbes said about Tisdale. “He’s not a stat-stuffer. He just wins games. He’s the best glue guy I’ve ever been around. He’s a hard-playing, hard-practicing guy. He’s always smiling. He’s a great teammate, a great leader. I mean I can’t say enough about the kid. “And,” Forbes added, “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a player who helped win three games in the last possession by getting a stop.”

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