ECU Makes Last Trek To Louisville Wednesday Night
January 18, 2005 | Men's Basketball
East Carolina will be paying its final visit to historic Freedom Hall to face nationally-ranked Louisville in a Conference USA tilt Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. The Pirates are in the midst of a four-game slide, while the Cardinals have won three straight and eight of its last nine games.
Wednesday night's game will mark the Pirates's third game of the season against a ranked opponent and second in the last three games. ECU lost to then-13th ranked Cincinnati by six this past Wednesday and lost at then-No. 19 NC State earlier in the year.
East Carolina is coming off a 12-point loss to UAB on Saturday, 76-64. Junior Corey Rouse recorded his sixth double-double of the season with a game-high 17 points and 14 rebounds. Senior Moussa Badiane add 15 points, while sophomore Mike Cook and freshman Tom Hammonds scored 11 point each.
Louisville rallied from a double-digit deficit against Cincinnati on Saturday to claim a 69-66 victory on the road. The Cardinals made 10 3s and out-rebounded the Bearcats by 12. Taquan Dean led all scorers with 25 points, making 7-of-16 three-point field goals.
The game will feature the best two rebounders in the league. Rouse leads Conference USA in rebounding with 10.1 boards per game, while Louisville's Ellis Myles ranks second behind Rouse with 9.4 rebounds per contest.
Louisville leads Conference USA in four offensive team categories, including points per game (83.3), scoring margin (+21.1), field goal percentage (.483) and three-point field goal percentage (.406).
As a team, only Charlotte averages more rebounds per game than East Carolina. The Pirates are yanking 40.1 rebounds per outing compared to 40.2 by the 49ers. East Carolina has out-rebounded three of its first five Conference USA opponents this season and has won the battle of the backboards eight times this season. Both Badiane and Rouse are averaging over nine rebounds per game in conference play.
In The Midst Of Tough Stretch
East Carolina is in the midst of arguably its toughest part of the schedule this season. The Pirates will be playing their fourth of five consecutive games against 2004 NCAA Tournament and eight against postseason tournament teams Wednesday night.
Following Wednesday's game at Louisville, East Carolina will make its final trip to Chicago for a Conference USA game against DePaul.
Moose Gets 500 Boards
ECU senior Moussa Badiane recorded his 500th career rebound this past Saturday against UAB, becoming the 18th player in school history to reach that milestone. Badiane has totaled 507 rebounds during his career.
Rouse Averaging Double-Double
East Carolina junior Corey Rouse is one of only 11 players in the country to be averaging a double-double this season (through games of Jan. 16). Rouse is averaging 10.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. He has recorded six double-doubles this season, scored double figures 10 times and grabbed double-digit rebounds nine times. His 10.1 rebounds are tops in Conference USA and ranks 12th best in the country.
