ECU Makes Final Visit To TCU Saturday
February 03, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Greenville, N.C. --- East Carolina will make its final visit to Fort Worth, Texas for a Conference USA game against TCU Saturday afternoon (3:05 EST), hoping to send the Horned Frogs to their fourth consecutive loss. It'll be the final game between the Pirates and Horned Frogs as Conference USA members as TCU is departing for the Mountain West Conference next season. ECU and TCU came into the conference together in 2001-02, but have played just twice during their four years together with each team winning on its home floor.
Despite playing well on the road in recent conference games against Charlotte, DePaul and Memphis, East Carolina is still in search of its first road win of the season. TCU has held homecourt most of the season, winning 10 of 12 games at the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, with its two losses coming at the hands of Old Dominion and Memphis.
The Pirates are coming off a six-point road loss at Memphis on Wednesday night. ECU led by as many as nine in the first half, but the Tigers knocked down six three-point field goals after intermission to fuel their comeback and thwart the Pirates' upset bid. Four players scored double figures for the Pirates led by sophomore Mike Cook. Cook finished with a team-high 17 points. Corey Rouse added 12, while Moussa Badiane and Tom Hammonds netted 11 points each.
TCU enters Saturday's contest on a four-game skid, which includes three road losses and a home loss to Memphis. The Horned Frogs have a trio of players averaging double figures led by senior guard Corey Santee (14.0 ppg). Fellow senior Marcus Shropshire poured in 17 points in a loss at DePaul on Tuesday night and ranks third on the team in scoring (11.3 ppg). Junior Nile Murry is also netting double digits with 12.0 ppg.
Prior to their C-USA battles, East Carolina and TCU met twice as non-conference opponents with each team winning on its home court during the late 1980s. The all-time series is knotted a 2-2 with the road team never having earned a victory in the series.
