Men's Basketball Hosts SMU AT Minges Coliseum Tonight
January 18, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2006
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Matchup: East Carolina vs. SMU
Date: Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Time: 7:05 p.m.
Site: Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (Greenville)
Records: ECU 6-9 overall, 0-2 Conference USA; SMU 7-7 overall, 0-2 Conference USA
Rankings: None
TV: WITN-TV 7. Jeff Charles (play-by-play) and Billy Weaver (analyst) serve as the game telecasters.
Radio: Pirate Sports Radio Network. Reese Edwards (play-by-play) and Si Seymour (analyst) provide the call.
ECU Goes After First C-USA Win Against SMU Wednesday
East Carolina will look to secure its first Conference USA victory of the season Wednesday night as it welcomes Conference USA newcomer SMU to Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for the first time.
The game will be televised throughout eastern North Carolina on "The Official Station Of The ECU Pirates" WITN-TV 7. "Voice of the Pirates" Jeff Charles (play-by-play) and WITN-TV Sports Director Billy Weaver (analyst) will serve as the game telecasters.
Reese Edwards (play-by-play) and Si Seymour (analyst) will call the game across the 18-station Pirate Sports Radio Network and over the internet at www.ecupirates.com.
Both teams are off to 0-2 starts in conference play with each team losing to Memphis and UTEP.
East Carolina is coming off a 13-point loss at UTEP on Saturday, 45-58. Sophomore Jeremy Ingram led the Pirates with nine points, while senior Corey Rouse grabbed a team-high nine rebounds as the team shot just 33.3 percent from the field.
SMU also dropped its road game at No. 5 Memphis on Saturday, 53-73. Bryan Hopkins was the only Mustang to reach double figures, scoring a game-high 19 points.
East Carolina and SMU are two of four winless teams in Conference USA through the first two games of league play (Houston and Tulane).
Much like the Pirates, SMU has a lot of homegrown talent. Eight of its 14 players are native Texans.
Home Games in Abundance
Beginning with its game against SMU on Wednesday, East Carolina will play three of its next four games at home.
The Pirates will travel to New Orleans to face Tulane on Saturday (January 21) before returning home for consecutive games against UCF (Jan. 25) and Tulsa (Jan. 28).
The Book On SMU
...SMU has an overall record of 7-7 and an 0-2 mark in Conference USA. The Mustangs enter the contest on a three-game losing streak.
...The Mustangs are 1-4 on the road this season with its lone win coming at Texas State.
...Four players are averaging double figures for SMU led by senior Bryan Hopkins (16.4), twin brother of fellow senior Ryan Hopkins.
...The Hopkins twins are the only two seniors listed on the roster.
...Bryan Hopkins is shooting 48.1 percent from behind the arc this season (25-of-52).
...Devon Pearson is the team's top rebounder (7.3 rpg) and ranks fourth overall in C-USA.
...SMU is 1-7 this season when scoring less than 70 points.
...The Mustangs rank third in the league in scoring defense at 64.4 points allowed per game.
The SMU Series
...SMU leads the all-time series with East Carolina, 1-0.
...The two teams met in the consolation game of the Kentucky Invitational Tournament. ECU lost to Kentucky in the opening game, while SMU fell victim to Pepperdine.
ECU-SMU Connections
...SMU coach Jimmy Tubbs served as an assistant coach at SMU under East Carolina alum and former assistant coach Mike Dement from 1995-01 before becoming an assistant at Oklahoma.
...ECU assosicate head coach Mack McCarthy faced SMU as the head coach at VCU during the 2000-01 season.
...McCarthy, ECU assistant coach Chris Ferguson and SMU assistant coach Robert Lineburg each previously served as assistant coaches at Virginia Tech. ECU coach Ricky Stokes spent four seasons as the Hokies head coach from 1999-2003.
...SMU director of basketball operations Tim Heskett served as an assistant coach at Clemson under Larry Shyatt, father of ECU director of basketball operations Jeremy Shyatt.
