ECU Closes Out Regular Season At UAB
March 05, 2011 | Men's Basketball
March 4, 2011
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| THE MATCHUP |
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| Category | East Carolina | UAB | |
| W-L | 16-13, 8-7 | 21-7, 11-4 | |
| Avg. Points | 68.9 | 69.0 | |
| Avg. Points Allowed | 67.1 | 62.4 | |
| Rebound Margin | -1.9 | +2.2 | |
| Field Goal Percentage | .432 | .444 | |
| FG Percent Defense | .431 | .413 | |
| 3-Point Percentage | .357 | .346 | |
| Free Throw Percentage | .693 | .726 | |
| Turnover Margin | -0.2 | +0.1 | |
| TEAM STAT LEADERS |
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| Points Per Game | J. Sherrod- 15.7 | J. Sanders - 17.9 | |
| Rebounds Per Game | D. Morrow - 5.4 | C. Moore - 9.6 | |
| Assists Per Game | B. Young - 4.5 | A. Johnson - 7.8 | |
| Blocks | D. Morrow - 19 | C. Moore - 36 | |
| Steals | C. Gaines - 47 | A. Johnson - 41 | |
The Pirates won't know exactly where they're going to finish in the Conference USA standings until Saturday, but regardless of what it is, it will be their best-ever.
East Carolina, which is currently tied with Marshall and SMU for sixth-place, will look for its fourth straight win as it closes out the regular season against first-place UAB, which has also won three in-a-row and needs a victory to clinch the outright regular season championship.
A win by the Pirates along with losses by Memphis and Southern would vault them into a tie for fourth-place in the final regular season standings, but because of the tie-breaker procedures, they would not receive a first round bye in next week's championship tournament.
Even with a loss, East Carolina can't finish lower than eighth. Its previous-best finish was ninth-place.
The Pirates secured a high seed on the first day of the tournament last Saturday night against Rice and followed that victory up with its first-ever win over Memphis on Wednesday.
Senior Jontae Sherrod poured in a career-high 28 points against the Tigers, while fellow senior Jamar Abrams added 11 points with a trio of 3-pointers and one ferocious dunk.
The victory gave the senior class, which also includes Chad Wynn and Brock Young, a victory over nine of 11 C-USA opponents with only Tulsa and UAB withstanding.
UAB, which has clinched a share of the regular season title, avenged a 75-71 loss to Southern Miss Wednesday night as freshman Preston Purifoy nailed a 3-pointer with 3.2 seconds remaining for a 67-66 win.
ECU has lost six straight to the Blazers and 10-of-11 overall. UAB won this season's earlier meeting in Greenville, 66-59, behind 26 points form Jamar Sanders. Abrams and Sherrod each had 16 points in the loss.
The Pirates and Blazers are both averaging 7.7 3-pointers per game and shooting around 35 percent from behind the arc. Abrams, Sanders, Sherrod and UAB guard Dexter Fields each rank among the top 15 in the league in 3-point field goal percentage and 3-pointers per game.
Six years ago, the Pirates scored their lone victory over the Blazers, 67-64, at Bartow Arena.
