ECU And UNC Asheville Square Off In NIT Consolation Round
November 26, 2013 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2013
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| East Carolina vs. UNC Asheville Nov. 25, 2013 | 5 p.m. EST Thomas M. Ryan Center | Kingston, R.I. |
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ECU Concludes NIT Play Against UNC Asheville
- East Carolina concludes play in the 2013 NIT Season Tip-Off against instate foe UNC Asheville Tuesday afternoon at Thomas M. Ryan Center on the campus of the University of Rhode Island.
- Tuesday's game will be the first meeting between the Pirates and Bulldogs since 1997, when UNC Asheville swept the home-and-home series against thier cross-state opponent.
- UNC Asheville is the first of three Big South Conference opponents on the Pirates' schedule this season. ECU will host VMI on Dec. 19 and travel to Campbell on Jan. 2.
- Following today's game, East Carolina will play five of its final six games of the calendar year at home. The Pirates' only remaining road game in 2013 is Dec. 21 at NC State.
- A win over UNC Asheville would make the Pirates 7-5 at neutral sites under coach Jeff Lebo since 2010. ECU has a 3-3 record under Lebo in inseason tournaments (1-2 2010 Charleston Classic, 2-1 2013 NIT Season Tip-Off).
- The Pirates are looking to start the year 6-1 for the second straight season. Last season ECU opened the season by winning its first five games before splitting its next two against Charlotte and St. Andrews.
- Richmond is one of two Pirates currently averaging double figures. He leads the team in scoring with 17.3 ppg, followed by junior Paris Roberts-Campbell with 15.2 ppg. ECU has five additional players averaging over 7.0 ppg. Richmond is the only player to score double figures in all six games this season.
- East Carolina has had four or more players score double figures in five of the first six games.
- The Pirates have scored over 70 points in each of their first five games for the first time since 1974.
- In its first three games away from home, East Carolina shot a combined 76.9 percent from the free throw line, going 25-of-28 at UNCG, 24-of-38 vs. Norfolk State, 19-of-20 at Duke and 19-of-27 against McNeese State. Conversely, ECU made just 60.0 percent of its free throw attempts (27-45) during its two home games.
- Through six games scoring has been balanced across the four classes. ECU's sophomore quartet of Marshall Guilmette, Peyton Robbins, Prince Williams and Michael Zangari has contributed 127 points. Its trio of juniors (Roberts-Campbell, Francis Edomsomwan, Antonio Robinson) have scored 129 points, while its freshmen threesome (Greg Alexander, Brandan Stith, Caleb White) has netted 130 points. The senior duo of Akeem Richmond and Petar Torlak has combined for 132 points.
Richmond Has Successful Return
- Akeem Richmond's return to the Thomas M. Ryan Center was a memorable one for the former Rhode Island Ram. Richmond torched the nets for 25 points on 6-of-11 shooting from behind the arc, 5-of-7 from the foul line and scoring on a layup. It was his fifth 20-point game in the building, matching his personal-best inside the venue. Richmond played 33 games inside the venue during his two years at URI, scoring double figures in 20 games. He posted 20-point performances here against Lafayette (25), St. Joseph's (21), Charlotte (20) and Fordham (20).
- In 34 career games played inside the Ryan Center, Richmond is a combined 93-of-244 (.381) behind the arc. As a freshman he made 41-of-117 (.350) of his 3-point attempts at home then made 43.4 percent of his attempts (46-106) as sophomore. He made four or more 3s in a game here 11 times.
- Monday's game marked the fifth time he made at least six 3-pointers in a game here.
More Points, More Wins
- The Pirates scored over 90 points for ninth time under coach Jeff Lebo Monday night and posted their ninth victory. In fact during Lebo's tenure, ECU has accumulated a record of 21-5 when scoring 80 or more points. Out of the five losses, two were in overtime.
Higher Percentage Of Makes = Victory
- East Carolina has shot over 50 percent from the field just 20 times since the start of the 2010-11 season. However, in those games the Pirates have been victorious 15 times including last night's win over McNeese State. ECU has won eight straight games when shooting better than 50 percent dating back to last season.
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