Basketball Gameday: vs. Cincinnati
February 01, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2015
 vs.  |
| East Carolina vs. Cincinnati Feb. 1, 2015 | 1 p.m. EST Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum |Greenville, N.C. |
 Watch |  Gametracker |  Game Notes |  Tickets |
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - The last time the Pirates were at home, they nearly handed Tulsa its first conference loss, then they went on the road and put a scare into perennial power Memphis on Wednesday.
Today, East Carolina will look to snap a three-game losing streak and score its first-ever win over Cincinnati at 1 p.m. inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.
The Pirates are coming off a 70-58 loss at Memphis in a game that was much closer than the final score. ECU put on a 3-point showcase in the second half burying 8 of 12 outside the arc and finished with a season-high 13 3-pointers made.
ECU trailed by 17 early in the second half, but its barrage of 3s allowed them to pull within four with less than four minutes to play. However, too many missed opportunities down the stretch cost the Pirates a chance at victory as the Tigers capitalized by scoring the game's final eight points.
"We're playing better," ECU Head Coach Jeff Lebo said. "It hasn't transferred into wins, but offensively we are playing better. We've had two games where we got hammered pretty good, but the others we've had opportunities with five minutes to go in the game."
Terry Whisnant led the Pirates with 17 points and Caleb White added 10. The duo combined to go 7 of 14 from 3, with Whisant draining 5 of 7 3-point attempts and has been accustomed, White showed his prowess after halftime scoring all of his points after halftime.
The Bearcats are riding a four-game winning streak after earning a season-series split with Connecticut on Thursday, 70-58. Troy Caupain scored a career-high 20 points to lead UC to its sixth consecutive home victory.
Cincinnati is 12-1 at home this season, but it too has found life on the road difficult, compiling a 2-3 record with wins coming at NC State and UCF.
ECU is 7-3 at home this season and has found it to be more shooter friendly than the road venues. The Pirates are shooting better than 48 percent in front of the Pirate Nation, while that percentage dips to 34.0 percent in hostile environments.
ECU hopes that a return home will help improve on a 27.0 percent shooting night against the Bearcats in Cincinnati a month ago.
"We're going to have to play a lot better than we did [in Cincinnati]," Lebo said. "We've been shooting the ball really well from 3, but we've got to get something inside. Our biggest deal has been getting something in the paint and rebounding the ball. If we can hide those areas as much as we can, we'll have a shot as long as we shoot the ball well."
Since conference play began, ECU has been the best 3-point shooting team in The American connecting on 38.9 percent and making a league-best 9.3 3s per game.
Whisnant and White have combined for 92 3-pointers made this season, second-most in the conference; one behind the Houston duo of Jherrod Stiggers and Danrad Knowles.
RADIO / TELEVISION
Fans can hear Sunday's game live on the flagship station of the ECU Pirates, WNCT 107.9 FM, with Jeff Charles calling the action and Si Seymour providing analysis. The pregame show begins at 12:30 p.m.
Fans also can hear the radio broadcast online by visiting ECUPirates.com and following the appropriate links to Pirates On Demand or by clicking here. A Pirates On Demand subscription is required to listen to the game online.
Fans can watch Saturday's game live on CBS Sports Network with John Sadak calling the play-by-play amd Chris Walker providing analysis.
Fans can follow live stats by clicking the GameTracker link at ECUPirates.com or by clicking here.
ABOUT CINCINNATICincinnati enters Sunday game with an overall record of 15-5 and 6-2 in The American. The Bearcats have won eight of their last 10 and own the nation's longest active games streak for holding opponents under 70 points at 23.
Troy Caupain is the only player on the team to average double figures scoring with 10.4 ppg. The have six players that average 5.9 or more points per game. Freshman forward and Clayton, N.C. native Gary Clark ranks second in the league with 7.4 rebounds per game. Junior college transfer Octavius Ellis is fourth with 6.8 boards per contest. Ellis (2.3) and Clark (1.4) both ranks among the top-5 in the conference in blocked shots.
Clark posted his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds in the Bearcats' win over UConn Thursday. The Bearcats led wire-to-wire, dominating the interior with a 32-20 points in the paint advantage. Cincinnati led by eight at halftime and grew to 14 five times. UConn never got within eight points in the second half.
SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's game will be the ninth all-time meeting between the Pirates and Bearcats. It'll be the eighth time the two are squaring off as conference foes and second time as American rivals.
ECU is 0-3 against UC in Greenville. The last time the Bearcats visited Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum, UC escaped with an 84-78 win on Jan. 12, 2005.
The first meeting in the series came on Dec. 6, 1991 in Cincinnati with the Bearcats, who reached the Final Four that season, posting a 105-69 win.
STAY CONNECTED
Fans can receive the latest news and notes by following @ECUPirateHoops on Twitter. Fans also can discuss the latest ECU Men's Basketball news and notes on the team's Facebook page by clicking LIKE at East Carolina Men's Basketball.
BUY TICKETS NOW
Fans have a variety of tickets options to accommodate any budget. Group tickets, mini-plans and single-game tickets are on sale now. For complete tickets information, fans can visit ecupirates.com and follow the appropriate links or by clicking here.
To purchase tickets, fans can call 800-DIAL-ECU (342-5328) or visit the Athletics Ticket Office from 9 a.m., to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. To purchase tickets in person, fans can visit the Athletics Ticket Office located Located in the Old Pirate Club Building between gates 1 & 2 of Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium
All ECU main campus students are admitted FREE to regular-season Men's Basketball home games with a valid student ID.
SUPER SUNDAY SAVER
Purchase four tickets for the Cincinnati game on Sunday, Feb. 1 for $60 and receive $20 worth of concessions vouchers! Each additional ticket above the quantity of 4 will be $15 with a $5 concessions voucher included.
