Basketball Gameday: at Tulsa
February 18, 2015 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2015
 vs.  |
| East Carolina at Tulsa Feb. 18, 2015 | 7 p.m. EST Donald W. Reynolds Center |Tulsa, Okla. |
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TULSA, Okla. --- East Carolina will look to post its fourth win in six games Wednesday night as it takes on the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at the Donald W. Reynolds Center at 7 p.m. EST on ESPNU.
The Pirates will look to even the season series after suffering a disappointing 66-64 loss to the Golden Hurricane in Greenville on Jan. 24. Terry Whisnant torched the nets for 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting, including 6-of-9 behind the arc and Michel Nzege posted a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Tulsa scored the game's final five points at the free throw line before Antonio Robinson threw in a meaningless 3 at the buzzer for the final score.
East Carolina and Tulsa are both coming off losses in their previous outing. The Pirates suffered a 13-point loss at Temple on Saturday, while the Golden Hurricane lost by 25, 70-45, at UConn last Thursday. It was Tulsa's second straight loss after opening conference play with 10 consecutive wins.
Terry Whisnant, who scored 13 points in Saturday's loss at Temple, remains the team's scoring leader at 12.9 ppg, but freshman B.J. Tyson isn't far behind at 12.6 ppg. Sophomore Caleb White is the third member of the Pirates to average double figures with 12.0 ppg to help make up the second-highest scoring trio in The American.
The third-highest scoring trio in the league is comprised of Tulsa's junior threesome of Shaquille Harrison, Rashad Smith and James Woodard with an average of 37.1 ppg. Woodard (14.3 ppg) and Harrison (14.1 ppg) rank fifth and sixth in the league in scoring.
In addition to featuring some of the top scorers in the conference, the matchup also features two of the league's top defenders. Harrison and ECU senior Antonio Robinson ranks first and third in steals, respectively.
However, East Carolina and Tulsa each do an exemplary job of taking care of the ball. The Hurricane has a positive turnover margin at 1.8 as do the Pirates at 0.7. In their previous matchup the two teams combined to turn the ball over just 14 times.
ECU has committed 10 or fewer turnovers in four of its last six games.
RADIO / TELEVISIONFans can hear Wednesday'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 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
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 Wednesday's game live on ESPNU with Eamon McAnaney calling the play-by-play and Jon Crispin providing analysis.
Fans can follow live stats by clicking the GameTracker link at ECUPirates.com or by clicking here.
MORE ABOUT TULSA- Tulsa owns an overall record of 17-7 and an American conference record of 10-2. The Golden Hurricane won their first 10 conference games of the season before dropping consecutive games to SMU and UConn.
- Tulsa is 9-3 at home this season, including a 4-1 record in conference play.
- Tulsa's 17-7 record under first year coach Frank Haith is the program's best mark through 24 games since the 2001-02 season when TU started 20-4.
- The Hurricane is undefeated this season when leading at halftime (13-0), when it shoots better than its opponent (14-0) and when it holds it opponent to less than 65 points (14-0).
- Tulsa has an RPI of 47 through games played as of Feb. 16.
- James Woodard has made 59 of the Golden Hurricane's 127 3-pointers this season. He ranks second in the conference with 2.5 3s per game.
SERIES HISTORY
Wednesday's game will be the 15th all-time meeting between the Pirates and Hurricane and second of the season. Tulsa has won the last three games in the series since ECU posted a 72-63 win at the Reynolds Center in 2013. The Golden Hurricane extended its winning streak over the Pirates with a 66-64 victory earlier this season in Greenville.
Twelve of the previous 14 meeting in the series were played as Conference USA rivals. After TU joined C-USA in 2006, the two teams have played at least once each season and have met three times during the league's postseason tournament.
East Carolina is just 1-5 against Tulsa at the Reynolds Center.
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.
