Basketball Gameday: at Houston
March 08, 2015 | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2015
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| East Carolina at Houston March 8, 2015 | 4 p.m. EDT Hofheinz Pavilion |Houston, Texas |
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| HOUSTON --- East Carolina will look to secure the No. 7 seed at next week's American Athletic Conference Championship tournament Sunday as it takes on Houston in the final game of the regular season at 4 p.m. EDT on ESPNEWS. The Pirates have won two straight over the Cougars and three of the last four, including a 66-61 victory in Greenville earlier this season. B.J. Tyson, Caleb White and Terry Whisnant combined for 43 points with the Pirates holding Houston's Leading scorer, Jherrod Stiggers, to five points. An ECU victory would set up a third meeting of the season against Houston Thursday in the first round of the conference tournament as the Cougars are locked into the No. 10 seed. Houston and East Carolina ranks one and two in the league in 3-pointers made. The Cougars lead the conference with 231 makes, an average of 8.0 per game, while the Pirates average 6.7 per game and are the only other American team to make more than 200 3s. Stiggers leads the Cougars with 14.4 ppg and is averaging a conference-best 3.1 3-pointers per game. Also averaging double figures for Houston is Devonta Pollard (11.2 ppg) and Danrad Knowles (10.3 ppg). Six-foot-five LeRon Barnes is the team's leading rebounder with 6.6 boards per contest, while Pollard is second with 6.1 rpg. Knowles scored a game-high 16 points against the Pirates earlier this season, while Barnes just missed a double-double with nine points and eight rebounds. The trio of Tyson, Whisnant and White has scored double figures together three times in the last five games with ECU winning two of those three games. As a threesome they average more than 37 points per game with the duo of Whisnant and White having combined for 127 3-pointers this season. Senior Antonio Robinson anchors the Pirates' defense with an average of 1.6 steals per game, while directing the offense with 3.6 assists. He ranks second in the conference with a 2.2 assist/turnover ratio.  RADIO / TELEVISIONFans can hear Sunday's game throughout eastern North Carolina on a trio of stations: 105.9 FM (Greenville), 95.7 FM (New Bern) and 101.1 FM (Jacksonville), with Jeff Charles calling the action and Si Seymour providing analysis. The pregame show begins at 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon. 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 follow live stats by clicking the GameTracker link at ECUPirates.com or by clicking here. MORE ABOUT HOUSTONThe Cougars enter their regular-season finale on the heels of an impressive, come-from-behind win over conference-rival Tulane on Wednesday night. Trailing by 10 points midway through the second half, Houston rallied to tie the game and force overtime. Pollard is one of only three players to rank among the American Athletic Conference's top-16 leaders in both scoring and rebounding with 11.2 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. The Porterville, Miss., native ranks second among the Cougars in both categories. Stiggers recently took over the point guard role for the Cougars after L.J. Rose suffered a season-ending foot injury against Cincinnati on Feb. 21. Eight of the Cougars' 18 losses have come by six or fewer points, including a five-point loss at East Carolina. SERIES HISTORY Houston has won nine of the 14 meetings in the series, but East Carolina has won two in a row and three of the last four, all at home. The last time the Pirates lost to Houston was Jan. 21, 2012 in Hofheinz Pavilion, 82-76. The Pirates are looking for their first-ever victory in Hofheinz Pavilion, losing all four previous visits. All 14 meetings in the series have been as conference opponents. The first 13 meetings in the series came as Conference USA foes before resuming pleasantries as American Athletic Conference rivals this season. STAY CONNECTED Fans can receive the latest news and notes by following @ECUPirateHoopson Twitter. Fans also can discuss the latest ECU Men's Basketball news and notes on the team's Facebook page by clicking LIKEat East Carolina Men's Basketball.
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Fans can watch Sunday's game live on ESPNEWS, by visiting WatchESPN.com and following the appropriate links or 
