Gameday Preview: East Carolina at USF

Game 25: East Carolina at USF
Date	Saturday, Feb. 11
Time	8 p.m. (ET)
Location	Tampa, Fla, (Sun Dome)
Television	ESPNU
Web Coverage	Live Stats \\\ Listen Live \\\ WatchESPN
Game Notes	East Carolina \\\ USF
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUScoreboard \\\ @ECUPirateHoops

TAMPA, Fla. --- East Carolina heads to Tampa this weekend looking to win its first true road game of the season in the same place it won its last true road game, the Sun Dome.

The Pirates, who have had a week to prepare for Saturday's contest against USF, have lost eight straight on their opponent's home floor since posting a 52-39 win over the Bulls on March 2, 2016 inside the Sun Dome.

After enduring a seven-game losing streak, ECU has won two of its last four conference games and posted its top scoring output in league play with each succeeding victory.

The last time ECU took the floor, it walked away with a 74-65 win over Tulane. Caleb White poured in a game-high 20 points, while freshman Jeremy Sheppard dropped in a season-best 18 points and Kentrell Barkley recorded his sixth double-double of the 2016-17 campaign.

Barkley has scored double figures in a season-long five straight games and has raised his scoring average by a point per game during that stretch. He's also grabbed double-digit rebounds in four of the last six games to take over the team lead at 7.4 boards per contest. Barkley's 11.8 points per game is second on the team only to junior B.J. Tyson's 11.9.

Standing just behind Barkley on the boards statistically is center Andre Washington at 7.3 rebounds per game. At 7-foot-1, Washington is one of the leading shot blockers in the country, ranking among the top-7 in total blocks (70) and blocked shots per game (2.9). His size and presence in the paint have made ECU one of The American's top defensive squads.

USF is looking to score its first conference win and end a 12-game losing streak. The Bulls are coming off a 97-51 loss at UConn Tuesday. Geno Thorpe (11) and sophomore guard Troy Holston (10) both netted double figure points. Thorpe ranks second in the conference in free throw percentage (.859), fifth in assists per game (4.5), sixth in steals per game (1.5), and 10th in scoring (13.8).

NEWS & NOTES

Saturday's game will be Pirates' assistant coach Michael Perry's sixth game as acting head coach during ECU Head Coach Jeff Lebo's leave of absence following hip surgery on Jan. 16. There is no timetable for Lebo's return. Perry is in his 10th season as an assistant coach at East Carolina. He joined the Pirate coaching staff following 4 years as head coach at Georgia State, where he compiled a 62-75 record. ECU is 2-3 under Perry.
East Carolina is looking to win its first road game of the season at the same place it won its most recent road contest, the Sun Dome. The Pirates defeated USF in their final road game of the 2015-16 campaign, but haven't won a true road contest since their 52-39 win March 2, 2016 over the Bulls. ECU is 0-8 in true road games this season.
ECU is going for its first season sweep of USF since the 2003-04 season. The team split thier regular season meetings each of the previous two years with USF taking last year's series 2-1 by virtue of a first round win in the American Basketball Championship tournament.
East Carolina is one of six teams to ranks among the top-25 nationally in scoring defense, field goal percent defense and 3-point field goal percent defense through games of Feb. 8 (Gonzaga, Louisville, N.C. Central, Oregon, South Carolina, UCF).
The Pirates have held three of their last six opponents to less than 35 percent shooting from the field and five of 11 overall in conference play. ECU ranks seventh among all 351 Division I teams with an opponent field goal percentage of 38.3 percent, while ranking 24th in scoring defense (63.6) and 25th in three-point field goal percent defense (.308).
Washington is averaging 3.6 blocks per game in conference play, swatting 40 opponent field goal attempts in 11 league games. He blocked 30 shots in 13 non-conference games. He ranks second overall in The American with 2.9 blocks per game, which is seventh among all Division I players. His 70 total blocks is first among all American Athletic Conference players and fifth nationally.
Barkley was named to The American Athletic Conference Weekly Honor Roll for the second straight week Monday. Last week, he tallied his sixth double-double of the season for East Carolina, finishing with 14 points and 12 rebounds as the Pirates collected a win over Tulane. On the week, Barkley averaged 13.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game.

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Players Mentioned

Kentrell Barkley

Jeremy Sheppard

B.J. Tyson

Andre Washington

Caleb White

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