East Carolina University
USF
GAMEDAY: Pirates Shoot For First American Win At USF
January 02, 2018 | Men's Basketball
| Game 14: at USF Bulls | |
| Date: | Wednesday, Jan. 3 |
| Time: | 7 p.m. (ET) |
| Location: | Tampa, Fla. (Sun Dome) |
| Live Game Coverage: | Radio: WNCT 107.9 FM | TuneIn Radio Online Video Stream: ESPN3 |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats |
| Game Notes: | ECU | USF | The American |
TAMPA, Fla. --- ECU embarks on a two-game road trip that will have the Pirates playing on the opposite end of the eastern seaboard this week beginning Wednesday against USF.
Both teams will be looking to score their first American Athletic Conference wins of the season after dropping their first two games. The Pirates have sustained losses to Tulsa and UCF while the Bulls lost road games at Houston and SMU.
ECU and USF were each limited to 39 points last time out with the Pirates yielding 59 to UCF and the Bulls surrendering 79 at SMU.
B.J. Tyson, the Pirates' leading scorer with over 15 points per game, posted a team-high 13 points Sunday against the Knights, who forced 21 turnovers. Tyson also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds along with junior Usman Haruna, who reached a career-high.
Tyson is one of three Pirates averaging double figures along with juniors Isaac Fleming (13.3 ppg) and Kentrell Barkley (12.0 ppg).
Barkley ranks second on the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg) behind senior Jabari Craig with 7.0 boards per game.
The Pirates own the conference's best 3-point field goal percent defense limiting their opponents to 30.1 percent shooting outside the arc and ranks sixth with a scoring defense that allows 69.5 points per game.
USF sits one spot ahead of ECU in scoring defense, giving up just 68.2 points per contest.
Penn State transfer Payton Banks, who missed the first tow conference games due to an illness, is the Bulls' top point producer with 13.7 per game. Stephan Jiggetts is second at 11.2 points a contest.
Isaiah Manderson is averaging just a shade under double digits with 9.7 points per game. He led the Bulls in scoring with 14 points, tying his career high. He's averaging 11 points per game in the last four games.
The Pirates and Bulls split their season series a year ago with each team winning on its home court. USF is 6-4 at home this season and ECU is 0-2 on the road.
ECU owns a 2-4 record all-time at the Sun Dome.
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