Gameday: ECU Set For Matchup With Top 10 Houston

Game 27: vs. Houston Cougars
Date:	Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019
Time:	7 p.m. (ET)
Location:	Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum)
Tickets & Parking:	Game Tickets \| Parking Information
Live Game Coverage:	Radio: WNCT 107.9 FM \| TuneIn Radio Online Television: ESPN3
Internet Options:	Live Stats
Game Notes:	ECU \| Houston \| The American

GREENVILLE, N.C. --- For the eighth time in school history, ECU will entertain a Top 10 opponent Wednesday night as No. 8 Houston invades Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum for an American Athletic Conference matchup.

The Pirates (10-16, 3-11), who snapped a five-game losing streak Saturday night at Tulane, will look to snap a seven-game losing streak to Houston (26-1, 13-1), who they haven't beaten since 2015 and earn their first win over a Top 10 team since defeating No. 9 Marquette in 2002.

Riding an 11-game winning streak and saddled with just one loss on the year, Houston holds a one-game lead over Cincinnati for the top spot in The American standings with four games to play, while ECU trails UConn by one game for 10^th-place.

The Cougars rank among the Top 10 in NCAA in field goal percent defense (first), 3-point field goal percent defense (third) scoring defense (fifth), scoring margin (eighth) and rebounding margin (eighth), while ranking 12^th in defensive efficiency.

"They're a Final Four caliber team," ECU Head Coach Joe Dooley said before practice Tuesday. "We've got to be able to get them off the 3-point line, but they are versatile. Not only can they shoot it from 3, but they can also throw it inside and punish you there as well."

Houston leads The American with 9.1 3-point field goals made per game.

Corey Davis, Jr. is the Cougars' leading scorer with 15.7 points per game (ppg) followed by Armoni Brooks with 13.8 ppg with five additional players averaging more than 6.1 ppg.

Brooks is the only Cougar to rank among the Top 20 in the conference in rebounding, but Houston leads the league in rebounding margin at plus-7.7 per game.

The Cougars haven't had a game decided by fewer than seven points since losing to Temple on Jan. 9. Three of ECU's last four games have been decided by four points, with two of the previous three losses coming in overtime by a total of eight points.

"We're gaining [on the competition] right now," Dooley said. "The problem is the teams that we're playing right now are really good, especially Houston."

Shawn Williams, the 2017 American Athletic Conference Rookie-of-the-Year, appears to have emerged from his sophomore slump recently, posting 26 points against Tulsa nine days ago followed by a 27-point performance at Tulane Saturday night. He's scored double figures in four consecutive games and is shooting 55.9 percent from beyond the 3-point arc during that stretch.

"If Shawn can get out in transition and gets a good look early, we need him to take those and knock them down," Dooley explained. "If we don't get a good shot early, we might not get one late. [Houston] is just very solid defensively."

Senior point guard Isaac Fleming has also become more of a factor offensively for the Pirates during the latter part of the season. In the last two games, Fleming has scored 33 total points (16.5 ppg) and grabbed 17 rebounds (8.5 rpg) with just three turnovers in 76 total minutes. He's scored double figures in eight of the past 12 games.

Fleming had 11 points in the Pirates' first matchup of the season with Houston, while Seth LeDay lead ECU with 12.

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Players Mentioned

Isaac Fleming

Seth LeDay

Shawn Williams

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