East Carolina University
UCF
Pirates Return To The Court Against UCF
March 03, 2021 | Men's Basketball
| Game 17: East Carolina vs. UCF | |
| Date | Time | March 4, 2021 | 9 p.m. ET |
| Location | Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum) |
| Game Program | Hoops Digest #6 |
| Live Game Coverage |
TV: ESPNU | Stream: Watch ESPN Radio: WNCT 107.9 // WRHD 94.3 FM | TuneIn Radio Online |
| Live Stats | Sidearm Sports |
| Statistics | ECU | UCF |
| Game Notes | ECU | UCF | The American |
| Social Media | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | #OnePirateNation |
East Carolina returns to the court for the first time in 24 days Thursday night against UCF inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. It'll be the Pirates' first game since taking the floor versus SMU on Feb. 8.
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The Pirates went on a COVID-19 related pause on Feb. 10 and had five games postponed during the stretch before returning practice earlier in the week.
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"I think they were excited as we started adding guys coming back to practice," ECU Head Coach Joe Dooley said. "We had some more guys that came out on Saturday and Sunday and we were able to practice Monday and Tuesday for an hour with all those guys. They were excited to have those guys back out of protocol and excited to be able to play some five-on-five.
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"But the biggest thing is re-acclimating to contact. It's great to get in shape and get in better shape, but then you also don't want to put them out there against UCF and they haven't boxed out or hit a screen."
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Playing its first game in over three weeks, ECU gets a UCF squad that has won three in a row and five of its last seven, including a 73-69 victory over Tulsa on Tuesday. The Knights have averaged 71.8 points per game over their last four contests, more than four points per game better than their season average.
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UCF leads The American in three-point field goal shooting at 36.3 percent, making an average of eight per game.
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"[Darius] Perry and [Brandon] Mahan are playing really well," Dooley said. "C.J. Walker is an elite level talent and [Darian] Green has played well against us the last couple of years."
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Green scored a team-high 18 points in the Knights 71-64 victory over ECU in Orlando earlier this season. UCF led by 19, but the Pirates mounted a rally to pull within three, 62-59, with 4:24 remaining. However, UCF scored five unanswered to go ahead by eight with 2:32 to play with Mahan sinking a 3 as the shot clock expired to cap the outburst.
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Jayden Gardner had 23 points and 10 rebounds in the game and has averaged 22.5 points and 12.3 rebounds in four career games against UCF. He leads The American in scoring (18.1 ppg) and is second in rebounding (8.6 rpg). He also leads the league with seven double-doubles.
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The Pirates will have just nine scholarship players in uniform Thursday night due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols. Five of those players have averaged more than 25 minutes per game this season.
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"We have to be smart with the amount of minutes some of these guys play," Dooley said. "The last thing you want to do is get guys hurt that lingers into next season."
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Gardner ranks second in the conference with an average of 34.4 minutes played per game with Tristen Newton also averaging more than 30 minutes (30.8) per game. J.J. Miles (27.6 mpg), Tremont Robinson-White (26.0 mpg) and Brandon Suggs (25.2 mpg) are each averaging more than 25 minutes per game.
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The Pirates, who rank second in the conference in assists per game (15.9) and assist/turnover ratio (1.2), have been very successful this season when taking care of the basketball, compiling an 8-1 record when they have more assists than turnovers.
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