ECU Hosts Cincinnati On Senior Day

Game 18: East Carolina vs. Cincinnati
Date \| Time	March 7, 2021 \| 1 p.m. ET
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum)
Game Program	Hoops Digest #6
Live Game Coverage	Stream: ESPN+ Radio: WTIB 103.7 FM \| TuneIn Radio Online
Live Stats	Sidearm Sports
Statistics	ECU \| Cincinnati
Game Notes	ECU \| Cincinnati \| The American
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #OnePirateNation

East Carolina closes out the regular season Sunday afternoon against Cincinnati inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. It's the first and only scheduled meeting of the season between the Pirates and Bearcats, who were originally scheduled to play their first of two meetings Jan. 13 in Cincinnati but was postponed due to a positive COVID-19 case and the ensuing contract tracing of student-athletes at Cincinnati.

With a victory over Cincinnati, ECU would secure the No. 10 seed at the 2021 American Athletic Conference Championship tournament and face No. 7 seed Tulsa on Thursday, March 11 (3 p.m. ET), at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. With a loss the Pirates would fall to the No. 11 seed and face No. 6 seeded UCF in the first round on Thursday (7 p.m. ET). All first round tournament games will be televised on ESPNU.

ECU is coming off a 64-60 loss at home to UCF on Thursday following an extended pause to all basketball activities due to COVID-19 protocols. Jayden Gardner and Tristen Newton each had 18 points in the game which was the Pirates' first since Feb. 8.

"It was very tough," Gardner said following the game. "Three weeks off, very hard. They hit us in the mouth early. I think they've played like nine games since we played, basically every other day. They came out with a rhythm and confidence.

"If we were playing regularly, it wouldn't have gone like that because we would have been up to speed and the rhythm of the game, but nobody cares that we haven't played in three or four weeks."

Gardner leads The American in scoring with 18.1 points per game and is second in rebounding (8.5 rpg). Newton is the league's top free throw shooter at 93.8 percent and ranks fifth in assists per game (4.2 apg).

The Bearcats are coming off a 78-64 home loss to Vanderbilt on Thursday. Keith Williams led UC with 20 points and a season-high three 3-pointers. Mika Adams-Woods tied a career-high with 16 points. Jeremiah Davenport added 15 points with a trio of threes, six rebounds and five assists.

Williams enters the weekend ranked sixth in The American in scoring, averaging 14.9 points. Over the past four games he is averaging 17.8 points, 4.3 assists and 1.3 blocks. Davenport ranks among the league leaders in 3-pointers per game, field goal percentage, 3-point field goal percentage and points per game. He is averaging 15.2 points with a team-best 14 3-pointers over the last five games.

Cincinnati swept the season series last season which included a 70-67 overtime victory in Greenville. The Pirates won the only meeting of a 2018-19 season with a two-win inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

ECU will recognize its six seniors: Bitumba Baruti, Tyrie Jackson, Ian Jones, Edra Luster, J.J. Miles and Evan Umstead prior to tip-off.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bitumba Baruti

Jayden Gardner

Tyrie Jackson

Ian Jones

Edra Luster

J.J. Miles

Tristen Newton

Evan Umstead

Footer