Pirates Travel to Wichita State For New Year's Eve Matchup

Game 15: East Carolina (9-5, 0-1) at Wichita State (7-6, 0-1)
Date \| Time	December 31, 2022 \| 4:00 p.m. ET
Location	Wichita, Kan. \| Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
Game Program	Hoops Digest #3
Coverage	Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 107.9 WNCT
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| Wichita State \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Wichita State \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2022-23 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #PurpleReign

WICHITA, KAN. – The East Carolina men's basketball team is set to take on Wichita State in a New Year's Eve showdown at Charles Koch Arena at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.

The Pirates are seeking their first true road win of the 2022-23 campaign and for their first win over Wichita State as the Shockers are the only AAC foe that ECU has not recorded a win against.

Javon Small leads the Pirates in scoring and assists with 16.6 and 5.5 per game respectively. Brandon Johnson leads the team in rebounding with 9.8 per game and Johnson is currently first in the American with seven double-doubles this season.

Last Time Out
Brandon Johnson recorded his seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 18 rebounds, but it wasn't enough as East Carolina dropped its American Athletic Conference opener against Temple 59-57 on Wednesday night in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. Jaden Walker added 11 points and tallied a career-high six steals and Ezra Ausar recorded 10 points for the Pirates. A season-low 27 percent shooting from the floor and 15 missed free throws doomed the Pirates, snapping a three-game winning streak.

Scouting the Shockers
Wichita State is coming off a 52-45 loss on the road to UCF and the Shockers are 3-2 in their last five games. Craig Porter Jr. leads the team in scoring with 12.8 points per game on 51 percent shooting from the floor. The Shockers sport the third best scoring defense in the American and 19th best nationally, allowing 59.7 points per game and holding their opponents to 36 percent shooting from the floor for second best in the conference and eighth nationally.

Series History
Wichita State leads the series with East Carolina 6-0 and the Shockers took the last meeting between the two teams 70-62 in Wichita last season.

On This Date
ECU is 3-7 in games played on Dec. 31 since the 1960-61 season. The last time the Pirates played on this date was a 59-39 loss to UCF in the team's conference opener at Minges Coliseum.

Up Next
East Carolina returns home for a mid-week clash with UCF on Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Pirates Travel to Wichita State For New Year's Eve Matchup

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Players Mentioned

Ezra Ausar

Brandon Johnson

Javon Small

Jaden Walker

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