Pirates Face Gators For First Time In Program History On Thursday

Game 11: East Carolina (6-4) vs. Florida (6-3)
Date \| Time	December 14, 2023 \| 7:00 p.m. ET
Location	Lakeland, Fla. \| RP Funding Center
Game Program	Digital Game Program #2
Coverage	Stream: SEC Network Radio: 107.9WNCT Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| Florida \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Florida
Record Book	East Carolina 2023-24 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #GreenvilleGrit

Lakeland, Fla. – The East Carolina men's basketball team is set to leave the friendly confines of Minges Coliseum for only the second time this season as the Pirates will travel to Lakeland, Fla. this Thursday for a neutral site contest with Florida in the Visit Central Florida Tip-Off.

The game will tip at 7 p.m. ET at the RP Funding Center on the SEC Network with Mike Morgan and Mark Wise on the call. It will also mark the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

ECU currently has three players who are averaging double figure scoring numbers, led by Preseason AAC Second Team member RJ Felton with 16.2 points per game (6th in AAC). Brandon Johnson and Ezra Ausar round out the Pirates' top scorers with 14.6 and 14.3 points per game respectively. Johnson leads the team on the glass with 8.4 rebounds per contest which ranks as third best in the league and has recorded three double-doubles including two in the team's past three games.

Last Time Out
RJ Felton scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds but the Pirates fell short to South Carolina 68-62 inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. Felton was one of four players for ECU (6-4) to score in double figures joined by Bobby Pettiford Jr. (14 points), Ezra Ausar (14 points) and Brandon Johnson (10 points).

Scouting the Gators
Florida is coming off an 87-76 win over Richmond this past Saturday as four Gators scored in double figures led by Will Richard's 21 points. The Gators have four players who are scoring in double figures in Walter Clayton Jr. (15.9 ppg), Tyrese Samuel (14.2 ppg), Riley Kugel (13.6 ppg) and Zyon Pullin (13.0 ppg). Florida has eight players who are 6'5" or taller and the Gators use their size to their advantage as the team is ranked top-10 nationally in rebounding margin and are first in the conference in rebounding margin and rebounding. The Gators currently have three players among the SEC's top seven offensive rebounders.

Pirates In Neutral Site Games
ECU is 2-1 in its last three games played at a neutral site with wins over South Carolina in the Greenville Winter Invitational and South Florida in the first round of the AAC Championship last year while falling to Houston in the quarterfinals of the conference championship.

On This Date
ECU is 9-3 in games played on Dec. 14 since the 1960-61 season with the last game on this date coming during the 2019-20 season when the Pirates defeated Campbell 79-67 inside Minges Coliseum.

Up Next
East Carolina returns home for a matchup with Delaware State on Wednesday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Pirates Face Gators For First Time In Program History On Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Ezra Ausar

RJ Felton

Brandon Johnson

Bobby Pettiford Jr.

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