Pirates Look To Bounce Back Against SMU Saturday

Game 24: SMU (8-15, 3-7 AAC) at East Carolina (11-12, 2-8 AAC)
Date \| Time	February 4, 2023 \| 4:00 p.m. ET
Location	Greenville, N.C. \| Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (7,100)
Game Program	Hoops Digest #5
Coverage	Watch: ESPN+ Radio: 107.9 WNCT
Live Stats	Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| SMU \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| SMU \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2022-23 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #PurpleReign

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina men's basketball team faces a quick turnaround on Saturday afternoon when the Pirates face the SMU Mustangs for the first time this season at Williams Arena in Minges Coliseum.

Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and the game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Patrick Johnson and Si Seymour on the call.

Last Time Out
RJ Felton led East Carolina with 18 points but the Pirates' second-half comeback from 23 points down ultimately fell short in Tampa on Wednesday night as ECU fell to South Florida 71-63. Ezra Ausar added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Pirates (11-12, 2-8 AAC), who fell to under .500 for the first time this season. Tyler Harris scored a game-high 21 points for the Bulls (10-13, 3-7 AAC) who completed their season sweep of the Pirates. Jamir Chaplin added 17 points and Russel Tchewa recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Pirates have allowed 10 or more threes from their opponent in only three games this season, but two of those have been in both meetings with South Florida.

Scouting the Mustangs
SMU is coming off a 74-52 loss on the road at Tulane on Wednesday night. Zach Nutall led the Mustangs with a game-high 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting but SMU failed to have anyone else in double figures in route to the 22-point loss. Zhuric Phelps leads the Mustangs in scoring with 16.6 points per game (7th in AAC). Zach Nutall (13.6 ppg) and Efe Odigie (10.7 ppg) round out the Mustangs' double figure scorers.

Series History
SMU leads the series with East Carolina 19-5 and has won eight of the 11 matchups in Greenville. The Mustangs have only dropped one contest as an AAC foe, a 71-68 Pirates' win on Jan. 11, 2020 which was the last time ECU defeated SMU. The Pirates have dropped the last four meetings with the Mustangs including an 80-66 loss in Greenville last season.

On This Date
ECU is 7-5 in games played on Feb. 4 since the 1960-61 season. The last time the Pirates played on this date was a 74-65 win at Minges Coliseum over Tulane in 2017.

Up Next
The Pirates will enjoy a six-day break before their next game at Tulane on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ezra Ausar

RJ Felton

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