Thursday, March 9
Fort Worth, Texas
12:30 P.M.
East Carolina University
vs
South Florida
Pirates Face South Florida To Open AAC Tournament Thursday
March 08, 2023 | Men's Basketball
| Game 32: East Carolina (15-16, 6-12 AAC) vs. South Florida (14-17, 7-11 AAC) | |
| Date | Time | March 9, 2023 | 12:30 p.m. ET |
| Location | Fort Worth, Texas | Dickies Arena (14,000) |
| Game Program | Hoops Digest #6 |
| Coverage | Watch:Â ESPNUÂ Radio:Â 107.9Â WNCTÂ |
| Live Stats | Statbroadcast |
| Statistics | East Carolina | South Florida | The American |
| Game Notes | East Carolina | South Florida | The American |
| Record Book | East Carolina 2022-23 Record Book |
| Social Media | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | #PurpleReign |
Â
FORT WORTH, Texas – The East Carolina men's basketball team is set to compete in the first round of the American Athletic Conference Championship where the No. 9 seed Pirates will face No. 8 seed South Florida inside Dickies Arena on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
Â
ECU is 1-1 in the AAC tournament as a nine seed and has played in the No. 8/No. 9 seed game four times with a 2-2 record.Â
Â
RJ Felton is averaging 17 points per game over ECU's last 13 games since leading scorer Javon Small (15.8 ppg) went down with an injury at Cincinnati on Jan. 11. Brandon Johnson is averaging 12.8 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per contest (3rd in AAC) and Ezra Ausar is fifth in the conference in field goal percentage at 56.9 percent to led all AAC freshmen in that category.
Â
Last Time Out
East Carolina fell in its final game of the regular season to UCF 84-58 on Sunday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena. Ezra Ausar led the Pirates with 14 points and five rebounds. Brandon Johnson added 12 points and six rebounds and Jaden Walker provided 11 points and six boards. ECU had a season-low four assists in the loss.
Â
Scouting the Bulls
South Florida is coming off a 20-point loss on the road to Wichita State in which the Bulls sputtered on offense, shooting only 31 percent from the floor. Serrel Smith Jr. led the Bulls with 11 points and Tyler Harris added 10 points in the loss. South Florida had won its previous three games prior to losing to the Shockers. Tyler Harris leads South Florida in scoring at 16.6 points per game (8th in AAC) and combines with Russel Tchewa (11.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg) for a lethal one-two punch. Harris has torched the Pirates' the two meetings this season with 24 points (1/15) and 21 points (2/1). The Bulls are one of the league's best rebounding teams, ranking second with a rebound margin of +3.5.
Â
Series History
South Florida leads the series with East Carolina 16-9 and has defeated the Pirates twice this season. ECU won both meetings with the Bulls last season but South Florida holds a 10-8 advantage over ECU when the teams have met as AAC foes. Both teams have met in the first round of the AAC Championship back in 2016 when South Florida outlasted East Carolina 71-66 in Orlando.
Â
On This Date
ECU is 3-0 in games played on Mar. 9 since the 1960-61 season. The last time the Pirates played on this date was in the first round of the AAC Championship in 2017 when ECU defeated Temple 80-69 in Hartford, Conn.
Â
Up Next
The winner will face top-seeded Houston in the quarterfinals on Friday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Â
Â
ECU is 1-1 in the AAC tournament as a nine seed and has played in the No. 8/No. 9 seed game four times with a 2-2 record.Â
Â
RJ Felton is averaging 17 points per game over ECU's last 13 games since leading scorer Javon Small (15.8 ppg) went down with an injury at Cincinnati on Jan. 11. Brandon Johnson is averaging 12.8 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per contest (3rd in AAC) and Ezra Ausar is fifth in the conference in field goal percentage at 56.9 percent to led all AAC freshmen in that category.
Â
Last Time Out
East Carolina fell in its final game of the regular season to UCF 84-58 on Sunday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena. Ezra Ausar led the Pirates with 14 points and five rebounds. Brandon Johnson added 12 points and six rebounds and Jaden Walker provided 11 points and six boards. ECU had a season-low four assists in the loss.
Â
Scouting the Bulls
South Florida is coming off a 20-point loss on the road to Wichita State in which the Bulls sputtered on offense, shooting only 31 percent from the floor. Serrel Smith Jr. led the Bulls with 11 points and Tyler Harris added 10 points in the loss. South Florida had won its previous three games prior to losing to the Shockers. Tyler Harris leads South Florida in scoring at 16.6 points per game (8th in AAC) and combines with Russel Tchewa (11.3 ppg, 8.5 rpg) for a lethal one-two punch. Harris has torched the Pirates' the two meetings this season with 24 points (1/15) and 21 points (2/1). The Bulls are one of the league's best rebounding teams, ranking second with a rebound margin of +3.5.
Â
Series History
South Florida leads the series with East Carolina 16-9 and has defeated the Pirates twice this season. ECU won both meetings with the Bulls last season but South Florida holds a 10-8 advantage over ECU when the teams have met as AAC foes. Both teams have met in the first round of the AAC Championship back in 2016 when South Florida outlasted East Carolina 71-66 in Orlando.
Â
On This Date
ECU is 3-0 in games played on Mar. 9 since the 1960-61 season. The last time the Pirates played on this date was in the first round of the AAC Championship in 2017 when ECU defeated Temple 80-69 in Hartford, Conn.
Â
Up Next
The winner will face top-seeded Houston in the quarterfinals on Friday at 1 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
Â
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Basketball
F
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballMike Schwartz Presser
Thursday, October 10
Inside Pirate Athletics (Feb. 26, 2024)
Tuesday, February 27
ECU Presser vs Charlotte
Saturday, February 03
Inside Pirate Athletics (Jan. 29, 2024)
Tuesday, January 30
