Pirates Wrap Up Road Trip At Wichita State Wednesday

Game 20: East Carolina (9-10, 2-4 AAC) at Wichita State (8-10, 0-5 AAC)
Date \| Time	January 24, 2024 \| 7:30 p.m. ET
Location	Wichita, Kan. \| Charles Koch Arena
Game Program	Digital Game Program #4
Coverage	Stream: ESPN+ Radio: 107.9WNCT Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| Wichita St. \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Wichita St. \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2023-24 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #GreenvilleGrit

Wichita, Kan. – The East Carolina men's basketball team concludes its two-game road swing on Wednesday night when the Pirates travel to Wichita State for a midweek clash with the Shockers at Charles Koch Arena.

The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. ET tip and will be streamed via ESPN+ with Shane Dennis (play-by-play) and Bob Hull (analyst) on the call. Wednesday's game can also be heard on the ECU Sports Network 107.9 FM or 9.43 The Game with Daron Vaught (play-by-play) and Michael Perry handling broadcasting duties.

RJ Felton leads ECU in scoring with 16.4 points per game (8th in AAC) and has scored in double figures in his last 11 games. Ezra Ausar and Brandon Johnson round out the Pirates' top scorers with 14.1 points per game. Johnson leads the team on the glass with 8.9 rebounds per contest which ranks as third-best in the league. Bobby Pettiford Jr. leads the Pirates with 3.8 assists per game and leads the conference in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.3 (18th in NCAA).

Last Time Out
Ezra Ausar scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but East Carolina saw its losing streak extended to three as the Pirates fell to UAB 69-61 at Bartow Arena on Saturday afternoon. Brandon Johnson picked up his seventh double-double of the year for ECU (9-10, 2-4 AAC), who led for most the game but were doomed by a seven-minute stretch without a field goal in the second half and a season-high 16 turnovers. Johnson and Ausar's performances marked the third time this season that two Pirates have recorded a double-double in the same game. RJ Felton added 10 points to extend his streak of scoring 10 or more points in a game to 11.

Scouting the Shockers
Wichita State is coming off a 72-68 loss to South Florida on the road Sunday afternoon. The Shockers were led by Harlond Beverly's 15 points and Xavier Bell's 14 points but were outscored 40-33 in the second half by the Bulls and could not overcome eight second-half turnovers.The Shockers have three players that score in double figures led by Colby Rogers' 15.9 points per game (7th in AAC). Bell and Kenny Pohto add 12.5 and 10.7 points per night respectively. Wichita State is one of the better teams in the conference and country in defensive rebounding at 28.7 per game (1st in AAC, 20th in NCAA) and in rebounds per game with 40.9 per game (18th in NCAA).

Series History
Wichita State leads the all-time series with East Carolina 7-1 as both teams split last year's meetings with the Pirates defeating the Shockers on the road, 79-69, for the first win in program history over Wichita State. The Shockers defeated ECU, 85-72, less than a month later in Greenville. ECU is 1-3 in games played at Wichita State.

On This Date
ECU is 8-12 in games played on Jan. 24 since the 1960-61 season with the last game on this date coming just last season as the Pirates defeated Tulsa at home, 76-66.

Up Next
East Carolina returns to Minges Coliseum to face Temple on Sunday, Jan. 28 at 5 p.m. on ESPN2.

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Players Mentioned

Ezra Ausar

RJ Felton

Brandon Johnson

Bobby Pettiford Jr.

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