Pirates Set To Host Tulsa On Sunday

Game 15: Tulsa (9-4, 0-1 AAC) at East Carolina (7-7, 0-1 AAC)
Date \| Time	January 7, 2024 \| 3:00 p.m. ET
Location	Greenville, N.C. \| Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
Game Program	Digital Game Program #3
Coverage	Stream: ESPNU Radio: 107.9WNCT Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| Tulsa \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Tulsa \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2023-24 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #GreenvilleGrit

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina men's basketball team is back in action for its conference home opener on Sunday afternoon as the Pirates host Tulsa inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip and will be televised on ESPNU with Matt Schumacker (play-by-play) and Terrence Oglesby (analyst) on the call. Sunday's game can also be heard on WNCT 107.9 FM with Daron Vaught (play-by-play) and Michael Perry (analyst) handling broadcast duties.

The Pirates are led in scoring by Preseason AAC Second Team member RJ Felton with 16.5 points per game (6th in AAC). Brandon Johnson and Ezra Ausar round out the Pirates' top scorers with 14.7 and 13.2 points per game respectively. Johnson leads the team on the glass with 9.3 rebounds per contest which ranks as best in the league and has recorded six double-doubles including three in the team's past four games.

Last Time Out
The East Carolina men's basketball team dropped its conference opener, 79-64, to No. 17 Florida Atlantic at Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena on Tuesday night. Brandon Johnson recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Pirates (7-7, 0-1 AAC) who looked to have a shot to pull off their first-ever road win over a ranked opponent after a hot-shooting first half. Quentin Diboundje scored 13 points off the bench, the most bench points scored by a Pirate this year, and RJ Felton added 12 points and five rebounds for ECU.

Scouting The Golden Hurricane
Tulsa is coming off a 78-75 loss at home against No. 15 Memphis in which the Golden Hurricane nearly erased an 11-point second-half deficit but the Tigers' Jahvon Quinerly hit a three in the closing seconds to seal the deal. The Golden Hurricane have already surpassed last year's win total and have three players who are scoring in double figures led by P.J. Haggerty (17.9 ppg). Haggerty is second in the conference in scoring and has recorded three straight games with 20 or more points. Keaston Willis and Cobe Williams add 12.5 and 11.8 points per contest respectively.

Series History
Tulsa leads the all-time series with East Carolina 23-7, but ECU has had recent success against the Golden Hurricane, winning the last four matchups. The Pirates are 5-12 against Tulsa since both schools joined the American in 2014-15 and are 4-9 against Tulsa at Minges Coliseum.

On This Date
ECU is 9-9 in games played on Jan. 7 since the 1960-61 season with the last game on this date coming just last season as East Carolina fell to Memphis on the road, 69-59.

Up Next
The Pirates will hit the road to face Temple on Wednesday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

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Players Mentioned

Ezra Ausar

Quentin Diboundje

RJ Felton

Brandon Johnson

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