Pirates Visit Rice Saturday

Game 27: East Carolina (14-12, 7-6 AAC) at Rice (10-16, 4-9 AAC)
Date \| Time	February 24, 2024 \| 2:00 p.m. ET
Location	Houston, Texas \| Tudor Fieldhouse
Game Program	Digital Game Program #6
Coverage	Stream: ESPNU Radio: 107.9WNCT Live Stats
Statistics	East Carolina \| Rice \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Rice \| The American
Record Book	East Carolina 2023-24 Record Book
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube \| #GreenvilleGrit

Houston, Texas – The East Carolina men's basketball team is set to return to the court this Saturday afternoon when the Pirates travel to the Lone Star State to face Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse.

The game is scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. ET tip and will be televised on ESPNU with Jordan Bernfield (play-by-play) and Mark Adams (analyst) on the call. Saturday's game can also be heard on the ECU Sports Network 107.9 FM or 9.43 The Game with Matt Pedersen (play-by-play) and Michael Perry (analyst) handling broadcasting duties.

The Pirates enter Saturday having won three conference games in a row for the first time in the AAC since joining the league prior to the 2014-15 season and won their seventh AAC game which is the most for ECU as well since joining the American. ECU defeated Tulane 81-67 on Sunday afternoon, led by RJ Felton's 21 points and Brandon Johnson's 20 points. The Pirates have won three road games this season, all of which were conference road games, marking the second time since joining the American that the Pirates have won three AAC road games.

Last Time Out
RJ Felton scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds as East Carolina defeated Tulane 81-67 on Sunday afternoon inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. Brandon Johnson added 20 points and nine boards for the Pirates (14-12, 7-6 AAC) who earned their most wins in the American Athletic Conference since joining the league prior to the 2014-15 with their seventh league win and have won three straight AAC games for the first time as a program. ECU also got strong play from its other guards as Cam Hayes tied his season-high in points with 14 on 4-of-6 shooting from downtown and Bobby Pettiford Jr. scored 12 points along with seven assists. Jaden Walker added eight assists and six rebounds.

Scouting the Owls
Rice enters Saturday's game coming off a 23-point win on the road against UAB on Wednesday night led by Mekhi Mason's game-high 19 points, six assists and six rebounds. The Owls set season-highs in field goal percentage (60.3), field goal percentage in a half (64.3), points at the half (49) and three-point field goal percentage (57.9). Travis Evee leads the Owls in scoring with 15.8 points per game (7th in AAC) and Mason adds 14.2 points a night. Max Fiedler averages a near double-double with 9.5 points and 9.4 rebounds (2nd in AAC). Evee is Rice's all-time leader in made three pointers and is the sixth active leader among all Division I players in career threes.

Series History
East Carolina leads the all-time series with Rice 9-6 as the last meeting between the two schools came on Nov. 24, 2019, in the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase where the Owls won 77-69. Prior to that meeting, the Pirates had won six in a row against Rice and ECU is 4-3 in games played at Rice. Against Owls this season, ECU holds a 3-1 mark, defeating Temple twice and downing Kennesaw State on a buzzer beater while falling to Florida Atlantic.

On This Date
ECU is 7-9 in games played on Feb. 24 since the 1960-61 season with the last game on this date coming during the 2015-16 season when the Pirates downed Tulane at home, 79-73.

Up Next
East Carolina hosts Memphis on Thursday, Feb. 29 at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

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Players Mentioned

RJ Felton

Cam Hayes

Brandon Johnson

Bobby Pettiford Jr.

Jaden Walker

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