Pirates Face Rice In Minges On Wednesday

Game 21: Rice (8-12, 2-5 American) at East Carolina (6-14, 1-6 American)
Date \| Time	January 28, 2026 \| 7 p.m. ET
Location	Greenville, N.C. \| Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum
Game Program	Digital Game Program #5
Coverage	Stream: ESPNU Radio: 107.9WNCT Live Stats: Statbroadcast
Statistics	East Carolina \| Rice \| The American
Game Notes	East Carolina \| Rice \| The American
Social Media	Facebook \| Twitter \| Instagram \| YouTube

GREENVILLE, N.C. – East Carolina returns home looking to build momentum off of its road win last week as the Pirates host Rice on Wednesday night inside Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum.

The game is slated for a 7 p.m. tip time and will be televised on ESPNU with Mike Corey (play-by-play) and Perry Clark (analyst) on the call. Pirate fans can also tune in to 107.9 WNCT FM, 94.3 The Game or download the IBX app to hear Daron Vaught call the action.

Jordan Riley continues his strong two-way play, leading the Pirates in both points per game (21.5) and steals per game (1.8) while Giovanni Emejuru nearly averages a double-double with 13.6 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. Demitri Gardner adds 7.6 points per contest and is shooting 53.8 percent from behind the arc.

Last Time Out
Jordan Riley scored a team-high 15 points as East Carolina outlasted North Texas, 63-59, on Friday afternoon at The Super Pit.

Scouting the Owls
Rice comes into Wednesday's game on a two-game slide and having lost three of its last four after falling at home to Tulsa, 87-81 on Saturday. Trae Broadnax leads Rice in scoring with 15.3 points per game while Nick Anderson (14.4 ppg) and Jalen Smith (11.9 ppg) provide secondary scoring. Rice is second in the American in three-point percentage at 36.6 percent.

Series History
East Carolina leads the all-time series with Rice 9-8, but the Owls have taken the last three meetings in the series including two matchups as American Conference opponents. ECU is 4-3 all-time against Rice in Minges Coliseum and the Pirates have not defeated the Owls since Feb. 22, 2014, when ECU won 67-55 at home.

On This Date
ECU is 6-15 in games played on Jan. 28 with the last contest on this date coming during the 2023-24 season when ECU defeated Temple, 70-64 in overtime.

Up Next
East Carolina travels to Florida Atlantic on Sunday for a 2 p.m. contest on ESPN+ against the Owls.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Giovanni Emejuru

Demitri Gardner

Jordan Riley

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