Tulsa
ECU
Tulsa Ends Three-Game Road Stretch at ECU Saturday
1/29/2021 10:35:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| GAME #15: TULSA GOLDEN HURRICANE (8-6, 5-4) at ECU PIRATES (7-5, 1-5) | |
|---|---|
| Date/Time: | Saturday • Jan. 30, 2021 • 11:00 a.m. (CT) |
| Site: |
Williams Arena (7,100) • Greenville, N.C. |
| Coaches: | Tulsa – Frank Haith (Elon '88), 7th year ECU – Joe Dooley (George Washington '88), 3rd year (7th overall) |
| TV: | ESPN+ | Patrick Kinas (pxp) & Jay Sonnhalter (analyst) |
| Radio: | Big Country 99.5 FM (Bruce Howard & JR Rollo) |
| Live Stats: | Live Stats |
| Series: | 26th Meeting (Tulsa leads the series 22-3) |
| Twitter: | @TUMBasketball | @TulsaHurricane |
| Instagram: | TulsaMBasketball |
| Game Notes: | Tulsa (PDF) | ECU | The American |
| Game Program: | Game Day Program |
The Game
• Tulsa will take on the East Carolina Pirates in a conference road matchup in the Williams Arena Saturday morning on ESPN+.
• The game is the 15th contest for Tulsa (8-6) this season ... the pirates are 7-5 on the season losing their last contest 71-64 in a road conference game against UCF on Jan. 27.
Scouting the Pirates
• ECU was picked to finish 9th in the preseason AAC Coaches Poll ... the Pirates returned all 5 starters and both top scorers from last season, when the team went 11-20 and 5-13 in conference play.
• East Carolina added two key pieces in true freshmen center Derrick Quansah and guard Noah Farrakhan.
• The Pirates returned leading scorer and second-team all-AAC selection Jayden Gardner and sophomore guard Tristen Newton who combined for 49 starts, scoring 30.7 points and 13.7 rebounds per game last season.
• The Pirates opened their season five straight wins including an 88-78 overtime victory over UNC-Wilmington ... they have lost 5 of their 6 conference game and are on a 4-game losing streak ... ECU has had 7 contests postponed due to Covid-19.
• The Pirates are led in scoring by junior Jayden Gardner who is averaging 16.3 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game ... JJ Miles is averaging 9.9 points and 3.1 rebounds a game for ECU.
• ECU is led by Head Coach Joe Dooley, who was been at the helm of the Pirates for the last 2 seasons and 7 seasons overall ... he holds a 85-98 record.
The Series
• This will be the 26th contest between the Golden Hurricane and the Pirates ... Tulsa leads the series at 22-3 with TU winning both meetings last season.
• TU won the first contest against the Pirates in Tulsa 64-60 on Dec. 28, 1984 under Nolan Richardson's fifth season as the head coach of the Hurricane ... TU would finish 23-8 during the 1984-85 season making the NCAA Tournament.
• This is the 11th time Tulsa has taken on East Carolina in Greenville, N.C. with the Hurricane holding an 8-2 advantage on the road ... the Pirates have only won once in Tulsa as the Hurricane is 11-1 on its home court and 3-0 at a neutral site.
A Tulsa Win Would
• Give the Hurricane its 9th win of the season, moving Tulsa to 9-6, 6-4 AAC on the year.
• Move Tulsa's all-time record against ECU to 23-3.
• Give TU its 8th straight win against the Pirates after sweeping both contests last season.
Last Game Against the Pirates
• Martins Igbanu scored a game-high 24 points as Tulsa held on to an early double-digit lead on Feb. 12, 2020 for a 70-56 victory over East Carolina
• Igbanu tallied his third straight 20+ scoring game, while also grabbing 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season ... the senior shot 6-of-11 from the field and connected on 12-of-18 free throws.
• Darien Jackson added 11 points and tied a career-best with 5 steals, while Jeriah Horne and Lawson Korita each scored 10 points.
• Tulsa finished the game shooting 44-percent from the field, but was only 28-percent from behind the arc after starting the game on fire from 3-point range making the first 4 three-pointers.
• Tulsa pushed the lead to as many as 15 points, but ECU closed the gap again to eight points, 57-49, on an 8-1 run ... two Igbanu layups put the Hurricane up by 12 points at 2:53 mark of the game as Tulsa kept its double-figure lead for the final 2-plus minutes.
Rachal in Conference Play
• The senior is averaging 14.4 points in conference play, grabbing 6.7 rebounds and dishing out 2.4 assists a game through 9 conference contests ... he is 8th in the AAC in scoring, 8th in rebounds, and 9th in
blocks.
• At Temple, Rachal scored in double-digits for his 7th conference game with 12 points on 4-13 (30.8%) shooting.
• In the four games against Wichita State and Houston, Rachal averaged 15. 5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 assists ... he recorded his first double-double of the season at home against the Shockers with 17 points and 11 rebounds.
• The senior scored 25 points, shooting 8-11 (73%) from the field, 3-5 (60%) from three and 6-7 (86%) at the free throw line against Cincinnati ... Rachal had career-highs in rebounds (13) and blocks (3) in that game.
• On Jan. 4, 2021, Rachal was named the American Athletic Conference Player of the Week after averaging 23.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.5 blocks against then No. 5 Houston and Cincinnati.
Record Watch
• Elijah Joiner and Darien Jackson have been vital for the Hurricane this season ... each of the upperclassmen are closing in on TU all-time records this season.
• Joiner, Tulsa's senior point guard, has cracked the top-20 all-time in assists for the Hurricane with his 47 assists this season ... in his career he has 261 assists in 106 games and is number 20 all-time, trailing Pooh Williamson's 277.
• Jackson is a defensive minded guard, who is the heart of the Hurricane defense ... the senior has accumulated 90 steals in his career and is only 19 steals away from catching Michael Scott who is 20th all-time with 109.
• Jackson has also shown out on the offensively leading the AAC and TU in field goal percentage ... shooting at a 66.7% clip ... if he reaches 125 attempts and maintains above a 65.9 percentage he would rank 1st all-time on the FG percentage list.
#LoyalAlwaysTrue
