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East Carolina will try to build on its 84-75 win over Coppin State when it faces South Carolina on Saturday afternoon in a neutral-site meeting in Greenville, South Carolina. The Pirates bounced back from a loss at UNC Wilmington with their win over Coppin State last Sunday. South Carolina had its two-game winning streak snapped in an 84-70 loss at UAB on Wednesday.
East Carolina got off to a strong start this season winning five of its first six games. The Pirates proceeded to lose three of their next four games, falling to just two games above the .500 mark. Their worst performance of the season came in a 73-68 loss to South Carolina State at the end of November as 17-point favorites. They responded by winning and covering the spread as 4-point favorites in a 79-69 final against Campbell before losing to UNC Wilmington as 4.5-point underdogs. They bounced back with an 84-75 win over Coppin State last Sunday, covering the 7.5-point spread in the process.
Countdown to tip-off starts now!?????#PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/pG6VTEiwwm
— East Carolina Men's Basketball (@ecubasketball) December 16, 2022
The Pirates have been a solid offensive team this season, shooting 52.4% from 2-point range. Their strength has been on the interior, as they are No. 34 of 363 Division I teams nationally in offensive rebounding rate. Those numbers are somewhat surprising, as East Carolina is No. 324 in average height—it will be facing a South Carolina team that is No. 115 in height. The Pirates will be looking to clean up some outside shooting issues, as they are knocking down just 33.0% of their 3-pointers. South Carolina has been awful defensively, ranked No. 281 in defensive field goal percentage and No. 283 in turnover rate. Sophomore guard Javon Small leads East Carolina with 18.1 points, 5.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game.