The Tulane Green Wave (17-10, 12-15-0 ATS, 10-6 AAC) have a chance for immediate payback after the East Carolina Pirates (15-14, 17-12-0 ATS, 6-10 AAC) beat the brakes off them on Wednesday. Entering as 6.0-point underdogs, the Pirates took the lead early in the first half and never relinquished it, winning 83-68. East Carolina's greatest strength was the offensive glass, as they pulled down 17 rebounds on that end to keep possessions alive. Wednesday's meeting made it five straight wins for the home team in this series. Tulane can keep that streak alive at 7:00 p.m. EST on Friday, as Avron B. Fogelman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse is set to host this time.
BJ with the offensive rebound and dunk ??
We lead 79-61 at the U-4 media timeout pic.twitter.com/WDjfZ0yQYR
— East Carolina Men's Basketball (@ecubasketball) March 2, 2023
A 15-point win is always nice, especially when you lead by double digits for most of the second half. Well, that's how things went for the Pirates in their home finale. Their defense was stellar, blocking five shots, forcing 14 turnovers, and holding Tulane to 39.3% shooting. The offense wasn't efficient, but Brandon Johnson's 19-point, 12-rebound double-double did enough damage to make the game a breeze. He's questionable for this game against Tulane.
Winning on the road has been a tough ask for the Pirates though. They've gone 2-7 in away games ahead of their final two of the season. Out of the 11 American Conference schools, KenPom has East Carolina 10th, rating them 211th in the nation.
Their conference-worst field goal percentage, which is 340th nationally at 40.7%, is a significant reason why. They aren't much better from beyond the arc, ranking 313th by only draini ng 31.6% of their tries. The Pirates put up 69.5 points per game, which is only ahead of Tulane in the AAC.
Defensively, they're more competitive, but not a powerhouse. They hold teams to 33.0% from distance which is seventh in the AAC, and 43.8% overall which is ninth. Strong rebounding, averaging a +2.3 margin per contest, helps them end possession, and allow 70.5 points per game.
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