The UCF Knights play host to the East Carolina Pirates in an AAC showdown on Sunday afternoon from Addition Financial Arena. Both teams come limping into this one, with the Knights having lost four of their last five and the Pirates having lost two of their last three. The first meeting between the two saw the Knights come away with the three-point win and while East Carolina would love to get revenge in this one, there's little doubt that the Knights will expect to hold firm at home as they go for the season sweep.
It's been another struggling season for East Carolina and with the regular season quickly coming to a close, the Pirates are hoping that they can finish things off on a high note. A win on Sunday would mark a season above .500, while also getting momentum going in the right direction for the conference tournament, which is slated to start later this week. The Pirates have struggled with consistency overall this season and their road record hasn't helped matters. They sit at only 2-8 on the road this season and with this one marking their second-straight road contest, they could be in for some struggles and some rust early on. Expect the Pirates to compete in this one but it remains to be seen if they can seal the deal.
Injuries haven't helped this group this season and that is bound to come around again in this one. Javon Small (knee) continues to be ruled out indefinitely and it's clear he's been missed. As the team's leading scorer, his offense has been difficult to replicate over the last few weeks.
We're back at it again in 24hrs! ?????#PurpleReign pic.twitter.com/yXYq7pTpVA
— East Carolina Men's Basketball (@ecubasketball) March 4, 2023
East Carolina's struggles on the offensive end have been well-documented this season and that is likely to give them the most trouble on the road in this one. UCF has plenty of length and athleticism to make things interesting, while the Pirates' lack of scoring punch is a major concern. They rank in the 300s nationally when it comes to field-goal percentage and three-point percentage and considering UCF's defensive tenacity, this doesn't seem like the matchup where those improve. As mentioned earlier, being with Small (15.8 ppg) has been a problem and with only two other double-figure scorers to fill the void, they'll need someone off the bench to step up in this one.
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