The East Carolina Pirates (15-17) battle the South Florida Bulls (23-6) Friday in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament. Tip from Dickies Arena is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET (ESPN2/ESPN+). Below, we analyze FanDuel Sportsbook's lines around the'East Carolina vs. South Florida odds, and make our expert'college basketball picks, predictions and bets.
The 8th-seeded Pirates beat the No. 9 Tulsa Golden Hurricanes 84-79 Thursday in the 2nd round. They covered the spread as 3.5-point favorites, and the Over (137.5) cashed. Sophomore F Ezra Ausar had 28 points and 10 rebounds for his 3rd double-double of the season.
The Pirates have never advanced to the AAC tournament final. East Carolina has not been to the Big Dance since winning the SoCon Tournament in 1972.
The Bulls had their 15-game win streak snapped with a 76-70 loss to Tulsa Saturday in their regular season finale. They lost outright as 5.5-point favorites, and the Under (148.5) cashed. That loss knocked them out of the top 25, but they were still able to capture the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.