American Athletic Conference foes will lock horns when the East Carolina Pirates (11-17) face the Cincinnati Bearcats (20-8) at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. The game starts at 12:00 pm ET on Saturday, Feb. 27 and will air on ESU and ES3.
The Pirates beat Tulane 79-73 on Wednesday. Lance Tejada had 18 points, four rebounds, and one assist for East Carolina. The Bearcats, meanwhile, are coming off a 65-60 win against Connecticut on Saturday. Jacob Evans III was the team’s top scorer, recording 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
Gary Clark has been hot over the last five games for the Bearcats, averaging 14.4 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.0 steal, 2.6 blocks, and 1.0 three-pointer.
Cincinnati may control the offensive boards in this matchup, as they place 21st in the nation in OR% at 36.9%. On the other hand, East Carolina ranks 296th in the nation on the defensive glass with a DR% of 67.6%.
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Bearcats winning the first matchup 75-60. Octavius Ellis played a big role with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
The Pirates are trying to improve upon their records of 11-17 Straight Up (SU) and 12-9-2 Against The Spread (ATS). The East Carolina defense has been on fire lately, allowing an average of 63.2 points per game, well under their season average of 73.0.
In the other locker room, the Bearcats have 20-8 SU and 13-13-1 ATS records. Cincinnati is one of the better offensive rebounding teams in Division I. The Bearcats average 13.2 offensive rebounds per game, making them the 31st-best team in the country for that category. The Bearcats rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the 32nd-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country at 1.42. The Cincinnati defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking ninth in Division I with only 61.8 points allowed per game. Teams seem to consistently miss shots against the Bearcats, who are the 12th-best team in the nation in terms of opponent field goal percentage allowed at .388. Teams with weak ball handling have not fared well against the Bearcats, who rank 16th in the nation with 8.2 steals per game.
Cincinnati won the last meeting this season between these two teams, bumping its SU record to 8-1. The Pirates hold the advantage ATS with a record of 5-2-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cin, ATS Winner – Cin
Notes
“East Carolina is 4-2 ATS in its last 6 games “.
“East Carolina is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games “.
“East Carolina is 1-5-1 ATS in its last 7 games at home”.
“East Carolina is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games at home”.
“East Carolina is 4-1-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Cincinnati”.
Cincinnati sits at 10-5 SU against the conference, while East Carolina is 3-12 SU.
East Carolina typically earns just 72.7 points per home game, ranked 194th. Cincinnati is the top-ranked team in points allowed on the road, giving up just 59.4 points.
Ranked 75th, the Cincinnati Bearcats have an offensive rating of 110.8. The East Carolina Pirates rank 259th with a defensive rating of just 107.1.
The East Carolina Pirates average a field goal percentage of 43.3% this season. The Cincinnati Bearcats have split their games this season (3-3) when opponents have a FG% of 43.3% or greater.
The East Carolina Pirates and the Cincinnati Bearcats both rank higher in average effective field goal percentage when compared to their field goal percentages. East Carolina is 218th and 197th in the nation for FG% and eFG% respectively, while Cincinnati is 192nd and 182nd in these categories.
East Carolina ranks 64th in assists, recording 15.2 per game. Cincinnati ranks 34th with 16.0 assists per game.
The Cincinnati Bearcats average 5.7 blocks per game, the ninth-ranked team in the country. The East Carolina Pirates rank a lowly 323rd in blocking with just 2.1 per game.
The Cincinnati Bearcats rank 31st in offensive rebounds. The East Carolina Pirates rank 276th in the nation in defensive rebounds.
On average, East Carolina forces a turnover rate of 18.8%. When Cincinnati turns over the ball at a similar or higher rate, the team has a winning 7-3 record.
