The East Carolina Pirates will host a showdown against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks at Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. Action begins at 7:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Dec. 16 and can be seen on ES3.
The Pirates enter this game hoping for similar success after topping North Carolina A&T 71-60 on Sunday. B.J. Tyson was the team’s leading scorer with 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting. The Seahawks, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 87-82 loss against Georgetown on Saturday. Chris Flemmings had a team-high 19 points.
Kentrell Barkley and Tyson have been better than usual over the last five games for the Pirates. During that stretch, Barkley has averaged 14.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.4 steals, while Tyson has recorded 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.4 three-pointers a game.
UNC Wilmington is a slim one-point favorite over East Carolina. The Over/Under (O/U) is sitting at 146 points for this matchup. The Pirates have gone 6-4 Straight Up (SU) and 4-2 Against The Spread (ATS). East Carolina will look to take advantage of the Seahawks and their propensity to foul. UNC Wilmington ranks 349th in the nation in fouls, averaging 25.0 per game.
Over on the other bench, the Seahawks have 5-1 SU and 3-1 ATS records. The Seahawks have controlled the glass with an average of 41.3 rebounds per game, 46th in the country. The UNC Wilmington defense has been a problem for competitors, allowing only 5.0 field goals from three-point range per game.
These two will be squaring off for the first time this season. In their most recent meeting a season ago, UNC Wilmington came out on top, bumping its SU record to 4-2. The Seahawks also lead the matchup ATS with a record of 4-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – NC-Wil, ATS Winner – NC-Wil, O/U – Over
Notes
East Carolina is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games.
East Carolina is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games at home.
East Carolina is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing UNC Wilmington.
East Carolina is 2-7 ATS in its last 9 games when playing at home against UNC Wilmington.
UNC Wilmington is one of the highest-scoring teams in the nation, averaging 87.8 points per game (ranked ninth). East Carolina allows 65.9 points per game (ranked 72nd).
The UNC Wilmington Seahawks have a defensive rating of 91.1 (ranked 30th), while the East Carolina Pirates have an offensive rating of 106.5 (ranked 158th).
With 66.1 possessions and 1.065 points per possession, the East Carolina Pirates perform worse on both metrics than the UNC Wilmington Seahawks. UNC Wilmington averages 78.3 possessions and 1.122 points per possession.
East Carolina has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.5%. UNC Wilmington is a winning 2-1 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
East Carolina attempts an average of 16.0 three pointers per game and UNC Wilmington attempts 21.0 on average. When the teams attempt at least 20 three pointers, the East Carolina Pirates have an even 1-1 record while the UNC Wilmington Seahawks are undefeated with a 3-0 record.
UNC Wilmington ranks 78th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.26. East Carolina is ranked lower at 172nd with an A/TO of 1.06.
UNC Wilmington, the 46th-ranked team in rebounding, registers an average of 41.3 rebounds per game. East Carolina does worse, ranked 166th with 37.6.
The East Carolina Pirates average 5.4 steals per game. The UNC Wilmington Seahawks are undefeated at 4-0 when they allow at least 5 steals.
