Pirates commence post-exam slate with No. 24 Clemson

The Tigers are visiting Minges Coliseum for the second time in three seasons

Following an 11-day layoff for exams, the East Carolina men’s basketball team will receive one of its most challenging on-court examinations of the season tonight when Oliver Purnell and his 24 th-ranked Clemson Tigers visit Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum for a 7 o’clock tip.

The Pirates (4-5) have won three of four since their 1-4 start, but put forth an uninspired effort the last time out and were fortunate to survive a scare from Division II Coker, 69-63.

The contest against the Cobras on December 5 was just the second home game for Mack McCarthy’s club and the first since the season opener on November 13. Perhaps that three-plus weeks without a home game had taken its toll on a young team? Or maybe East Carolina thought it could win by simply showing up? However, regardless of the reason(s) for the unenthused and emotion-lacking effort against Coker, the Pirates must bring their A-game tonight if they hope to compete with the very talented Tigers.

No. 24 Clemson (8-2) is off to another strong start under seventh year head coach Oliver Purnell. Purnell, who also had successful stints at Radford, Old Dominion and Dayton, has developed the Tigers into a program that produces very physical and tough teams on an annual basis.

The game will be just Clemson’s third road contest, but sixth away from Littlejohn Coliseum. The Tigers took two of three in Anaheim over Thanksgiving when they defeated then No. 10 Butler and Long Beach State after an opening loss to Texas A&M. Their road games were blowout victories at Liberty (79-39) and UNCG (89-67).

The Tigers, who average 80 points per game, are led by senior power forward Trevor Booker. Booker, who nearly averages a double double with his 14.1 and 9.2 marks, has led his team in rebounding in all but one game.

David Potter (6’6”, 215) and Jerai Grant (6’8”, 220) are also regular starters on the frontline. Potter averages nearly ten points per game and tops the team with 21 three-pointers. He shoots a deadly 52.5% behind the arc. Grant produces 5.7 points and 4.6 rebounds in 17 minutes per contest.

Junior point guard Demontez Stitt tops the team with four assists per game.

The Tigers don’t shoot nearly as many three-pointers since the off-season departure of sophomore Terrence Oglesby, but they still shoot a respectable 36.6 percent from deep.

East Carolina is led by junior point guard Brock Young. Young, who was second nationally in assists per game a season ago, averages a team-high 15.7 points and also dishes out over five assists.

Backcourt mate Jontae Sherrod is second on the club with his 12.4 per game mark and is tied with wing Jamar Abrams for the most three-pointers made with 13.

Darius Morrow (11.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Chad Wynn (9.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg) will need to play much more sound post defense against Booker and company.

Final Prediction and Analysis

The Tigers will present the Pirates with at least their third stiffest test of the season. East Carolina lost by 31 to Wake Forest in its second game and was dominated by Tennessee (105-66) in game four.

Mack McCarthy’s club has struggled with inconsistent play and inconsistent effort to date. One would think that the combination of an 11-day layoff after a poor showing and an ACC team coming to town would produce potentially the Pirates best effort of the season.

It will need its best effort plus some help from its home crowd if it is to shock Clemson. Jamar Abrams will need to continue his strong play and the Pirates will defend the post much better than they have to date. They must force the Tigers to beat them from the perimeter.

While the Pirates have pulled their share of upsets at Minges over the years, don’t count on it happening this time. East Carolina is far too loose with the basketball and will not be able to handle the Tigers’ tough pressure defense on offense. Defensively, the Pirates don’t put up much of a fight.

Clemson 88 East Carolina 65