ECU basketball update: ECU vs. Tulane recap & Memphis preview

CUSA Fans.com ECU Correspondent Thomas "Bubba" Rosenbaum previews the basketball game between East Carolina and Memphis.

Green Wave uses free throws and second chance points to drown Pirates, 65-56

East Carolina held Tulane to 35 percent from the floor and forced 15 turnovers. However, in the end, Dave Dickerson’s team used its size to defeat the Pirates, 65-56, on Wednesday night in Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum.

ECU (5-11, 0-3) jumped out to a 6-1 lead with 15:31 remaining in the opening half after Cory Farmer knocked down a jumper. They extended their lead to six at 16-10 with just less than ten minutes to play when Darrell Jenkins converted a lay-up.

From that point on, Tulane (8-7, 1-2) owned the first half. The Green Wave went on a 10-0 run over the next 3:33 and outscored the Pirates 23-9 over the remainder of the half to lead 33-25 at the break.

John Fields, who finished the game with a career-high 17 points, scored 13 of the Pirates’ 25 first half points. He also grabbed 6 rebounds.

ECU opened the second half with a 7-0 spurt over the first 2:14 to trim the deficit to one at 33-32. However, TU answered with a 10-0 run of its own that pushed the lead out 11 at 43-32 with 14:15 to play.

Tulane built its lead to as many as 13 when it led by 51-38 with just less than ten minutes remaining.

The Pirates cut the deficit to six with a minute remaining, but the Green Wave drained 5-of-6 free throw attempts to ice the game.

Donnie Stith posted a double double, recording 15 points and pulling down 11 boards to lead Tulane. David Gomez, the team’s leading scorer coming in, finished with 12 points.

East Carolina freshman guard Brandon Evans tallied 10 points, all of which were in the second half. Darrell Jenkins also had 10 points to go along with his 6 assists and 4 rebounds. However, he continued to shoot poorly, connecting on only 3-of-12 in the game.

Both teams concluded the game at 35% from the floor, but the difference was that Tulane’s ability to earn and convert its second chance opportunities. The Green Wave snatched 15 offensive rebounds and translated those into 15 second chance points.

Another differentiating factor was the charity stripe, as Tulane made 20-of-23 while ECU connected on only 11-of-19 attempts.

East Carolina vs. Memphis preview

January 20, 2007 – 6 PM – CSTV – Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum

“Coach Cal” and No. 17 Tigers roll into Minges on Saturday night

Most programs could not withstand the losses—Rodney Carney, Darius Washington Jr., Shawne Williams—that John Calipari and his Memphis Tigers did since last season. However, Memphis has done just fine, as they’re 14-3 and ranked 17th.

The fact that they have more than survived such an outflow of talent is a tremendous testament to the caliber of program that the former New Jersey Nets’ coach has built in the “Land of the Delta Blues”.

The Tigers’ illustrious coach, who is in his seventh season, has lured some of the nation’s most elite players to Memphis. These players flow to play for a proven coach and arrive with the expectation of having their basketball skills fertilized along the banks of the Mississippi while in route to the NBA. Thus, the program can ebb smoothly when losses such as the aforementioned ones occur.

Last season, Memphis advanced to the Elite Eight and tied national champion Florida for the most wins in the nation with a school-record 33. One of those wins came against East Carolina, but it was not secured without the Tigers receiving one of their stiffest CUSA tests of the year.

Calipari and his high-flying Tigers came to a sold out and raucous Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum ranked 5 th, but were fought to the game’s final minutes. ECU trailed by only 2 with five minutes to play before dropping a 77-67 decision.

UM survived thanks largely to the performance of the departed Rodney Carney, who drained six three-pointers while scoring 27 points.

Courtney Captain and Jeremy Ingram, who are two of the leaders on this season’s team, scored in double figures in that game. Captain finished with 12 points. Ingram tallied a double double, posting 12 points while also grabbing 11 rebounds.

Memphis (14-3, 4-0) has won all four meetings in the series.

The Tigers are coming off an impressive 79-54 shellacking of Mike Davis’ UAB Blazers and bring a six-game win streak to town. UM has also posted other quality victories such as their decisive 80-63 win over Kentucky in the Maui Invitational early in the season. They’re only 2-2 away from the FedEx Forum, but those losses were at Arizona and Tennessee.

Memphis is a very long and athletic team, which likes to play an up-tempo style. The Tigers are scoring 81.6 points per game and shoot 47.3% from the floor. They connect on 34% of their attempts from long range, but only shoot 61.7% from the free throw line. This proves costly, as they get there almost 25 times per game.

Their outstanding offense is a product of their suffocating defense. UM forces opponents to commit an average of more than 17 turnovers. They collect 9.5 steals and outrebound the opposition by 7.5. Opponents have been limited to only 38% shooting and are only scoring 64.9 points per contest.

John Calipari has used the same starting-five—Chris Douglas-Roberts, Jeremy Hunt, Robert Dozier, Antonio Anderson and Joey Dorsey—in all 17 games. He has tremendous length at his disposal, as every player in the line-up is 6’5” or taller.

Sophomore guard Chris Douglas-Roberts (6’6”, 190) leads Memphis with his 14.8 points per game average. He is knocking down 56.4% of his shots, which includes a solid 38.2 mark (13-of-34) from long range. Free throws are a struggle for the team, but Douglas-Roberts connects on 73%.

The lone senior in the line-up is 6’5” guard Jeremy Hunt. Hunt has made 43.3% from behind the arc, which leads the team. He is averaging 13.5 points per contest and is second on the team with 25 steals.

The other starter in the backcourt is Antonio Anderson. The 6’6”, 200-pound sophomore is scoring 8.7 points per game, but leads the team in assists (68) and steals (31).

The frontcourt is anchored by junior Joey Dorsey (6’9”, 260) and sophomore Robert Dozier (6’9”, 215). Dorsey leads the team in rebounds (9.7) and blocks (2.5) while also scoring nearly 8 ppg. Dozier is the team’s third leading scorer at 11.5 ppg and shoots 52.9% from the floor.

Freshman guard Willie Kemp (6’2”, 175) has been the team’s most turned to sixth man. He scores 7.4 ppg and shoots 36.4% from three-point range. Kemp is also third on the team in assists with 50.

Point guard Andre Allen (5’10”, 205) gives the Tigers slightly less than 20 minutes per game and is second on the team with 55 assists.

Memphis is also getting quality backcourt minutes from 6’5” freshman Doneal Mack, who is scoring 6.6 ppg and has knocked down 18-of-62 attempts from behind the arc.

Sophomore Kareem Cooper (6’11”, 290) is only playing 15 minutes per contest, but has been very productive in his action by averaging 6.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest.

East Carolina (5-11, 0-3) dropped a 65-56 decision to Tulane on Wednesday night in Greenville. The Pirates have lost 10 of their last eleven games and have not defeated a Division I team since they won at UNCG on November 18 th. They struggle to score, as they’ve been held under 60 points in five of their last seven games.

Point guard Darrell Jenkins leads ECU in scoring and assists. Courtney Captain and Jeremy Ingram are the top three-point threats on the team.

Freshmen Gabe Blair and John Fields receive the majority of the minutes along the Pirates’ extremely thin frontline. Blair is the team’s top rebounder and is one of the best in CUSA. Fields is averaging slightly less than 10 points per game while also blocking over two shots. He finished with a career-high 17 points in the loss to Tulane.

KEYS TO THE GAME:

FOR ECU TO WIN, IT MUST:

• PLAY ITS BEST GAME TO DATE

• BENEFIT FROM TIGER MISTAKES

• REPLICATE LAST SEASON’S MEMPHIS PERFORMANCE - Last season, ECU effectively used a match-up zone defense to limit Memphis to a 10-of-35 performance from long range.

• DICTATE THE TEMPO WHILE SECURING THE BASKETBALL - This is much easier said than done, but particularly against a team with Memphis’ athleticism and ability to defend. The Pirates struggle to score and if they’re going to have chance to win this game it must be kept in the mid 60’s to low 70’s. Darrell Jenkins and the other ECU guards must not give away the basketball. Also, the Pirates ability to get stops on the defense end will help prevent Memphis from being able to set up their press.

FOR MEMPHIS TO WIN, IT MUST:

• ELIMINATE ALL HOPE A.S.A.P - The Tigers won’t likely take the Pirates for granted after last year’s game. They simply need to play their game. If they can do so, they will eliminate the crowd factor and all hope for an undermanned East Carolina team.

FINAL PREDICTION

Memphis should have no trouble winning this one. The Tigers will totally overwhelm the Pirates while placing a minimum of four players in double figures.

Memphis 82 - East Carolina 54

Other Notes of Interest:

• East Carolina sophomore guard Sam Hinnant will miss the game, as he suffered a leg injury recently and is sidelined for 4-8 weeks.
• Last season, 7,553 fans packed Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum, tying the record for the fifth largest crowd in school history.
• The Pirates have an all-time record of 3-8 versus ranked opponents at Williams Arena-Minges Coliseum. The three wins include back-to-back wins over No. 9 Marquette, which featured current Miami Heat superstar Dwyane Wade. Those wins were in the 2001-2002 and 2002-2003 seasons. In 2002-2003, Marquette went on to play in the Final Four.
• Memphis ’ roster features four players (Robert Dozier, Antonio Anderson, Joey Dorsey and Kareem Cooper) that attended Laurinburg Prep, which is located in Southeastern NC and within a couple hours of East Carolina’s campus. Doneal Mack, a 6’5” freshman guard, went to Statesville Christian (NC).