ECU basketball preview: East Carolina vs. Central Florida

Pirates Still Seeking First CUSA Win As Second Place UCF Comes To Town

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

Be sure to check out the UCF @ ECU preview from our UCF Correspondent too!

Needless to say, it has been an extremely gloomy season for Coach Ricky Stokes and East Carolina. The Pirates have not defeated a Division I opponent since they won at UNCG back in mid-November. Winless Iona finally broke into the win column recently. Thus, ECU (5-16, 0-8) now carries the undesirable banner for the nation's longest losing streak--currently 15 games--versus Division I competition.

During the Pirates' most recent road swing, there were rays of hope. Despite their inability make the plays necessary to notch that elusive first CUSA win, they showed offensive maturity and development that has been sorely missing throughout the season. This resulted in a season-high 56 percent performance from the floor, which included a 9-of-17 effort from long range.

Senior guard Courtney Captain continues to close his career in style, as he scored 21 points and connected on five three-pointers against the Owls. Over the last four games, the Galveston, TX-native has averaged 18 points and 4.5 three-point field goals. Cory Farmer contributed a 3-of-4 effort from behind the arc at Rice and needs to continue to play well considering how much the Pirates rely on the three.

The fragile frontcourt produced some much-needed scoring support in the 83-74 loss at Rice on Saturday night, which took at least a little strain off the Pirates' guards. ECU, which scores only 60.5 points per contest, broke the 70-point plateau for only the sixth time this season in that game.

The next opportunity to end the lengthy losing streak will come Wednesday night when the sharp-shooting Golden Knights of UCF come to Williams-Arena at Minges Coliseum. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

UCF (16-6, 5-3) leads the all-time series, 5-0. Three of those wins came last season when the Golden Knights won both regular season meetings before knocking off the Pirates again in the first round of the CUSA Tournament in Memphis.

Kirk Speraw, who is the second winningest coach in UCF history, is in his 14th season in Orlando. The program, which had not posted a winning season in Division I prior to his Speraw's arrival, has blossomed over recent years. Since the beginning of the 2002-2003 campaign, the Golden Knights have collected 84 wins--an average of 21 per season that ranks them in the top 40 nationally and second within the state of Florida during that time. Last year, they made their CUSA debut by finishing a very respectable 5th of 12.

This season's squad is currently in a three-way tie with Houston and Rice for second-place in the league behind Memphis. UCF is 3-4 on the road this year and will play 3 of its next four on the road beginning with the match-up against East Carolina. This stretch will be critical in determining the Golden Knights’ fate in the CUSA league race.

UCF will be one of the best shooting teams that East Carolina has played. The Golden Knights are currently tied for 26 th nationally with their mark of 48.4 percent. They are also connecting on slightly over 40 percent from long range and a solid 71.5 percent of their free throws. This has resulted in them averaging 74.4 points per game. The Golden Knights have also played pretty well on the other end, as they’re tied for 47 th with East Carolina in field goal percentage defense by holding their opponents to 40.4 percent. Therefore, something will be giving in this one.

Coach Kirk Speraw has used the same starting line-up—Josh Peppers, Mike O’Donnell, Lavell Payne, Dave Noel, and Kenrick Zondervan—in all 22 games.

The Golden Knights’ leading scorer is actually their sixth man Jermaine Taylor, who comes off the bench to average 13.9 points per contest. The 6’4” sophomore is shooting just over 50 percent (50.7%) from the floor and is also an impressive 45 percent from behind the arc.

Senior forward Josh Peppers (6’6”) is not far behind, as he is scoring 13 points per game. He shoots 42 percent from floor and 77 percent from the line. He torched East Carolina for 25 points in UCF’s 65-52 win in the first round of the CUSA Tournament last season.

Mike O’Donnell leads the team in minutes played per game (30), three-point field goal percentage (46.6%) and assists (77). He also ranks second with 28 steals.

The other backcourt starter has been 6’3”, 205-pound junior guard Dave Noel, who is posting 9.2 points per game. He is making slightly over 50 percent from the floor and 82 percent from line. Noel is tops on the team in steals (29) and second on team in assists with 71.

Lavell Payne, a 6’8” junior forward, gets to the line more than anyone else on the team. He converts 71.7 percent of those attempts. Payne posts 9.6 points per game. However, he is second on the team in rebounds (5) and blocked shots (14).

Rounding out the starting line-up is Kenrick Zondervan (6’9”, 225). The sophomore forward makes 50 percent of shots from floor, but only 47 percent from the line. He averages 4.4 points and 2.7 boards.

Other than Jermaine Taylor, freshman Tony Davis (6’7”, 195) and junior guard Chip Cartwright (6’0”) are the most turned to players. Davis plays nearly 15 minutes per contest and grabs right at five rebounds. He appears to be a very versatile player. Cartwright knocks down free throws (19-of-23) and gives the Golden Knights’ 12 minutes off the bench.

FOR EAST CAROLINA TO WIN, IT MUST:

FIND FRONTCOURT FORCE - The Pirates received more frontcourt production in their 83-74 loss at Rice. Freshman center John Fields concluded that game with 15 points while Taylor Gagnon had 7. This duo, along with Gabe Blair and Justin Ramsey, must contribute. Blair is one of the top rebounders of the league, as he is pulling down 7.5 per contest. Fields is tied for 32 nd nationally in blocked shots with 2.2.

DARRELL THE DICTATOR - East Carolina point guard Darrell Jenkins must play under control and not force the issue. He must exemplify patience and dictate the pace at which the game is going to be played. ECU does not have the depth to play an up-tempo game with UCF. They must minimize the possessions then maximize them. Jenkins has committed too many turnovers at times, but he does rank 19 th nationally with 5.7 assists per game.

GUARD THE ARC - UCF knocks down slightly over 40 percent of its attempts from long range. The Pirates have guarded the arc well this season, as they’ve allowed opponents to connect on only 32.3 percent of its three-pointers. This must continue in this one.

FINAL PREDICTION

The Pirates will hang tough, but in the end UCF will have too much offense for them.