Men’s Basketball Begins North Carolina Swing at East Carolina

HOUSTON — Rice begins a two-game swing through North Carolina this Wednesday, Jan. 28, when it travels to Greenville, N.C., to face East Carolina. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNU.

Game 21
What: Rice (8-12, 2-5) at East Carolina (6-14, 1-6)
When: Wednesday, January 28 at 6 p.m. CT
Where: Greenville, N.C.
Stadium: Minges Coliseum (7,100)
Watch: ESPNU
Listen: RiceOwls.com
Live Stats: RiceOwls.com
Series Information: East Carolina leads 9-8 (Leads 4-3 in Greenville)

Scouting Rice
• Rice enters Wednesday's game with an 8-12 record and is 2-5 in the American. The Owls are looking to snap a two-game losing streak after falling to Tulsa on Saturday, 87-81.
• Graduate guard Trae Broadnax leads the team with 15.3 points (10th in American), 4.8 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 1.4 steals. He's also connecting on 78.8% from the free throw line and 34.6% from three.
• Senior guard/forward Nick Anderson is second on the team with 14.4 points per game while adding 3.8 rebounds. He is fifth in the league in three-point percentage (41.0%) and three-pointers made per game (2.5), while placing eighth in free throw percentage (87.1%).
• Redshirt senior guard Jalen Smith is scoring 11.9 points per game and is third on the team with 2.3 assists. He is also sixth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (39.8%) from three and eighth with 2.3 three-pointers per game.
• Junior forward Jimmy Oladokun, Jr., is second on the team with 4.8 rebounds and redshirt senior center Stephen Giwa is pulling down 4.5 boards and placing 10th in the league with 1.3 blocks.
• Rice is averaging 74.1 points per game while allowing 74.0.
• The Owls are connecting on 42.4% from the field and 36.6% from beyond the arc, which is second in the conference. Their opponents are connecting on 44.0% from the floor and 34.8% from three.
• Rice is outrebounding its opponents, 37.4-to-36.4.
• The Owls are third in the league in three-pointers, making 8.9 per game.
• Head coach Rob Lanier is in his second season at the helm of the Rice men's basketball program.

Scouting East Carolina
• East Carolina enters Wednesday's game with a 6-14 record and are 1-6 in the American. The Pirates snapped a seven-game losing streak last Friday, defeating North Texas, 63-59.
• Senior guard Jordan Riley leads the league with 21.5 points, which is also 12th in the nation, while adding 5.5 rebounds. He also leads the team and is fourth in the league in steals with 1.8 per game.
• Senior center Giovanni Emejuru is second on the team with 13.6 points while leading the team and placing second in the league with 9.9 rebounds. He's also second in the conference in field goal percentage (57.0%) and fourth in blocks (2.0)
• Junior guard Corey Caulkner leads the team and is eighth in the American with 3.4 assists per game.
• East Carolina is scoring a league-low 67.9 points while allowing 76.2.
• The Pirates are connecting on just 40.3% from the field and 26.8% from three. Their opponents are connecting on 44.8% from the floor 35.5% from three.
• ECU is pulling down 36.5 rebounds per game while allowing 35.8.
• Head coach Michael Schwartz is in his fourth season at the helm of the East Carolina men's basketball program, where he has a 56-63 record.

Rice-East Carolina Series History
• Rice and East Carolina will meet for the first of two times this year and the 18th time overall.
• Rice is looking to even the series, as East Carolina holds a 9-8 record, including 4-3 in Greenville.
• ECU had won six straight, but Rice is vying for its fourth straight win.
• The Owls earned a 73-60 victory last year in Greenville.
• This will be the 17th meeting as conference opponents. The teams met 14 times from 2006-14 as members of Conference USA.
• The only meeting as non-conference opponents came in the third place game of the 2019 Islands of the Bahamas Showcase, a 77-69 Rice victory.

Next Up
• Rice closes its North Carolina swing this Saturday, Jan. 31, when it travels to Charlotte. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised by ESPNU.

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