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East Carolina Pirates

The East Carolina Pirates have been moderately successful. They began their campaign with a win over South Carolina State by eight, then easily dispatched Canisius and West Carolina. After a hard-fought loss to Power Five Oklahoma, they took care of business against Old Dominion, beating them by 13.

On November 21, Davidson defeated East Carolina pretty easily, but the Pirates bounced back around a week later, beating Coppin State. Since this win, they have had only one loss (A ten-point loss to Liberty on December 17th).

The biggest win of the year is probably the win over Tulane on January 5th. Even though Tulane is only 5-7 on the year, they were coming off of back-to-back 8 point wins over conference powerhouses Memphis and Cincinnati.

This shows that, even though their record may not show it, Tulane is no slouch and certainly is contending in the American this year. The Pirates shot 48.5% from the field in this game, compared to 46.7% for Tulane.

Their 3 point percentages were nearly identical, as they each sank nine threes, and East Carolina attempted just one more. Ball movement and turnovers seemed to be the difference in this game. East Carolina put up an impressive 25 assists compared to Tulane’s 16, while Tulane turned it over 16 times compared to ECU’s 13.

If ECU can continue to move the ball consistently and take care of the ball on offense, they should be a decent play throughout the season. Granted, ECU has yet to face Houston, Memphis, or Cincinnati.

East Carolina Pirates Standings

The East Carolina Pirates men’s basketball program boasts a rich history dating back to 1930. Initially competing as a member of the North Carolina Conference, they later joined the Southern Conference and the Atlantic Sun Conference before finding their current home in the American Athletic Conference in 2014.

While they haven’t yet secured a national championship, the Pirates have enjoyed several conference titles and NCAA Tournament appearances throughout their journey. Notably, they reached the NCAA Tournament’s “Sweet Sixteen” round in both 1991 and 2013, marking their deepest runs in the prestigious competition. The program has also seen individual players achieve national recognition, with standout performers like Adrian Hurley and Charles Oakley leaving their mark on the program’s legacy.

Team History

The history of ECU basketball dates back to the 1931-32 season. However, they had little success until winning the conference title in 1954 (North State Conference). In 1964, ECU finally elevated to the NCAA’s highest level, Division 1.

They joined the Southern Conference, along with the likes of Elon, The Citadel, Georgia Southern, and Appalachian State. They won the conference tournament in 1972. The best finish that ECU ever had in the SoCon was in 1974-1975, when they tied for third with an 11-3 conference record.

That season, they made the National Commissioners Invitational Tournament before losing in the first round to Arizona. After leaving the SoCon and a few years as an independent, East Carolina joined the Colonial Athletic Association in 1981 alongside Virginia Commonwealth, American, George Mason, James Madison, and Northeastern.

In 1993, despite finishing 7th in the conference in terms of record, ECU managed to win the conference tournament. Unfortunately for the Pirates, as they did in 1972, they were bounced in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The best record that ECU amassed in the CAA was in 1997, where they tied for third place (With a 9-7 conference record).

They stayed in the CAA until 2001. After an extremely unsuccessful stint in Conference USA (They only had one winning season), ECU joined the American Athletic Conference in 2014. After seven years, they still are looking for their first winning season.

Championships

The first championship of any kind won by ECU was the 1972 Southern Conference tournament. Due to their 7-5 conference record, they began as a four seed, taking on The Citadel in the first round.

They were able to get past them 80-71, which set up a matchup with number one seed Davidson, the overwhelming favorite. Davidson brought an 8-2 (19-9 overall) record into the tournament.

Surprising to most, ECU was able to eke out a narrow victory, 81-77. To finish the tournament, the Pirates defeated Furman in overtime 77-75. This victory led to automatic qualification for the NCAA tournament, which led to a first-round loss to Villanova by 15 points.

The only other championship won by East Carolina was the 1993 Colonial Athletic Association tournament. This time, they started off as the seven seed, second to last.

In the first round, ECU upset Old Dominion 73-67. As if that weren’t enough, their amazing run continued with a five-point victory over UNC-Wilmington. ECU faced the heavily favored number one seed in James Madison on the third day.

To most people’s surprise, they upset the Colonels by five points, sending ECU to the NCAA tournament for the second time. Like the first time, ECU was bounced by eventual champion North Carolina by 20 in the first round.

Important Team Events

A critical event in the history of ECU basketball was the dedication of Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum. This happened in 1968, and it was named after the owners of several local Pepsi-Cola bottling companies in the area. They also volunteered and donated a lot of money to the ECU athletic programs.

Top Players

Perhaps the greatest player in ECU men’s basketball history is Blue Edwards. Edwards played for the pirates from 1986-1989. In 1989, he scored 773 points, which is the single-season record for East Carolina. Edwards went on to be drafted in the first round by the Utah Jazz.

Edwards had a fairly successful NBA career, playing ten years before playing overseas. It is also worth mentioning that he was selected to the NBA All-Rookie second team.

Akeem Richmond is considered another one of the all-time great Pirates. Richmond transferred to ECU in 2011 and started playing there in 2012 as a redshirt junior. He averaged nearly 11 points per game that year.

Richmond fared better during his senior season, leading the team with 18 points per game en route to a short NBA D-league career and a career in Malaysia and Australia.

Top Coaches

Undisputedly, the best coach in ECU history would have to be Joe Dooley, the current coach. Dooley is the only coach in ECU history to have an overall winning record.

He also led the Pirates to their only two NCAA tournament appearances, albeit with no success in the tournament itself. He also had success at Florida Gulf Coast University, taking them to two NCAA tournament appearances.

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East Carolina Pirates FAQs

East Carolina Pirates plays in the American Conference.

Guard Tristen Newton is the leader. He leads the team in scoring, with 19 points per game.

The first championship of any kind won by ECU was the 1972 Southern Conference tournament. Due to their 7-5 conference record, they began as a four seed, taking on The Citadel in the first round.

Tim Jankovich since 2016.

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