ECU Highlights & Press Conference

4 Factors ECU

Points Per Possession
UNCG - 1.12
ECU - 1.09

4 factors

eFG%
UNCG - 55.7
ECU - 44.7

TO%
UNCG - 25.4
ECU - 11.6

OR%
UNCG - 29.5
ECU - 21.8

FT Rate
UNCG - 67.3
ECU - 41.7

Spartan Drop Heartbreaker to Pirates

UNCG 84 - ECU 85

UNCG Atheltics
ECU Athletics

Halftime: UNCG 40 - ECU 30

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Saddler (34)
Leader Rebounds: Cain (9)
Leader Assists: Saddler (5)
Team FG: 26-52 (50.0%)
Team 3 Pt: 6-12 (50.0%)
Team FT: 26-35 (74.3%)
Rebounds: 43
Turnovers: 19

East Carolina Stats
Leader Points: Richmond (19)
Leader Rebounds: Zangari, Stith, Campbell, White (Tied - 5)
Leader Assists: Roberts-Campbell (3)
Team FG: 27-67 (40.3%)
Team 3 Pt: 6-21 (28.6%)
Team FT: 25-28 (89.3%)
Rebounds: 31
Turnovers: 9

Thoughts
Does anyone wonder why the stats above look like a UNCG win? That's because that is what is was (or should have been). In all honesty, this game shouldn't have been in position to end the way that it ended. The Spartans controlled this one throughout. It was 2 silly fouls and one turnover at the end that helped down UNCG. Were the last 2 calls actually fouls? I have my opinions. However, the refs called anything and everything close a foul. You've got to know that's the case and adjust.

On a positive note, I'm not sure there are many teams on the schedule that can play UNCG man-to-man straight up for a whole game and not pay for it badly. The Spartans jumped out to a 20-7 lead early and by the second half had forced ECU into playing zone. Partially this was due to foul trouble. However, it was also due to the fact that they were not able to contain UNCG in the man-to-man. Tevon Saddler and Tyrone Outlaw continue to impress as freshmen. The big guys needs to do a better job of staying out of foul trouble, but Kyle Cain was again impressive. It was also nice to Nicholas Paulos's shoot with confidence.

This is a tough game to swallow. But there's nothing anyone can do to change it. It'll go down in the books as 85-84 ECU. Got to just enjoy the positives and hope this doesn't hurt the team emotionally. They have time to recover.

Go Spartans !!!

East Carolina (1-0) @ UNCG (1-0)

When: Tuesday, November 12 7:00 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617)^
TV: None/Spartan All-Access

^ - Greensboro Coliseum is undergoing renovations and will not be using the upper deck for any seating at UNCG games this season. I do not have the official seat totals with these changes.

East Carolina Atheltics

Preseason Preview

UNCG Stats
Last Game: High Point (W 82-74) Recap
PPG: 82.0
RPG: 42.0
APG: 12.0
Leader Points: Locke, Cain (Tied - 21.0)
Leader Rebounds: Locke, Outlaw (Tied - 9.0)
Leader Assists: Saddler (4.0)
FG %: 46.4
3 Pt %: 29.4
FT %: 62.5

East Carolina Stats
Last Game: NC Wesleyan (W 97-51) Recap
PPG: 97.0
RPG: 50.0
APG: 26.0
Leader Points: Paris Roberts-Campbell (21.0)
Leader Rebounds: Marshall Guilmette (11.0)
Leader Assists: Antonio Robinson (6.0)
FG %: 56.7
3 Pt %: 41.7
FT %: 50.0

Thoughts
As this season gets underway, UNCG and East Carolina find themselves in very similar situations. The pirates and Spartans both lost almost all returning contributors from 2012-2013. ECU's leadership and experience last season led them to win the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT) Championship. From that team, only one starter remains. So as much as UNCG was a mystery going into this season, so are the Pirates.

The Pirates do return 2 good guards in Paris Roberts-Campbell and Akeem Richmond and got good play from 2 freshmen (Caleb White and Brandan Stith) in their opener against NC Wesleyan. However, it hard to take a lot away from a game against a lower level team at home. Due to the large point difference, 11 ECU players played at least 8 minutes in the game.

East Carolina did manage to bring in several transfers, but all are ineligible to play this season (their last in C-USA). Next season, the Pirates move into the AAC full time. I think they are trying to be more prepared for that jump next season. So, this is just a very long way of saying that I honestly have no idea what to expect out of the Pirates. In their first game, they took 1/3 of their shots behind the arc and shared and rebounded the ball well. They didn't shoot free throws well and didn't get to the line as often as I would have expected.

For their parts, UNCG needs to bring that same attitude and excitement back to the court that they showed on Friday. The Spartans started fast and really never looked back. I would love to see that same thing again on Tuesday. Both of these teams are young and inexperienced. Both will be somewhat fragile emotionally. High Point was an older team that didn't go down when UNCG hit them hard. ECU might, though. Or it could be the other way around? UNCG hasn't faced any adversity so far. How will they handle it if it comes from the Pirates? I guess we will all find out soon enough.

Go Spartans !!!

Opening Night Scores

SoCon Scores
Citadel 71 - VMI 82
Covenant 56 - Chattanooga 119
High Point 74 - UNCG 82
Davidson 77 - (4) Duke 111
Washington & Lee 64 - Elon 114
Wofford 52 - Georgia 72
App State 77 - NC State 98
Wittenberg 55 - Western Carolina 77
Martin Methodist 62 - Samford 79
Sewanee 49 - Furman 66
Columbia International 74 - Georgia Southern 110

OOC Opponent Scores
NC Wesleyan 51 - East Carolina 97
La Tech - St Mary's
Florida A&M 84 - Rutgers 92
James Madison 41 - Virginia 61
Oakland 61 - UNC-CH 84
Presbyterian 57 - Georgia Tech 88
Colgate 78 - Wake Forest 89

Preseason Preview: East Carolina

East Carolina University
@ UNCG November 12
Mascot: Pirates
Location: Greenville, NC
Enrollment: 27,400
Conference: Conference USA
2012-2013 Record: 23-12 (9-7)
Postseason: CollegeInsiders.com Tournament (Champion)
Coach: Jeff Lebo (4th Season)

School Homepage
Athletics Homepage

Losses:
Miguel Paul G - 33.1 mpg, 13.3 ppg, 6.7 apg
Maurice Kemp F - 34.3 mpg, 18.9 ppg, 8.0 rpg
Shamarr Bowden G - 15.2 mpg, 4.6 ppg
Robert Sampson F - 29.9 mpg, 9.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg
Ty Armstrong F - 20.3 mpg, 9.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg
Corvonn Gaines G - 17.0 mpg, 2.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg

Top Returners:
Paris Roberts-Campbell G - 25.6 mpg, 5.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 1.8 apg
Akeem Richmond G - 20.1 mpg, 10.9 ppg, 1.1 apg

Additions:
Brandan Stith F - 6-7 215
Greg Alexander G - 6-4 200
Caleb White G - 6-7 190
Keith Armstrong* F - 6-7 240 (Transfer Robert Morris)
Michel Nzege* F- 6-7 215 (Transfer WSSU)
Terry Whsnant* G - 6-3 180 (Transfer Florida St)

* - Ineligible for 2013-2014 b/c of NCAA Transfer Rules

Pirates Heat Up Late, Beat UNCG

UNCG 73 - East Carolina 76

UNCG Athletics

Halftime: UNCG 39 - ECU 31

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Trevis Simpson (19)
Leader Rebounds: Derrell Armstrong (8)
Leader Assists: Drew Parker (6)
FG: 26-59 (44.1%)
3 Pt: 11-23 (47.8%)
FT: 10-12 (83.3%)
Rebounds: 34
Turnovers: 14

East Carolina Stats
Leader Points: Miguel Paul (24)
Leader Rebounds: Maurice Kemp (10)
Leader Assists: Maurice Kemp (4)
FG: 24-49 (49.0%)
3 Pt: 7-22 (31.8%)
FT: 21-30 (70.0%)
Rebounds: 31
Turnovers: 10

Thoughts
UNCG led for the majority of this game, but went without a field goal from the 9:32 mark of the second half to the 2:53 mark. Over that span, UNCG went from being up 6 to down 6. Also, the Spartans shot 18 less free throws (made 11 less) than the  Pirates.

Having said all of that, the Spartans had 2 chances at the end to send the game to overtime. After Trevis Simpson's attempt was rebounded by Derrell Armstrong, Coach Wes Miller tried in vain to get a timeout. However, the refs couldn't hear Miller and Armstrong's last second prayer wasn't answered.

Even in the loss, UNCG did a lot of things better than they had in previous games. First, they played better post defense and got contributions from more than just Simpson (Van Dussen 18 pts, Locke 14 pts) and they managed to play well in a grinder game that didn't have high possessions and saw the Spartans only get 6 fast break points. Also the Spartans seemed to bring a consistant effort and intensity to the court.

So while a chance to get a road victory didn't happen, there are plenty of things to build off of going forward. Now there are chances to defeat two "Power Six" conference teams at the Greensboro Coliseum. It's time to seize some of these opportunities.

Go Spartans !!!

UNCG (1-1) @ East Carolina (2-0)

When: Friday, November 16 7 pm
Where: Minges Coliseum (8,000)
TV: None

East Carolina Athletics

UNCG Stats
Last Game: WSSU (W 81-65) Recap
PPG: 77.0
RPG: 41.0
APG: 15.0
Leader Points: Trevis Simpson (22.0)
Leader Rebounds: David Williams (7.0)
Leader Assists: Drew Parker (5.5)
FG %: 46.3
3 Pt %: 37.0
FT %: 62.2

East Carolina Stats
Last Game: Methodist (W 87-51) Recap
PPG: 79.5
RPG: 44.0
APG: 18.5
Leader Points: Maurice Kemp (20.0)
Leader Rebounds: Robert Sampson (9.0)
Leader Assists: Shamarr Bowden (6.5)
FG %: 46.6
3 Pt %: 22.2%
FT %: 64.1

Thoughts
Well, it's back to the road for this work in progress Spartan squad. It will be interesting to see if the UNCG can bring a more consistent effort to the offensive and defensive ends of the court. We all know that this team has a lot of athleticism, but the team needs to be stronger with the ball and take better shots. They also need to dig in on defense in every trip down the court. And finally they need to start limiting the offensive rebounds.

Having said that, UNCG has shown that they can wear down other teams with the shear volume of possessions. They also have shown the ability to stick to their plan and to not lose focus or confidence. These qualities will serve the Spartans well in another hostile venue.

As far as the opponent, it's awful hard to judge anything from two games against lower level opponents (ECU plays 4 non-D1 teams). They appear to be able to rebound well and shoot very well from inside the 3 point arc. They always seem to play well in Minges Coliseum.

UNCG has lost  5 straight to the Pirates and really all but one has been pretty lopsided. I hope the Spartans can change that storyline this trip to Greenville. Go Spartans !!!

Pirates Storm back to Defeat UNCG

UNCG 62 - ECU 71

UNCG Athletics Recap
ECU Athletics Recap

Halftime: UNCG 26 - ECU 28

UNCG Sats
Leader Points: Trevis Simpson (24)
Leader Rebounds: Aaron Brackett (10)
Leader Assists: Aaron Brackett (3)
Team FG: 26-69 (37.7%)
Team 3 Pt: 5-24 (20.8%)
Team FT: 5-8 (62.5%)
Rebounds: 40
Turnovers: 18

ECU Stats
Leader Points: Miguel Paul (17)
Leader Rebounds: Darrius Morrow (13)
Leader Asists: Miguel Paul (4)
Team FG: 24-56 (42.9%)
Team 3 Pt: 5-19 (26.3%)
Team FT: 18-32 (56.3%)
Rebounds: 40
Turnovers: 14

Thoughts:
I really thought UNCG brought a lot of energy to the floor. ECU's press really hurt the Spartans. Coach Miller talked about it after the game. He said that they really hadn't prepared much for it, and it showed. However, the guys have had a rough week. Hopefully they can take plenty of "positives: away from this game.

ECU (4-4) @ UNCG (2-8)

When: Friday, December 16 7 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617, 23,500)
TV: None/Spartan All-Access

ECU Athletics

Preseason Preview

UNCG Notes:
Last Game: @ Florida State (L 60-75) Recap
PPG: 64.1
RPG: 35.4
APG: 11.0
Leader Points: Trevis Simpson (15.2)
Leader Rebounds: Aaron Brackett (5.3)
Leader Assists: Kyle Randall (2.4)
FG %: 37.1
3 Pt %: 31.2
FT %: 62.5

East Carolina Notes:
Last game: UMass (L 58-63) Recap
PPG: 70.4
RPG: 39.5
APG: 14.3
Leader Points: Miguel Paul (16.1)
Leader Rebounds: Robert Sampson (6.5)
Leader Assists: Miguel Paul (5.6)
FG %: 41.7
3 Pt %: 31.6
FT %: 62.9

You've Gotta Be Kidding Me

UNCG 53 - ECU 81

Really? 28 points? You've gotta be shittin' me ?!?

There is no way the UNCG got ran out of Greenville by 28 points. Let me rephrase. There is no reason that UNCG got ran out of Greenville by 28 points. This team has got to get significantly better than what they showed tonight. They have to get better and do it in a hurry.

That's it. I refuse to even comment on the crap I watched any further. It sucked and even continuing to talk about it kind of makes me sick.

Blah ...

Pirates Make Themselves at Home

UNCG 61 - East Carolina 82


News & Record
Greenville (NC) Reflector
UNCG Athletics
East Carolina Athletics


ECU evened up their record in the Greensboro Coliseum at 1-1. Meanwhile, UNCG's record there fell to 0-2. The bigger problem is that the coliseum in UNCG's home floor. ECU used a 14-2 run in the first half to take a commanding lead and a 14-2 run in the second half to turn back a fierce Spartan rally.


Positives
- Korey VanDussen --- After having a quiet start to his college career, Korey helped spur on the UNCG second half comeback. He finished the game with 13 points and 5 assists (0 turnovers).
- Kyle Randall --- VanDussen's back court partner scored a matching 13 points and pulled down 4 rebounds. These 2 freshmen, plus Brian Cole's scrappy play on the defensive end, really made this a game for part of the second half.
Crowd noise --- For a Thanksgiving weekend game that absolutely no students came to see, I thought the crowd was fun and rowdy (contrary to the N&R article's cheap shot).

Negatives
- Bring some energy? --- UNCG brought absolutely zero energy to the court in the first half. It took almost 5 minutes for UNCG to make a shot from the floor in the game and the Spartans didn't make one for the final 4 minutes of the half. Honestly, this is a problem from last year that I had really hoped wouldn't carry over. Maybe this is a one time thing.
- Open shots --- UNCG shot 31.7% (23.5% in the first half) and many of the shots were very open. Other than Kendall Toney (who scored a team high 19 points) the rest of the seniors on the team shot an amazing 0-16 from the field. With this many seniors on the team, it shouldn't be freshmen that are having to lead a big comeback.
- Defense? --- ECU outscored UNCG 44-16 in the paint and shot 58.2%. There were times I counted the number of UNCG players on the court to make sure there were actually 5 because ECU players were so wide open. The coaching staff will have to get this figured out soon.

Let's must hope that this was a small bump in the road and that UNCG came get things back on track quickly.

Go Spartans !!!

East Carolina (2-4) @ UNCG (1-3)

When: Saturday, Nov 28 4 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: None

East Carolina Athletics
East Carolina Forum - Rivals
East Carolina Forum - Scout
Boneyard Banter
Bonesville

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, UNCG held off a late rally to defeat USC-Upstate 76-70 in Spartanburg, SC. UNCG got 19 points from Brandon Evans and 17 points from Ben Stywall to lead the charge.
- This game will be UNCG's second in its new home, the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans home opener against Clemson drew over 5,000 fans and over 2,000 students. The attendance for the ECU should be down quite a bit considering this game will fall during the students Thanksgiving break.
- This game will be a reunion of sorts. Brandon Evans transferred to UNCG from ECU before last season. Also, Coach Mike Dement is an ECU alumnus.
- UNCG enters this game sporting a top 100 RPI ranking and a strength of schedule rating of 32 according to realtimeRPI.
- Ben Stywall leads UNCG in scoring (13.8) and rebounding (7.8) so far this season. Kyle Randall leads UNCG in assists (2.8).
- On the season, UNCG is shooting 40.6% from the field, 36% from behind the arc and 63% from the free throw line.

Pirate Notes:
-Last time out, ECU came roaring back from a double digit halftime deficit to defeat South Dakota State and take 7th place at the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. Jontae Sherrod led ECU with 23 points.
- Saturday's game will be East Carolina's second game of the season in the Greensboro Coliseum. ECU fell to Wake Forest, 89-58, at the coliseum on November 15.
- According to realtimeRPI, the Pirates' RPI is 176 and their strength of schedule is 82.
- Brock Young leads ECU in scoring (14.3) and assists (5.5). Darrius Marrow leads the Pirates in rebound with 6.7 a game.
- For the season, ECU is shooting 45.1% from the field, 33% from behind the arc and 68% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
This game will be a chance for Brandon Evans to show ECU what he can really do on the court. Hopefully, he'll be able to play within himself and not force things.

It appears that ECU has really struggled on the road this season, already dropping a game at Campbell (plus losing their earlier match up at the coliseum). UNCG needs to get up on them early to gain some confidence and to maybe shake any of the confidence that ECU gained by winning their previous game.

Hopefully the Spartans can build on the good things they did in Spartanburg and get it's first home victory.

Go Spartans !!!

New UNCG Season Brochure (Updated)

Here are some scans of a brochure that's available at the UNCG ticket office. Big thanks to John for sending these to me. As you can see, there look to be some really affordable ticket plans. Also, it looks like being a member of the Spartan Club will pay off for anyone interested. There are some cool promotions being planned with Thirsty Thursday and free parking with the purchase of 2 season tickets.

UPDATE: The UNCG Athletics website now has this article up as it's "splash" page. The article takes you to a place where you can reserve your tickets and also it lays out exactly what everything costs, including the free parking with season tickets. I think that alone makes season tickets really worth the price. There is nothing worse than having to deal with the irritation of parking. If they could get a part of the lot reserved, there's no telling how much extra I'd be willing to pay.

Aaaarrrrgggg ?!?

UNCG 53 - East Carolina 97

UNCG Athletics
ECU Athletics
News & Observer

Halftime score ... ECU 41-UNCG 32. Second half score ... ECU 56-UNCG 21. We've seen this before. The telling stat is second half shooting percentage. UNCG 18.8% (6-32) and ECU 67.7% (21-31).

The Good:
- I'm honestly struggling to find anything good here. It was another solid first half effort. If they gave 1/2 wins for good first half performances, UNCG would have a good record. I don't know what Coach Dement is saying in locker room at the break but he needs to change it (hint: Watch Bull Durham).

The Bad:
- "Splash" page on UNCGSpartans.com. Can we just go ahead and take that down now. It was great to infuse a few days of excitement back into the basketball program. The slogan "On the rise" seems a little hollow right now.

The Ugly:
- Offense - 30.2% from the field, 19% from 3 point range and 61.1% from the free throw line. Mikko (9 pts), Stywall (4 pts) and Landon (0 pts) had a bad night.
- Defense - 59.7% from the field and 51.7% from 3 point range. Seven, SEVEN Pirates scored in double figures.

That's it. Wish I could come up with some great analysis as to what happened, but I've got nuthin'. Hopefully, the Spartans can just put it behind them and start to pull things together.

UNCG (1-5) @ East Carolina (7-1)

When: Saturday, Dec 13 7 pm
Where: Minges Coliseum (8,000)
TV: MASN (tape delayed)/ ChannelSurfing.net

ECU Athletics
ECU Forum (Scout)
ECU Forum (Rivals)
ECU (CUSA-BB)

Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, the Spartans lost a televised game to College of Charleston (77-62) at Fleming Gym. Mikko Koivisto led UNCG with 17 points and Ben Stywall had 10 rebounds.
- UNCG has now used a different starting lineup in every one of its games. There are nine Spartans averaging double figures in minutes played.
- Koivisto is leading UNCG in scoring (14.5 pts) and assists (2.8). Ben Stywall is the leading rebounder (8.7)
- UNCG is shooting 37.9% from the field, 28.5% from 3 point range and 63.2% from the free throw line.

Pirate Notes:
- See my quick review of ECU's season here.
- ECU defeated Limestone 69-43 last Saturday at Minges Coliseum. James Leagan scored 14 points and Darrius Morrow had a double-double (12 pts & 10 rebs).
- There are 3 Pirates scoring in double figures. Sam Hinnant (17.4) is leading scorer. Morrow is the leading rebounding (8.4). Brock Young (8.1) is the leading in assists.
- ECU is shooting 47.3% from the field, 35.5% from 3 point range and 70.7% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
Before the season, I thought this game was one of the road games that UNCG might could steal. I don't know if that's the case anymore. Even though they have played 3 non-D1 teams, those stats are still quite impressive. The Pirates have beaten a couple of solid CAA teams.

I think that there was some obvious improvement from the Citadel game to the CofC game last week. UNCG did a lot of things in the first half against the Cougars that it will need to repeat to have any shot in Greenville on Saturday.

The Spartans will need to continue to improve on their free throw shooting and rebounding. Also, the guards have got to start making some shots.

With the students gone and NC State (who ECU beat last year) coming up this week, ECU may be looking past UNCG. Let's hope so.

Go Spartans !!!

EDIT: UNCGSpartans.com is reporting that the game is no longer going to be shown in MASN. It is still listed on ChannelSurfing.net.