Tulane @ East Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 23, 2019 ) East Carolina 85, Tulane 81

Tulane is looking for offense after failing to surpass 55 points in back-to-back losses and will have to find it on the road when it visits East Carolina on Saturday. The Green Wave had a week off to fix their problems after scoring a season low in a 67-54 home loss to Tulsa last weekend.

Tulane, which dropped a 74-55 home decision to UCF in its previous contest, shot 38.2 percent from the floor and 6-of-25 from 3-point range in the loss to Tulsa. "We're in a bad shooting slump right now, the worst we've been in all season," Green Wave coach Ron Hunter told reporters. "The kids are really down right now, but we're playing against established programs, and this is going to happen. We have to fight our way through it, but we just have not made shots this week." The Pirates are enduring their own slump with losses in each of the last three games - all by double figures. East Carolina is returning home after getting slammed 82-57 at Cincinnati and yielding 15 3-pointers in an 84-64 setback at SMU.

TIME: 6 p.m. ET. TV: ESPNU

ABOUT TULANE (10-8, 2-4 AAC): Junior guard Teshaun Hightower leads the team in scoring at an average of 16.3 points and was one of the few to have a decent day from the floor against Tulsa, going 6-of-11 from the floor to rebound from a 1-of-7 effort against UCF. Graduate transfer K.J. Lawson averages 14 points to rank second on the team and scored in double figures in five of six games in AAC play. "We've just to keep going and playing hard," Lawson told reporters after scoring 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting against Tulsa. "This league is up for grabs; I will say that. We just have to share the ball more and make the easier plays more often."

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (8-11, 2-4): The Pirates offense is dominated by sophomore forward Jayden Gardner, who averages 20.6 points on 54.9 percent shooting and 9.1 rebounds. Gardner was held under those averages in each of the last three games, failing to reach 20 points each time and shooting a combined 16-of-37 from the floor after scoring at least 20 points in each of the team's eight victories. East Carolina's only other player averaging double figures is forward Brandon Suggs (10.1 points), who poured in 18 points in in Wednesday's loss at SMU.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Tulane recorded fewer turnovers than its opponent in 17 of 18 games this season.

2. East Carolina is 13-of-68 from 3-point range over the last three games.

3. The Pirates took both meetings last season by a total of five points.

PREDICTION: Tulane 71, East Carolina 68