Kansas City @ East Carolina preview

East Carolina gained plenty of confidence with a first-round victory and looks to move into the championship game of the Islands of the Bahamas Showcase when they meet Missouri-Kansas City on Saturday. Sophomore forward Jayden Gardner matched a season high with 28 points Friday as the Pirates earned an 85-68 victory over Evansville, which shocked No. 10 Kentucky earlier this month.

Gardner, a second-team American Athletic Conference preseason pick, connected on 11-of-17 from the field and hauled in 10 rebounds against the Purple Aces for his third double-double of the season. The Pirates, who came to Nassau off three consecutive losses including a 20-point destruction by Liberty last Saturday, shot 63 percent from the field and drained 20-of-23 free throws in the second half Friday for their second victory of the season - the first since knocking off VMI on Nov. 5. East Carolina had a 42-23 edge in rebounds against Evansville and will need a similar effort against UMKC, which grabbed 17 offensive rebounds and had a 14-0 edge in second-chance points during a 74-68 victory over George Washington in the first round. The Kangaroos, who were 0-3 against Division I teams coming in, trailed by 15 early and seven at halftime before rallying to beat the Colonials behind a season-high 25 points from 5-11 senior guard Jahshire Hardnett.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT UMKC (3-3): Hardnett totaled 22 points in the first five games before making 6-of-14 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line in the first round. Clemson transfer Javan White, a 6-10 senior, leads the Kangaroos in scoring (12.8) and rebounding (7.2) while junior guard Brandon McKissic (11.2 points) totaled nine points, six rebounds and five assists in the win over George Washington. Junior guard Marvin Nesbitt Jr. poured in 13 points in the first round to improve his season average to 9.8 and senior forward Jordan Giles scored 10 - his second double-figure effort of the season.

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (2-3): Gardner, who averaged 16.3 points as a freshman, leads the team in scoring (21.6) and rebounding (9.4) and has scored at least 26 in three of five games. Freshman guard Tristen Newton (11.4 points) stepped up to score 18 and dish out a season high-matching five assists against Evansville while freshman forward Brandon Suggs is the only other Pirate averaging in double figures at 10.8. Senior forward Seth LeDay (9.4), who averaged 11 points last season and is at 9.4 in 2019-20, scored 12 off the bench Friday and added a season-high eight rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. East Carolina junior C Ludgy Debaut (1.3 points), who started the first three games, has been lost for the season with a foot injury.

2. The Kangaroos, who finished 11-21 in 2018-19, were picked eighth out of nine teams in the preseason WAC poll.

3. The winner plays Rice or Liberty in Sunday's championship game.

PREDICTION: East Carolina 76, UMKC 66