Houston @ East Carolina preview

Houston at East Carolina

Last Meeting ( Jan 23, 2019 ) East Carolina 50, Houston 94

Sixth-ranked Houston aims for its 12th consecutive win and looks to maintain its one-game lead in the American Athletic Conference standings when it visits East Carolina on Wednesday. The Cougars rolled to a 94-50 home victory over the Pirates on Jan. 23 and has captured seven straight meetings.

Houston hasn’t lost since suffering a 73-69 setback at Temple on Jan. 9 - its only defeat of the season - and is coming off a 71-59 home triumph over South Florida on Saturday. The Cougars have climbed to No. 6 in the nation - their highest ranking since finishing the 1983-84 season fifth in the nation. "They're a Final Four-caliber team," East Carolina coach Joe Dooley told the school’s official website. "We've got to be able to get them off the 3-point line, but they are versatile. Not only can they shoot it from 3, but they can also throw it inside and punish you there as well." The Pirates snapped their five-game losing streak with an 85-81 win at Tulane on Saturday.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, ESPN3

ABOUT HOUSTON (26-1, 13-1 American): The Cougars have gotten where they are by playing dominant defense. They lead the nation in field-goal defense (36.2 percent), rank third in 3-point defense (27.3 percent), and are fifth in scoring defense (60.3 points). The trio of Corey Davis Jr. (15.7 points), Armoni Brooks (13.8, 6.4 rebounds) and Galen Robinson Jr. (7.8 points, 5.3 assists) leads the way at the offensive end, but the Cougars still are tough on the boards as they outrebound opponents by an average of 7.7 per game.

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (10-16, 3-11): The Pirates don’t boast impressive offensive metrics, but they do have a handful of players capable of putting up big numbers. Freshman forward Jayden Gardner (17.3 points, 8.7 rebounds) can do damage in the paint and 3-point specialist Shawn Williams (12.6 points) has had the hot hand lately, averaging 20 points over his last four games - including 27 in the win over Tulane. Seth LeDay (10.8 points, 6.2 rebounds) also averages double digits in points and Isaac Fleming (8.7 points) is coming off his first double-double of the season as he recorded 20 points and 10 rebounds in Saturday’s victory.

TIP-INS

1. Houston has led at halftime of 22 of its 27 contests.

2. The Pirates have committed fewer turnovers than the opposition in seven straight games and eight of its last nine after committing more in nine of their first 17 contests.

3. ECU has not defeated a top-10 team since knocking off No. 9 Marquette in 2002.

PREDICTION: Houston 78, East Carolina 63