South Florida @ East Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 17, 2018 ) South Florida 52, East Carolina 90

South Florida put an end to its three-game skid Tuesday, shutting down visiting Wichita State 54-41 to earn its third American Athletic Conference victory and match last year's league win total for the season. The Bulls look to keep the momentum going as they head to East Carolina for the first of two meetings with the struggling Pirates, who have lost four in a row.

The Bulls were spurred on to victory over the Shockers by a dominant defense that surrendered just 15 points in the first half and 41 for the game, the first time since 2015 that USF held an opponent under 50 points. "We kept our poise and stayed disciplined on defense and just kept getting stops," Bulls point guard Laquincy Rideau told reporters afterward. "That was it." USF harassed Wichita State's shooters and they could only muster 15 successful field goals out of 53 shots, which doesn't bode well for East Carolina, which had its own difficulties putting the ball in the hoop with a season-low 32.3 percent shooting their last time out in a 94-50 loss to Houston. It was the first time since the first two games of the season that freshman forward Jayden Gardner, the conference's leading scorer (19.2 ppg), was held to single-digit points, as he scored just eight points on 4-of-13 shooting to end a string of 16 straight double-figure games.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT USF (13-6, 3-4 AAC): USF's defensive effort against Wichita State helped make up for an offense that went without a field goal for nearly eight minutes of the second half and finished with a season-low 30 percent shooting performance (15-of-50). David Collins led the way with 13 points thanks to hitting 2-of-3 from long distance and 7-of-8 from the charity stripe, while Rideau had 11 points and four steals, leaving him with 62 thefts, seven shy of setting the school's single-season record. The Bulls came out on the short end of the rebounding battle against Wichita State (43-41), but it was the ninth game this season that they tallied at least 40 boards.

ABOUT EAST CAROLINA (8-10, 1-5): The Pirates have utilized 11 different starting lineups this season, but they have opened the last three games with the same starting five, with only Gardner starting all 18 games. Gardner sits second in the AAC in rebounding (9.1 rpg) and he ranks second to USF redshirt freshman Alexis Yetna (nine) in double-doubles with seven for the season. Sophomore guard Shawn Williams missed all four of his shots in 23 minutes of action against Houston, but the team's second-leading scorer (11.9 ppg) has scored 10 or more points in 10 of the 13 games he's played.

TIP-INS

1. The teams are tied 8-8 in the all-time series but the Pirates swept both games last season -- 90-52 at East Carolina and 67-65 at USF.

2. East Carolina will play five of its next seven at home.

3. Four of USF's six losses have been by three points or less.

PREDICTION: USF 75, East Carolina 66