The East Carolina Pirates (7-7) travel to face off against the Memphis Tigers (12-3) on Saturday, January 11th. This game will be played at FedExForum in Memphis and televised on ESPN+. Both team’s come into this one having won their previous games. Tip-off is set for 2:00 ET.

East Carolina Pirates vs Memphis Tigers

The Pirates Are Coming Off A Win

East Carolina Pirates Recent Game/Games

East Carolina evened their record at 7-7 with an 80-79 win over Temple on Wednesday. The Pirates were favored by 3.5 points but didn’t cover the spread. The total points for the game were 159, surpassing the O/U line of 145.5.

ECU rallied in the 2nd half, outscoring Temple 48-38 after trailing 41-32 at halftime. Their strong 2nd-half performance was key to the win.

The Tigers Are Coming Off A Win

Memphis improved to 12-3 on the season with a 68-64 win over North Texas on Sunday. The Tigers, playing at home, were favored by 7.5 points but didn’t cover the spread. The total points for the game were 132, falling short of the O/U line of 136.5.

Memphis led 33-32 at halftime and added 35 points in the 2nd half while holding North Texas to 32 points after the break.

Pirates Offense Breakdown

East Carolina put up 80 points in their last game, shooting 44.8% from the field. Their effective field goal percentage was 47.8%, with a strong 53.2% from two-point range, but they struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just 25% on 5-of-20 shooting. At the free-throw line, they connected on 77.3%, making 17-of-22 attempts.

RJ Felton led the way with 23 points and 12 rebounds, despite shooting just 38.1% overall and 20% from three. Jamal Mashburn Jr. added 22 points, hitting 50% of his threes, while C.J. Walker contributed 18 points and 9 rebounds, shooting 54.5% from the field. The Pirates also grabbed 16 offensive rebounds and dished out 15 assists in the win.

Tigers Offense Breakdown

Memphis shot 54.5% from the field in their last game, with an effective field goal percentage of 59.1%. They hit 61.3% of their two-point attempts and 38.5% from beyond the arc, making 5 threes on 13 attempts. At the free-throw line, they connected on 71.4%, going 15-for-21.

PJ Haggerty led the way with 27 points, shooting 78.6% overall and hitting all 3 of his three-point attempts. Moulaye Sissoko was nearly perfect, going 7-for-8 from the field, while Dain Dainja also shot over 80%, hitting 5 of 6 shots.

Pirates Team Defense

East Carolina’s defense gave up 79 points, with their opponent shooting 44% from the field, including 53% on two-point attempts (25/47). They managed to limit the damage from beyond the arc, holding the other team to just 5 made threes on 20 attempts (25%).

At the free-throw line, East Carolina’s opponent went 17/22, hitting 77% of their shots. The Pirates also allowed 16 offensive rebounds in the game.

Tigers Team Defense

East Carolina’s defense gave up 79 points in their last game, with opponents shooting 44% from the field. The Pirates allowed 53% shooting on two-point attempts, as the other team went 25/47 inside the arc.

From three-point range, East Carolina held their opponents to 25% shooting, with just 5 made threes on 20 attempts. The Pirates also sent the other team to the line 22 times, where they hit 17 free throws for 77%.

Pirates vs Tigers Trends

• In their last five games away from home, the Pirates have a straight up record of 1-4 while going 2-3 vs. the spread. The team averaged 68 points per game in this stretch.
• When looking at their past ten home matchups, Memphis has an ATS record of 7-3 while averaging 80 per game. The team went 8-2 overall in these games.
• Going back to their previous ten games as the underdog, East Carolina has an ATS mark of 4-5-1 while going 2-8 straight up.
• Memphis has done well both straight up and vs the spread when favored to win the game, going 3-0 SU and 3-0 ATS in their last three games.

Pirates vs Tigers Prediction

When looking to get a point-spread pick down in this Tigers vs. Tigers game, our recommendation is to take the Tigers at -14.5. Despite our model showing the Tigers winning 76-70, we like Pirates as our point-spread pick.

As for the total, the line is currently sitting at 148.5 and our model has the Pirates and Tigers finishing with a combined 146 points. Our pick is to take the under.

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All odds are courtesy of Action247 Sportsbook. Good luck!!

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* All odds are provided by Action247 Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.**All views expressed are my own. My picks are my own and are not a guarantee, bet at your own risk.Action247 does not warrant the accuracy of completeness of the information, text, graphics, links or other items contained within these post.