How to watch Memphis @ ECU

Memphis has three regular-season games remaining, and it will look to snap a five-game losing streak on Sunday against East Carolina. The Pirates enter the game following a win over UTSA, but they’re 5-10 in conference play.

Sunday’s game is important for both teams as the conference tournament is only 11 days away. The Tigers currently sit in eighth place in the American, but ECU is in danger of missing the conference tournament in Birmingham if they don’t win out and get help from other teams in the conference.

After losing their first six conference games, the Pirates have won five of their last nine games, and they have the second-leading scorer in the country on their team. Senior guard Jordan Riley averages 23.7 points, only 1.4 points shy of AJ Dybantsa.

As a team, ECU averages 70.9 points per game, shooting 41.7 percent from the field, 27.8 percent from deep and 70.1 percent from the free-throw line. Mike Schwartz’s team averages 11.5 assists per game, and they only commit 12 turnovers per contest.

Defensively, opposing teams average 76.8 points per game, and the Pirates allow opponents to shoot 44.8 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three-point range. They grab 36.3 rebounds per game, but they have a rebounding margin of minus-0.1.

Here’s a look at how to watch Memphis’ road matchup against ECU:

TV: N/A

Stream: ESPN+

Radio: 98.9 The Roar of Memphis

Line: Memphis -5.5

Time: 1:00 p.m. CT

What to keep an eye on in the Tigers’ game against the Pirates: 

After suffering an elbow injury against USF, Aaron Bradshaw has only played 48 seconds over the last two games, and it’s unclear if he’ll be available for the game on Sunday. Bradshaw has played a key role for the Tigers during conference play, and Memphis could use him against a team with decent size in the frontcourt. 

With Bradshaw out, Memphis struggled to slow Wichita State’s bigs and allowed 44 rebounds and 44 points in the paint. While Bradshaw isn’t the best rebounder in the conference, his size would help the Tigers both in the rebounding category and in limiting good shot attempts in the paint.

Ashton Hardaway also missed Thursday’s game with an injury, and Penny Hardaway hasn’t given much of an update other than both his son and Bradshaw are considered day-to-day. With both Hardaway and Bradshaw unavailable, coach Hardaway decided to use four guards in the starting lineup, starting Sincere Parker, and it’ll be interesting to see if he uses that starting five against ECU.

Memphis’ big men struggled against the Shockers, and Tariq Ingraham led the bigs with seven points and two rebounds in 17 minutes. If both Hardaway and Bradshaw miss the game, the Tigers will need more production from the available bigs.

Most of the offense against Wichita State came from Dug McDaniel, Quante Berry and Parker, and the Tigers will need similar performances from them. Despite shooting 4-for-16 from the field, Parker scored 15 points in his first start since December, while Berry had his most impressive showing as a Tiger, finishing with 22 points, five rebounds and three steals.

McDaniel went through a five-game slump, shooting 28.3 percent from the field, but he has played much better over the last game and a half. The point guard scored 15 points in the second half against UAB and led the team with 29 points on Thursday, shooting 56 percent over the last three quarters.