Previewing East Carolina...

The Patriots don't have time to sulk after their loss to Hampton because they hit the road again Saturday to play another Pirate team. East Carolina returns only one starter this season but has had no trouble scoring points in their first three games averaging over 83 a contest. This doesn't bode well for Mason who last night had trouble reaching 20 in the first half. But the Pirates are a young team like Mason, having 9 out of their 11 players in their first or second year. The team's only returning starter, Sam Hinnant, has been leading the squad so far averaging 17 ppg. Backcourt mate James Legan has been scoring 17.7 a night, while sophomore point guard Brock Young has been averaging over 7 assists. In the front court Chad Wynn (6'10" 240) will give Darryl Monroe his first challenge of the season. Wynn is a bruiser but not a huge rebounding threat. Freshman Darrius Morrow is another big fella (6-8, 250) who could make things difficult for the young Mason forwards. Mason boasts a much more athletic front court which they will need to use to their advantage if we see another poor shooting night from the guards.

Mason can win this game if:

...they do the exact opposite of what they did offensively last night! Meaning, they have to shoot the ball well and the guards have to be more involved from the start of the game. Darryl Monroe needs to take more than 5 shots in this game, he can be a huge factor with East Carolina's lack of front court depth. Defense has not been an issue yet this season and with Coach L it usually never is. The Patriots need to drown down East Carolina's offense and make them play their style of basketball.

Mason will lose this game if:

...they get themselves into a run and gun type of game. After such a poor shooting display, the last thing the Patriots need to do is get into an up-tempo, high scoring game. I don't think Mason can go toe-to-toe offensively with a team that has been scoring this much. If the Patriots have another sloppy night full of turnovers and fouls they will all but hand this game over to ECU and this time they will lose by more than 6.