Liberty @ East Carolina preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 17, 2007 ) Liberty 55, East Carolina 53

After back-to-back losses to Navy and Appalachian State, East Carolina returns home Saturday to face a Liberty squad looking to go 4-0 for the first time since 1999. The Pirates' lone victory this season came at home in an opening 80-68 triumph over VMI.

The Pirates certainly had their chances in falling five points short against Navy (62-57) and six shy vs. Appalachian State (68-62) but couldn't come up with the clutch buckets when needed. "I think it's frustrating for the guys, and it's frustrating for us," ECU head coach Joe Dooley told reporters. "Like I said to the guys, the bad news is we've lost the games, but the good news is we've had opportunities to win them. ... We do have to make some open shots. We've had a bunch of open shots that we've missed, and I think a lot of that is confidence." The Pirates ended up hitting just 35.6 percent of their shots against the Mountaineers and they can't afford to squander too many opportunities against the defensive-minded Flames, who prefer to slow down the tempo of games and as a result are allowing just 51.3 points per contest, 10th best in the nation. The Atlantic Sun Conference defending champions were especially dominant their last time out in limiting South Carolina State to 13 points in the first half and 39 overall to set the Liberty mark for fewest points allowed against a Division I opponent.

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN3

ABOUT LIBERTY (3-0): Senior forward Scottie James is averaging a double-double for the Flames, topping the team in scoring (11.0) and rebounds (11.3), with guards Caleb Homesley and Darius McGhee both averaging 10.3 points per contest. James has 675 boards in his career and he needs just eight more to move into seventh place in school history. The Flames defense has been shutting down opposing shooters, limiting them to 35.7 percent from the floor and 27.7 the 3-point arc.

ABOUT ECU (1-2): Sophomore forward Jayden Gardner opened the season with the ninth 20-point game of his career (28 points) and he has scored in double digits in each of the first three games. As a team, the Pirates are hitting just 43.3 percent of their shots but the top three scorers -- Gardner (18.0 points), Sean LeDay (11.7) and Brandon Suggs (10.3) -- are all nailing at least 51.4 percent, with LeDay leading the way with a 61.5 percent success rate (16 of 26). Gardner has 26 rebounds thus far, twice as much as his nearest teammate, Bitumba Baruti (13).

TIP-INS

1. ECU owns a 5-2 series advantage but the teams last met in 2007, when Liberty defeated the Pirates 55-53.

2. Liberty has never defeated an American Athletic Conference opponent.

3. LeDay scored 20 points on 9-of-11 shooting against Appalachian State.

PREDICTION: ECU 60, Liberty 57