East Carolina secured its first-ever win against top-five opponent and snapped a 35-game losing streak against ranked foes by stunning No. 5 Houston 82-73 on Wednesday. The loss ended an eight-game winning streak for the Cougars, who had defeated opponents by an average of 18.5 points per game during an undefeated January. Five players reached double figures for the Pirates (8-6, 2-6 AAC) as they snapped the five-game losing streak in stunning fashion.
Houston (15-2, 10-2) entered the meeting favored by 16.5 points, having ascended back to the top five after tearing through a series of league opponents following a one-point loss at Tulsa on Dec. 29. With ECU ranked No. 169 in the NET, the defeat will count as a Quad 3 loss for Houston. The Cougars were on the No. 2 seed line entering the game, according to CBS Sports Bracketology expert Jerry Palm. With the loss, Palm now projects Houston to drop to the No. 3 seed line.
The Cougars entered allowing opponents to just 36.2% shooting, the best defensive mark in the country. But ECU got hot from behind the arc, knocking down 11-of-24 3-point attempts after entering the game averaging just 6.2 made 3-pointers per game, which was 282nd in the nation. Tremont Robinson-White led the long-range barrage for the Pirates by hitting 5-of-6 attempts from 3-point range. But ECU's top scorer was Jayden Gardner, who finished with 21 points and 15 rebounds without a single 3-point attempt.
ECU coach Joe Dooley had been in pursuit of his 200th career win for over a month since securing win No. 199 on Dec. 22 against Tulane. Since then, the Pirates had gone on a two-week pause related to COVID-19 and struggled to generate consistent offense after their. Scoring was no problem on Wednesday, however, as ECU racked up 45 second-half points en route to a historic win.
