March 6, 2011

GREENVILLE, N.C. --- The East Carolina men's basketball team will be the No. 8 seed in the 2011 Buick Conference USA Men's Basketball Championship, March 9-12 at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso. The Pirates will face ninth-seeded UCF in the opening game of the tournament at 1 p.m. Eastern.

The Pirates swept the season series from the Knights for the first time this season, winning by 12, 74-62, in Orlando and seven, 68-61, at home.

East Carolina ended the season by winning three of its last four games, including a pair of victories over third-seeded UTEP and fourth-seeded Memphis to conclude the regular season at 16-14 overall and 8-8 in league play.

ECU, assured of finishing the year with a winning record for the first time since 1996-97, completed the regular season with its best-ever Conference USA finish as it tied for seventh-place with SMU. The Pirates lost their only meeting of the season with Mustangs on Feb. 2, 46-41, therefore losing the head-to-head tie-breaker.

UCF also completed the regular season by winning three of its last four games and finished with a 19-10 overall record an a 6-10 league ledger.

The Pirates are 0-7 all-time at the C-USA Basketball Championship and have never been seeded higher than ninth.

ECU and UCF have met just once previously in the league's championship tournament with the fifth-seeded Knights defeating the 12th-seeded Pirates by 13, 65-52, in 2006.

The winner faces top-seeded UAB Thursday in the quarterfinals at 1 p.m. Eastern.