Anderson leads Rice against East Carolina after 23-point performance

East Carolina Pirates (8-16, 3-8 AAC) at Rice Owls (11-14, 5-7 AAC)

Houston; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Rice hosts East Carolina after Nick Anderson scored 23 points in Rice's 81-73 victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls.

The Owls are 7-6 on their home court. Rice has a 5-12 record against opponents over .500.

The Pirates are 3-8 against AAC opponents. East Carolina is 3-8 in games decided by at least 10 points.

Rice scores 74.7 points per game, 1.7 fewer points than the 76.4 East Carolina allows. East Carolina averages 5.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 2.0 fewer made shots on average than the 7.0 per game Rice allows.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

Jordan Riley is averaging 23.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals for the Pirates. Giovanni Emejuru is averaging 12.3 points, 10 rebounds and 2.6 blocks over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Owls: 5-5, averaging 75.9 points, 34.9 rebounds, 11.7 assists, 5.8 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 44.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.1 points per game.

Pirates: 3-7, averaging 73.0 points, 31.2 rebounds, 12.4 assists, 5.5 steals and 5.4 blocks per game while shooting 43.3% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 76.4 points.

___