NCAA Tournament March Madness
#280 East Carolina
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Projection: need to automatically qualify
East Carolina’s résumé is defined by a handful of home wins over lesser nonconference opponents like Ga Southern, Buffalo and Presbyterian rather than by marquee victories, and that lack of signature wins leaves the committee with little to hang an at-large case on. The worst moments — a neutral setback to Michigan State, a heavy defeat at North Carolina and several road losses at places such as Richmond and Wichita State — highlight an inability to win away from home, while tight conference defeats to Temple, UAB and Charlotte show competitiveness without the resume-enhancing results. The remaining schedule gives opportunities to pile up wins at home against teams like Rice and UT San Antonio but only a few true road tests at Florida Atlantic, Wichita State and UAB that could change perception if any become upsets. With limited quality wins and no established track record of neutral-site or road upsets, the clearest path to the NCAA tournament runs through capturing the American Athletic Conference’s automatic bid.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/4 | Ga Southern | 244 | W92-89 |
| 11/8 | @Richmond | 116 | L87-72 |
| 11/18 | @UNC Wilmington | 121 | L85-60 |
| 11/21 | Charleston So | 227 | L77-65 |
| 11/25 | (N)Michigan St | 9 | L89-56 |
| 11/27 | (N)St Bonaventure | 145 | L67-58 |
| 12/2 | MD E Shore | 327 | W68-56 |
| 12/6 | UNC Greensboro | 295 | L82-78 |
| 12/11 | Appalachian St | 218 | L67-54 |
| 12/14 | Buffalo | 184 | W73-70 |
| 12/17 | Presbyterian | 274 | W74-53 |
| 12/22 | @North Carolina | 33 | L99-51 |
| 12/31 | Tulane | 190 | L79-70 |
| 1/7 | @Temple | 144 | L75-67 |
| 1/11 | UAB | 119 | L87-85 |
| 1/14 | @South Florida | 80 | L82-71 |
| 1/18 | Charlotte | 179 | L73-70 |
| 1/21 | @Wichita St | 99 | L77-60 |
| 1/24 | @North Texas | 133 | 14% |
| 1/28 | Rice | 241 | 52% |
| 2/1 | @FL Atlantic | 93 | 8% |
| 2/7 | Temple | 144 | 32% |
| 2/11 | UT San Antonio | 348 | 80% |
| 2/14 | @Rice | 241 | 30% |
| 2/18 | Wichita St | 99 | 21% |
| 2/21 | @Charlotte | 179 | 21% |
| 2/25 | @UT San Antonio | 348 | 61% |
| 3/1 | Memphis | 97 | 20% |
| 3/4 | Tulsa | 59 | 12% |
| 3/5 | Tulsa | 59 | 12% |
| 3/8 | @UAB | 119 | 12% |