Texas-San Antonio is winless in the American Conference going into a Wednesday matchup at East Carolina (7 p.m., ESPN+).

The Roadrunners are 0-11 in league play.

ECU is 0-5 against American opponents at home in Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum this season.

Obviously, one of those goose eggs will be broken.

The Pirates are 11.5-point favorites on the early betting line and have the better resume. ECU is 7-16 overall while UTSA is 4-19.

The Pirates have won two of their last four with victories at North Texas and Florida Atlantic, teams that have a combined 11-12 record in the American.

The Mean Green is 1-4 starting with the loss to the Pirates.

In each of those wins, ECU stepped up in particular areas.

On the boards at North Texas

The Pirates were focused on rebounding in a 63-59 win over the Mean Green on Jan. 23 and came away with a 39-23 advantage on the boards, including a 11-8 edge on the offensive glass.

Giovanni Emejuru grabbed 16 rebounds for ECU, including five on the offensive end.

Outside shooting at FAU

The Pirates are hitting just 27.3 percent on 3-pointers for the season, but in a 76-75 win at Florida Atlantic on Feb. 1, ECU made eight of 17 from beyond the arc for 47.1 percent.

The Pirates were better from long range than they were on 2-point tries, going 18 for 44 from within the arc for 40.9 percent.

Jordan Riley had 35 points in Boca Raton going 11 of 21 on field goal attempts and hitting two of four on threes.

Demitri Gardner and Corey Caulker each dropped three of four from long range against the Owls.

Riley on a roll

Riley has surpassed 30 points in the last three games.

He had 37 in an 83-77 home loss to Rice on Jan. 28.

He scored 35 at FAU and tallied 32 in the last game at home, an 81-73 loss to Temple on Saturday.

He is averaging 23.3 points per game, which ranked fifth nationally through games on Sunday.

Transfers producing

In addition to Riley, who played previously at Georgetown and Temple, the Pirates have been getting a lot of production from transfers.

Well-traveled post player Giovanni Emejuru performed at Sam Houston State, Siena and George Mason before coming to Greenville. He is averaging 13.3 points and 9.6 rebounds.

ECU’s latest arrival, Demitri Gardner, has had an immediate impact. Gardner came from Division II Augusta at the semester break and is averaging 9.7 points.

Career Pirates

Last year’s leading scorer, R.J. Felton, played his entire career at ECU.

Players who remain in a program for the duration of their careers are becoming increasingly rare.

Sophomore Reid Cason came to ECU out of high school in Kingston, OK. The 6-10 sophomore can give the Pirates size when Coach Mike Schwartz wants to go big.

Cason has made 12 starts and is averaging 15.9 minutes. His numbers include 3.1 points and 3.7 rebounds. He is making 50 percent of his field goal attempts (33 for 66) but is only one for nine on threes. He has made 17 of 23 free throws for 73.9 percent.

His 19 blocked shots rand second on the team to Emejuru, who has 43. Cason has 1.3 steals per game.

His stats are more impressive when projected on a 40-minute scale.

Roadrunners

UTSA last won on Nov. 25 when a 77-64 victory over Georgia Southern in Jacksonville, FL, put the Roadrunners at 4-3 on the season.

UTSA has lost 16 straight since then. UTSA is coming off an 81-58 loss at North Texas on Saturday,

Jamir Simpson, a transfer from Southern Utah, leads the Roadrunners in scoring at 16.1 points per game but is the only UTSA player averaging in double figures.

A year ago

ECU had a pair of close games with the Roadrunners last season.

The Pirates won, 80-79, in San Antonio on Feb. 8, 2025, on a last second shot by C.J. Walker, who had  28 points. Riley added 21.

ECU took a 96-89 win in overtime in Greenville on Feb. 23 as Felton scored 30. Riley tallied 17.