East Carolina Basketball 2015-16 Season Preview

The East Carolina Pirates finished the 2014-15 season just outside of the potential NCAA tournament teams in the American Athletic Conference, as most people expected. However, the return of several key players with at least two years of eligibility left makes East Carolina one of the more underrated programs in the conference and a potential threat in both this season and the next.

Two of the team’s leading scorers from last season, B.J. Tyson and Caleb White, return after averaging a combined 24.7 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 2014-15. These two players will be joined by fourth and fifth leading scorers, Marshall Guilmette and Michel Nzege, who each played at least 18 minutes per game last season but failed to make a significant impact on the offensive end.

The real key to a successful 2015-16 season, however, will be the improvement of former four-star recruit Lance Tejada and the integration of incoming four-star recruit Deng Riak. We already know these two players will be good down the road, but ECU needs them to be good now, especially Riak. No player averaged more than 4.7 rebounds per game last season, and the 6-foot-10 freshman fills an immediate need.

In non-conference play, the Pirates play two tough games against the California Golden Bears and the San Diego State Aztecs, which are both on the road. These games should be chalked up as likely losses, but there is not another game on the non-conference schedule in which ECU should be considered an underdog. Do not be surprised if this team enters conference play with nine or 10 wins.

This being said, conference play will once again be an uphill battle, but East Carolina is hands down the best team out of the non-big name programs in the AAC. Fans should expect ECU to dominate opponents like the Tulane Green Wave, South Florida Bulls, Houston Cougars and UCF Knights, who the Pirates will face a total of seven times. Throw these games in with their fairly easy non-conference schedule and an upset or two, and ECU could be looking at 20 wins and a potential trip to the NIT in March.

I think it would be crazy to think that ECU can take a major step forward and end up competing in the AAC, but you can definitely expect this team to lose some close ones with big-name opponents. The talent is there for this team to make a run, but I think 2016-17 will provide a far better opportunity for the Pirates to succeed. Keep an eye on this team in 2015-16, because they might be a top four team in the AAC next season.

Taylor Sturm is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @TSturmRS, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.