Updated January 22, 2026
The East Carolina Pirates head to Denton to take on the North Texas Mean Green in a men’s college basketball contest on Friday afternoon. The Pirates have struggled mightily in American Athletic Conference play, sitting at 5-14 overall and still looking for their first conference win. North Texas has climbed to 12-7 on the season and enters this matchup with home-court advantage at The Super Pit. Before these teams play the second game of their respective back-to-backs, I've got you covered with my East Carolina vs North Texas prediction below.
Pick: | North Texas -10.5 ATS PRO |
Confidence: | 3/5 |
East Carolina comes into this contest on a difficult run, having lost seven straight games overall with issues on both ends of the floor plaguing them. The Pirates are averaging just over 68 points per game this season while allowing more than 77, leading them to a winless start in American Athletic Conference play. Jordan Riley has been the standout scoring option, averaging over 20 points per game and leading ECU in nearly every major offensive category. But he will need some help if the Pirates are going to upset the Mean Green.
North Texas has a balanced offensive attack and a very good defensive unit. Je’Shawn Stevenson has paced the Mean Green with 17 points per game, supported by David Terrell Jr. and solid contributions from role players. North Texas has been effective at home, where they hold an impressive 9-2 record and outscore opponents by a significant margin. These teams had very different results in their games on Thursday, with ECU losing by double-digits and North Texas winning by double-digits, and we could be in for a similar result here.
Score Projection: East Carolina 63 – North Texas 75 ATS PRO
Win Probability: East Carolina 14%, North Texas 86% ATS PRO
North Texas enters this game as a clear favorite based on the recent performances of both teams. I'm expecting the struggles of East Carolina to continue here, as having to play on the road for the second straight day to be problematic for them. My recommendation here is to lay the points with North Texas, as they should roll at home for the second day in a row to improve to 4-3 in conference play.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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