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GAME NOTES: The Memphis Tigers look to get back on track Wednesday and keep their footing atop the Conference USA standings as East Carolina pays a visit to the FedEXForum.

Memphis suffered a costly 60-58 setback at home to UTEP Saturday, halting a four-game win streak. The Tigers led for much of the game but a persistent UTEP squad battled back on several occasions, eventually closing the game on a 16-7 run to snatch its first road win of the season. The loss kept Memphis in a first-place tie with Southern Miss atop the league standings and allowed others to creep closer with less than two weeks remaining in the regular season. Sophomore Tarik Black did his part in keeping the Tigers in it, posting a double-double of 26 points and 10 rebounds, though he was the club's lone double-figure scorer.

East Carolina fell at UCF 64-55 Saturday for its third straight defeat, leaving the Pirates at just 3-9 in C-USA play. ECU was playing it close early in the second half before the Knights ripped off a 10-0 run to take control. UCF was able to hold on from there and fend off the Pirates despite some shaky foul shooting. East Carolina made that possible by hitting at just a 38.3- percent clip from the field, including a 4-for-24 showing from three-point range. Darrius Morrow had 15 points and Miguel Paul scored 10 with eight assists for the Pirates.

Memphis holds an 11-1 lead in the all-time series with ECU and has won each of the five home matchups. The Tigers won February 8 in Greenville by way of a 70-59 final. The Pirates picked up their lone win in the series March of last year at home.

The Tigers are powered largely by the exploits of sophomore Will Barton, whose 17.9-point average leads all of Conference USA and 8.1 rebounds per game lead the team. Barton was held to just nine points on 3-of-9 shooting against UTEP. Overall, Memphis sits atop the league in scoring at 74.4 ppg and field-goal percentage (48.7 percent) with a host of contributors to that end. Black averages 10.5 ppg and sits atop the conference with a 67.1 field-goal percentage while Joe Jackson goes for 10.0 ppg. Adding further depth is Chris Crawford, who puts up 9.5 ppg and 3.6 assists while pacing the club with 41 three-pointers on 40.6 percent shooting. The defense holds its own on most occasions, limiting the opposition to a league-low 38.9 shooting percentage but also 65.0 ppg.

The Pirates are driven by the junior Paul's 15.7 ppg and a league-best 5.9 assists per contest. Paul stands fifth in C-USA in scoring and second in assist/turnover ratio (2.3). The frontcourt duo of Morrow and Maurice Kemp keep things churning down low, with the former dropping in 13.7 ppg and the latter a healthy 10.3 ppg. Morrow also kicks in 6.2 rebounds per game and stands fifth in C-USA with a 55.8 shooting percentage. Kemp pulls down a team- high 6.4 boards per contest. East Carolina holds the fourth-best scoring margin in league play at plus-5.1, averaging 70.0 ppg on 43.7 percent shooting.

Memphis should be eager to right the ship and avenge just its second home loss of the season (13-2). East Carolina has proved it can hold its own with a decent punch on offense but the Tigers are clearly the better team when Barton is on his game.