GREENVILLE — East Carolina hosts South Florida on Wednesday as both sides begin their foray into American Athletic Conference competition. For the Pirates, taking advantage of the home start to league play is key.

This marks the fourth season in a row that ECU has kicked off its conference stretch in Minges Coliseum. Despite that, the Pirates have lost their last three league openers in a row. Two of those three shortcomings, including last year’s loss 71-68 loss to Central Florida, marked the beginning of six-game losing streaks.

“We’ve got to play well. South Florida is a team that cracked us pretty good here last year,” head coach Jeff Lebo said. The Bulls downed ECU 69-52 the last time the two met in Greenville. “We did some good things in our last game against Presbyterian. I think playing the right way, sharing the ball. I thought we had a lot of good plays offensively. We’ll have to continue to carry that into conference play.”

One factor in the improved offensive flow last time out was having freshman Jeremy Sheppard man the point to start the game. He had 11 points and a half dozen assists in 33 minutes on the court.

“He has his moments,” Lebo said. “You’ve got to be consistent. That’s the next step for Jeremy; it’s being consistent for us. He’s got to be able to defend. Offensively, he’s very gifted. He knows where the ball is supposed to go. He’s smart. I like his demeanor on the floor.”

Guard B.J. Tyson added, “It was a great chance to see him at the one and me at the two. That lineup right there was actually fun, and I felt comfortable where I was at in my normal position.”

In years past, ECU has been short staffed at the forward positions when AAC play rolled around. Even with talented players in Caleb White, Tyson and Kentrell Barkley, the Pirates didn’t quite have the size inside to be competitive.

That’s different this time. ECU has a 7-foot center in Andre Washington. Even with the dismissal of starting forward Clarence Williams, the likes of Michel Nzege and Deng Riak are chomping at the bit to get more minutes at the four spot.

Washington’s size helped ECU throughout the non-conference portion of the season. Besides having him out on the court, his presence in practice should be beneficial.

“Last year, we didn’t have any big guys,” Lebo said. “We’d go in and finish it in practice, then we’d get in a game and it’d get swatted. It wasn’t their fault. They didn’t have anything to simulate it. I think that we’ve got size and athleticism now that they learn to finish over size.”

The Bulls have a 7-footer of their own in Ruben Guerrero. He’s averaging 5.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Tulio Da Silva, a 6-foot-7 forward that plays a lot like Barkley, ranks second on the team with 11.2 points, and leads USF with eight rebounds per contest.

He and Geno Thorpe (13.4 points per game) will need to pick up the scoring slack. In three games this season, sophomore guard Jahmal McMurray had been leading the bunch with 20.3 points per game. He was suspended for the first six games of the season, and announced his intention to transfer from USF last week.

Tip off is slated for 7 p.m. in Minges.