GREENVILLE — The week ahead will feature nearly polar opposite opponents in the American Athletic Conference as the East Carolina men’s basketball team welcomes bottom-feeding Tulane on Wednesday before traveling to Cincinnati Saturday.

The Green Wave has struggled, much like the Pirates, since the start of conference play with a 1-10 record. Tulane’s one conference victory came against South Florida, who flipped the script in the second match up to earn its own first conference win.

Despite the difficult season thus far for the 8-16 Green Wave, one bright spot has stood out on the team in the form of sophomore Dylan Osetkowski. The 6-foot-8 forward has averaged 10.5 points per game and sits top-five in the conference in rebounds with 8.6 per game. He also a dynamic defender as he matches ECU freshman Kentrell Barkley in steals with just over one per game.

Tulane’s strength is certainly in its defense and rebounding over ECU. The Green Wave boasts the sixth scoring defense in the conference and seventh best rebounding margin, though it sits near the bottom in almost every other statistical category. The paint is strongly occupied by senior forward Jernard Jarreau. Jarreau is a strong shot blocker with 31 in just 18 games. With ECU’s tendency to slash to the lane, Jarreau will be tested.

Tulane is coming back off a tough stretch and six straight losses that featured Connecticut, Southern Methodist, Cincinnati and Tulsa among others. The future of conference play looks bleak for Tulane, which faces top conference teams down the stretch, except, of course, the two matchups with ECU.

Cincinnati is 7-4 in conference play under Mick Cronin and is one game off the pace for a top-seed in the conference tournament. The Bearcats had a four game win streak snapped with another late-game loss to Memphis. Of the team’s seven losses, a 10-point loss to Xavier is the lone double-digit loss of the season.

The Bearcats’ strength is in depth with Troy Caupain, Farad Cobb and Gary Clark all average more than 10.5 points per game. Octavius Ellis is a dynamic player for Cincinnati and complements Clark well.

Clark averages over eight boards per game while Ellis has pulled down 6.5 a game in his senior season. Caupain, a Virginia native, has averaged 4.7 assists as a junior while leading the team in scoring, as well. Cobb, a senior guard, anchors the defense with over a steal per game and helps lead the fast-paced transition style of the Bearcats.

Trailing only UConn, Cincinnati has the second-best defense in the conference, allowing just 62 points per games. However, the Bearcats struggle to defend the 3-point line and allow opponents to shoot at a .350 clip against them, good for third worst in the conference.

In the past, ECU has been exploited the 3-pointer against teams that open up those shots and pull off upsets. Led by Caleb White and the resurging Prince Williams, ECU will tip off against Tulane Wednesday in Minges Coliseum at 6:15 p.m.