Marshall University Athletics
Men' Basketball Faces Challenging 2003-04 Slate
8/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Men?s Basketball Faces Challenging 2003-04 Slate
8/27/2003
HUNTINGTON, W.Va.?A tough non-conference schedule and the always-demanding Mid-American Conference await new Marshall head coach Ron Jirsa in his first year at the helm of the Thundering Herd.
?I think we have the makings of a tough schedule,? Jirsa said. ?Kentucky, our annual battle with West Virginia, Massachusetts, UAB, UNC-Wilmington, in addition to the always-tough Mid-American Conference schedule, is going to be a challenge.?
?I?m particularly happy we were able to set up series with UNC Wilmington and UAB at such a late date,? Ron Jirsa said. ?UNCW is a NCAA tournament caliber program, and UAB is a solid Conference USA program. Those are the type of teams we hope to bring into the Henderson Center in the coming years.?
Highlighting the 2003-04 campaign is a game with the Kentucky Wildcats in Cincinnati. Jirsa will look down the sidelines to see his mentor Tubby Smith, whom Jirsa worked under at the University of Georgia and the University of Tulsa.
The Herd opens the season with a home game against UNC-Wilmington, Marshall?s first ever game with the Seahawks. Marshall?s oldest non-conference opponent, Morehead State, comes to Huntington on November 29th to end play in November.
The aforementioned Kentucky game is set for December 1st in Cincinnati at the US Bank Arena. It marks the second time in three years the Herd has faced off with the Wildcats.
Road games at Radford (4th), Illinois State (6th), Massachusetts (20th), and UAB (30th) close out the month of December, with a home Mid-American Conference game against Northern Illinois sandwiched in the middle of the month (13th).
The Herd?s Mid-American Conference schedule begins on the road, with three out of the first four games away from the Henderson Center. Marshall takes on 2002-03 MAC Champion Central Michigan in Mount Pleasant on January 3rd, Western Michigan in Kalamazoo on the January 12th, and the University of Toledo on January 14th. East Division foe Kent State is the only home game in that stretch on January 6th.
Following the tough road stretch, Marshall plays three conference games in a row in the Henderson Center with Buffalo on January 17th, Ohio on the 24th, and Miami on the 28th. Three consecutive road games follow with games at Bowling Green, Akron and Buffalo. Five out of the team?s last eight games will be at home, with trips to Kent State, Ohio, and Miami during that span.
In the middle of the MAC season is the Herd?s annual tilt with West Virginia on January 20/21st (TBA) and an ESPN Bracket Buster II non-conference home game against a soon-to-be-announced team in the Henderson Center.
Practice begins on October 18th, with the team?s first exhibition set for November 8th.
