Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Awaits #20/19 George Washington Saturday Evening
1/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2006
Marshall-George Washington GameNotes
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The Thundering Herd will take on its first top-25 team in the Henderson Center since Wake Forest in 1997 when the #20/19th-ranked George Washington Colonials come to town for a 7 p.m. tip-off.
The Herd will play its first of two home national CSTV broadcasts Saturday evening against the Colonials. The last time Marshall played in front of a national audience in the Henderson Center was February 16, 2002, against Ohio on ESPN2.
George Washington (9-1) is the Herd's first ranked opponent since December 17, 1997, to play in the Henderson Center. Marshall defeated then-#23 ranked Wake Forest, 73-67 on that day. All-time at the Henderson Center, Marshall is 2-1 against Top 25-ranked teams, with wins coming over the Demon Deacons and the East Tennessee State Buccaneers on February 23, 1991. Marshall knocked off the Bucs, 107-103, in overtime behind John Taft's senior-night, 43-point, 13-rebound performance. The Herd's other game against a ranked opponent at the Cam was a 74-60 loss to #19-ranked Virginia on December 20, 1990.
Marshall (6-5) is 5-52 all-time against ranked opponents, with the five wins coming against the aforementioned Demon Deacons and Bucs, and against #8-ranked St. Johns on December 18, 1971, at Memorial Fieldhouse, 110-107 in overtime, #24-ranked Dayton, 67-65, at Dayton Arena on December 2, 2000, and #24-ranked West Virginia, 59-55, last season in Charleston, W.Va., at the Toyota Capital Classic. Since 1997, the Herd is 3-5 against ranked competition, the best nine-year period in the history of Marshall Basketball.
In the Herd's last time out, Marshall pushed over the .500 mark for the first time in 2005-06 with a 64-60 win over Appalachian State January 4th in Boone, N.C. The victory avenged an earlier, 73-65, loss to the Mountaineers December 17 in Huntington. Marshall never trailed in the game, although the Herd needed a Markel Humphrey three-pointer with 42 seconds to play to secure the victory. Humphrey's three put Marshall up five, and the Herd held on with clutch free throw shooting in the waning seconds. Tre Whitted led all scorers with 14 points, and senior center Mark Patton added 12 points in the Herd's winning effort. Point guard Chris Ross led all Marshall rebounders with a career-high nine.
George Washington enters Saturday's contest as the 20th-ranked team in the country according to the Associated Press, and the 19th-ranked team in the USA Today/Coaches Poll. The Colonials have a 9-1 record, and most recently opened its A-10 season with a 72-60 win over Temple in Philadelphia. GW's only loss this season came at the hands of North Carolina State in Raleigh, when the Wolfpack handed the Colonials a 79-58 defeat. George Washington is the Herd's most balanced opponent so far in the 2005-06 season - the Colonials have five players averaging double-figures, and are led by Danilo Pinnock, who pours in 14.9 points per game. Mike Hall adds 13.7, Maureece Rice averages 12.7, Pops Mensah-Bonsu chips in 11.1, and Carl Elliott contributes 10.4 points per contest. Hall leads the Colonials on the glass with 7.7 rebounds per game.
After two stellar days in Greenville at the Jack In The Box Holiday Classic when he averaged 24.5 points and 10 rebounds in two games, Mark Patton (Barboursville, W.Va.) added his 34th career double-digit game against Appalachian State when he scored 12 points. The Herd's only West Virginia native has ten career double-doubles, with his most recent coming against Kennesaw State when he posted 21 points and 11 rebounds. Patton leads the Herd in both scoring and rebounding - he is also 5th in Conference USA in scoring at 14.4 points per game and 7th in rebounding at 6.8 per contest, while also leading the league in offensive boards with 4.0 per game.
In another important note, the Herd's three starting guards, Tre Whitted (Wilmington, N.C.) (3.6), Chris Ross (San Antonio, Texas) (4.1), and Mark Dorris (Cincinnati, Ohio) (3.4), combine for an average of 11.1 rebounds per game. Whitted and Ross have each had nine-rebound games against Kennesaw State and Appalachian State, respectively, and Dorris has added an eight-rebound contest against Kennesaw State.
Saturday's game can be seen live nationally on CSTV, and heard regionally on the ISP/Thundering Herd Radio Network. The game can also be seen on Herd All-Access on www.HerdZone.com.
