Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Men Travels To Tulane For Saturday Night Matchup
1/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2007
Marhsall GameNotes
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NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Thundering Herd travels to New Orleans, La., to take on the Tulane Green Wave Saturday evening at Fogelman Arena. Tip-time is set for 8:30 p.m. EST.
The men's game is the second game of a doubleheader with the Green Wave women. The women's game against UTEP will begin at 6 p.m. EST.
Marshall (6-11, 1-2) and Tulane (8-7, 1-2) will meet for the third time Saturday evening. The Green Wave lead the all-time series, 2-0, after claiming both games in 2006-07. The Herd dropped a 61-36 decision on Feb. 4, 2006, in New Orleans, and a 64-58 game in Memphis in the first round of the C-USA Tournament on Mar. 8. The 36 points at Fogelman Arena was the lowest Marshall point total since the 1947-48 season, when San Diego State beat the Herd, 41-23.
Tulane is one of five teams Marshall will meet twice in C-USA play. The Green Wave makes its first appearance in Huntington on Feb. 17.
There is one connection between the Herd and Green Wave - Herd head coach Ron Jirsa and Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson were both assistant coaches at Gardner-Webb during the 1990-91 season. Dickerson was also a member of former head coach Greg White's staff in the summer of 1996 for two weeks before accepting an assistant coach position at his alma mater, the University of Maryland.
Tulane enters the game with an 8-7 record, 1-2 in league play. Like the Herd, the Green Wave claimed its first conference win of the season Wednesday when it defeated East Carolina, 65-56, in Greenville, N.C. Forward David Gomez leads the team in scoring and rebounding, with 14.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, respectively.
Marshall won its first Conference USA game of the 2006-07 season with a 65-53 win over Tulsa in its last time out Wednesday night at Henderson Center and ended a three-game losing skid in the process.
Junior guard Mark Dorris (Cincinnati, Ohio) tallied his first career double-double to lead the Herd effort versus the Golden Hurricane. The Cincinnati native scored 17 points and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in the win. Sophomore forward Markel Humphrey (Ellenwood, Ga.) and senior forward Travis Aikens (Orlando, Fla.) each scored 15 points for Marshall.
The Herd put the clamps on the Golden Hurricane offense Wednesday night, limiting Tulsa to only 18 made field goals and a 29.5% from the floor, and only two made threes and 12.5% from beyond the arc. Marshall also outrebounded the Golden Hurricane, 46-43, and dished out 12 assists on 21 made baskets.
Marshall held a five-point lead at the half, 30-25, and immediately expanded its lead in the early goings of the second half with an 8-2 run to start the period. Tulsa never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
Humphrey leads Marshall in scoring at 13.8 points per game, and also leads the team on the glass with 6.5 rebounds per contest. Mark Dorris is next for the Herd at 12.5 points per game, and senior forward Travis Aikens averages 11.6 points per game.
If the Herd knocks down a three vs. Tulane Saturday, it will be the 500th consecutive game Marshall has made a three-point shot. In an interesting note, the first Herd three-pointer was made in 1980-81, five years before the NCAA adopted the rule (1985-86). The Southern Conference, the Herd's league at the time, adopted the three-point arc as an experimental rule that season, and all-time assists leader and former Marshall head coach Greg White was the first MU player to make a shot from beyond the arc. The Southern Conference also had the rule for the 1981-82 and 1982-83 seasons.
Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. from Fogelman Arena. The game can be heard live regionally on the ISP/Thundering Herd Network, and worldwide at www.HerdZone.com. The game can also be seen live on the Internet as part of the Herd All-Access package on www.HerdZone.com.
