Marshall University Athletics
Herd and Mountaineers to Tangle in Wednesday's Capital Classic
1/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 22, 2008
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Marshall vs. West Virginia Game Notes 
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - The Marshall men's basketball team will once again square off with intra-state rival West Virginia in the Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic on Wednesday at the Charleston Civic Center. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. EST, or 30 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game.
The contest will be televised live on the Capital Classic Network, available state-wide on WOWK (Huntington/Charleston), WVNS (Bluefield/Beckley), WBOY (Clarksburg/Morgantown/Fairmont), WTRF (Wheeling/Steubenville, OH), and WJAL (Martinsburg/Hagerstown, Md./Chambersburg, Pa.). The doubleheader will also be available on a pay-per-view basis ($11.95) through CSTV All-Access on HerdZone.com. The Thundering Herd/ISP Sports Network will carry a live radio broadcast.
Marshall (10-6, 2-2 Conference USA) will play its final non-conference tilt of the season after going 8-4 out of C-USA action this season. The Herd and Mountaineers (14-4, 4-2 Big East) share two common opponents as both teams defeated Winthrop at home and lost to Louisville at Freedom Hall.
The Thundering Herd snapped its two-game losing streak with a gritty 62-57 win over visiting UAB on Saturday night. Marshall played without leading scorer Markel Humphrey, but saw four other players contribute double digits in points, including Mark Dorris (15), Darryl Merthie (12), Tyler Wilkerson (11) and Matt Walls (10).
Dorris has the hot hand for the Herd lately, leading the team in scoring (14.8 ppg), assists (3.4 apg) and steals (2.0 spg) over the last five games.
Humphrey, who missed the first game of his career on Saturday, will be a game-time decision for Wednesday. He and Dorris are the only two members of the Herd who played in Marshall's upset of No. 9 West Virginia two seasons ago.
West Virginia, winners of three straight and four of its last five games, is out-scoring its opponents by nearly 20 points per game. The Mountaineers are scoring 80.1 points per game while holding opponents to 60.6 per contest. Junior guard Alex Ruoff leads WVU in scoring (16.1 ppg) and is shooting 45.5 percent from 3-point range (60-for-132). He netted 14 points with five assists in West Virginia's 69-52 win at South Florida on Sunday.
Leading rebounder Joe Alexander did not play at USF and is questionable for Wednesday's game. The 6-foot-8 junior forward grabs 5.9 boards per game and scores 15.8 ppg with 30 blocks.
Sophomore forward Da'Sean Butler (12.9 ppg) tied senior guard Darris Nichols (11.1) for team-high scoring honors with 15 points at USF. Butler shoots a team-best 53.1 percent from the floor and pulls down 5.7 rebounds per contest. Ruoff (62) and Nichols (61) pace the Mountaineers in assists with Ruoff swiping a team-best 1.8 steals per game.
Marshall and West Virginia will meet for the 36th time as the Mountaineers hold a 25-10 lead in a series that dates back to 1929. The Thundering Herd can win three of the last four meetings with a victory on Wednesday, a claim Marshall has not been able to make since accomplishing the feat from 1980-83. Wednesday marks the 19th meeting in Charleston, with the Mountaineers holding a 14-4 advantage in the capital city.
The game also features a pair of head coaches with West Virginia roots, both of which are in their first years with their respective programs. Point Pleasant native Donnie Jones is at the helm of the Herd in his first head-coaching assignment while Bob Huggins, from Morgantown, heads the Mountaineers after accumulating 590 wins in his 25 seasons prior returning to his alma mater.
