Marshall University Athletics
Men's Basketball Set to Host SMU
1/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2009
Huntington, W.Va. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Marshall returns home to face C-USA foe SMU in a key contest Wednesday that features two teams that are looking to get to .500 in league play. Tip-off at the Henderson Center is set for 7 p.m.
The game will be video-streamed live on Herd All-Access, via HerdZone.com. The contest can also be heard on the Thundering Herd/ISP Sports Network with Steve Cotton (PxP) and Woody Woodrum (color).
Marshall (8-9, 1-2 C-USA) is in the midsts of a tough mid-season stretch that includes seven away dates and only three home contests. Marshall has played four of its last five games on the road and has a schedule that is currently rated the 32nd strongest in the nation (RealtimeRPI.com) and second in C-USA only to Memphis' (13th). In their last outing, Marshall was downed, 69-50, at Tulsa despite a 19-point effort from Damier Pitts. The freshman guard currently leads the Herd in scoring with 11.4 points per game.
SMU is coming off of a 60-51 win over Tulane on Saturday in Dallas and has an overall record of 6-9 and is 1-2 in Conference USA.
The Mustangs feature three double-digit scorers in Paul McCoy, Derek Williams and Mouhammad Faye. McCoy is a 5-foot-11 freshman guard that leads the team with 13.7 points per game. Williams is a 6-foot-1 junior guard that is averaging 11.9 points per game, while Faye is 6-foot-9 junior forward that adds 10.5 points per outings.
SMU features some serious size underneath, relying on 7-foot-1 senior center Bamba Fall (who averages a team-high 7.8 rebounds per game and 8.7 ppg) and six-foot-nine sophomore forward Papa Dia (5.3 rebounds per game) in the paint.
The Mustangs are 0-5 in road games this season, while Marshall boasts a home record of 7-1.
This will be the fourth meeting all-time between the two schools and the Thundering Herd holds a 3-0 record in the series that began in 2005-06. Despite the 3-0 advantage, all three games in the series have been highly competitive with the average margin of victory being a mere 2.3 points. Marshall took a 75-72 overtime decision at SMU in 2006, followed that with a 52-49 win in the Henderson Center in 2007 and escaped Moody Coliseum with a 75-74 win over the Mustangs in their last meeting on Feb. 13 of last year. In the last meeting, Marshall's Mark Dorris hit a game-winning three-pointer with 0.7 seconds left to give Marshall a 75-74 win in Dallas. Terrell Baines led the Herd with 24 points and 11 rebounds in that contest, while SMU got 18 points from Derrick Roberts.
Tickets are available by calling 1-800-THE-HERD or going online to Herdzone.com's ticket icon.
