Marshall University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts UCF Saturday
2/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 27, 2009
Huntington, W.Va. -
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Marshall returns to the Cam Henderson Center Saturday to take on UCF in a Conference USA contest scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Thundering Herd (13-15 overall, 5-8 in C-USA) has won four of its last six games following a 76-62 win at East Carolina on Wednesday night. Marshall is using a re-built, smaller line-up with the loss of starting center Tyler Wilkerson that appears to be working to MU's advantage. Senior Markel Humphrey continued his strong play with a game-high 24 points and eight rebounds in the win over the Pirates.
UCF (16-11 overall, 6-7 C-USA) is coming off of a 69-66 loss at home to Rice, despite an impressive 45-point effort by All-America candidate Jermaine Taylor. The six-foot-four guard leads C-USA and ranks third in the nation in scoring with 26.1 points per game.
Marshall trails in the all-time series, 4-3, however the Thundering Herd holds a 2-1 advantage in games played in Huntington. Earlier this season, UCF recorded an 87-69 win over Marshall in Orlando. Taylor scored 27 points in that contest, while Marshall was led by Chris Lutz's 20 points.
In addition to C-USA Player of the Year Candidate Jermaine Taylor, UCF features one of the top freshmen in C-USA at point guard. A.J. Rompza is averaging 4.9 assists per contest.
Head Coach Kirk Speraw's squad is averaging 72.7 points per contest, while limiting its opponents to 69.3 points per game. The Knights have struggled as of late, losing five of their last six games and are 3-6 in road games this season.
The Thundering Herd is 11-3 at home this season and 4-2 in Conference USA home games.
Marshall fans will want to arrive early in order to catch a special pre-game presentation. Steve Cotton, the radio play-by-play "Voice" of the Thundering Herd, was recently named the West Virginia Sportscaster of the Year for the seventh time in his career and he will be recognized with just under 10 minutes on the clock prior to tip-off.
Fans can purchase tickets by calling 1-800-THE-HERD or by going online to Herdzone.com's online ticket center.
