Marshall University Athletics
Herd Back In Action at South Carolina, Monday
12/29/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 29, 2013
GAME 13: MARSHALL (5-7, 0-0 C-USA) at SOUTH CAROLINA (5-6, 0-0 SEC)
Monday, Dec. 30 - 7 p.m. ET
Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
| Live Video (ESPN3) | Live Radio | Twitter
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - With a second shot at defeating a Southeastern Conference member this season after falling short at Vanderbilt (Dec. 5), the Marshall men's basketball team will take on South Carolina on the road, Monday, Dec. 30, at 7 p.m. The contest will be televised regionally on Comcast Sports Southeast (CSS) and on ESPN3.
In-game Twitter updates @HerdMBB, results and a recap from the night's action will be available at HerdZone.com.
HAVE YOU HERD?
After falling behind by 18 early in the second half, the Thundering Herd rallied, but could not complete the comeback before falling to Arkansas State, 83-82, Saturday night, Dec. 21 at Cam Henderson Center.
Marshall climbed back into the game in the second half as with 39.8 seconds to play, freshman forward Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis) knocked down a three on a kick-out pass from Chris Thomas (Denver) to tie the game at 79. Arkansas followed with a three of its own, one of 13 on the night, to retake the lead and allow them to hold on for the road win.
AT THE WIRE
So far this season, the Herd has seen seven of its games decided by 10 points or less and Marshall has posted a 1-6 mark in those close contests. Now 0-2 in games decided by five points or less, the lone Herd victory in a game decided by 10 or fewer points game against Western Kentucky (Nov. 26), 74-64.
GOARDING THE BOARDS
Sophomore forward TyQuane Goard (Charleston, W.Va.) has come on strong since he was inserted into the starting lineup against Vanderbilt (Dec. 5). Goard is averaging 25.1 minutes per game and is 17-of-28 (60.7 percent) from the field in his five starts.
The transfer swingman has used his length and athleticism to help the Herd in its rebounding efforts as he is averaging 5.5 per game. 25 of his 66 total rebounds have come on the offensive glass, creating second-change opportunities for Marshall. Most recently, Goard recorded his first career double-double on 21 points and 13 rebounds in 34 minutes against Arkansas State (Dec. 21). Goard also went 11-of-13 from the line against the Red Wolves.
A HELPING HAND
The benefit of having a true point guard has helped the Herd greatly this year and Canty has been the primary reason for that. An average of 7.3 assists per game has the freshman ranking fifth in the country in helpers, trailing a quartet of seniors, while he is the top assist man in C-USA. Canty has recorded three double-doubles on the season, all coming from a combination of points and assists. He most recently recorded 14 assists against Alice Lloyd (Dec. 17), setting a career best and tying for fourth-most steals in a single game by a member of the Herd in the history of the program.
ROAD WOES
The Herd is currently 0-5 away from home this season and has not won away from the Henderson Center since Feb. 20, 2013, in an 82-70 win over UCF. Marshall is 2-19 away from Huntington since the start of the 2012-13 season.
POINTS OF EMPHASIS
Marshall has yet to win a game this season in which it failed to reach the 70-point plateau. The Herd is 1-3 when scoring between 70 and 79 points and 3-2 when scoring above 80. Having a 5-2 record when keeping opponents below 79 points of offense, Marshall is 0-5 when allowing the opposition to score more than 80 points.
SPREADING THE WEALTH
With numerous scoring threats in the Marshall lineup, four members of the Herd are averaging double figures in scoring, three of which have become a mainstay in the Herd's starting lineup: Canty with 17.5, Taylor (Indianapolis, Ind.) with 12.5 and Thomas with 12.. The Herd has received scoring help from more than its top four scorers as Marshall has had three or more of its own score in double figures in 11 of 12 games this season.
ON THE LINE
Free throws have been a point of emphasis for the Herd this season as Marshall is 4-1 when converting more attempts from the charity stripe than opponents and 1-6 when making less free throws than the opposition. The Herd is shooting 60.6 percent from the line this season (220-of-363). Marshall's 143 missed free throw attempts rank first in NCAA Division I men's basketball.
The Herd has improved from the line recently as Marshall is a combined 36-of-48 from the stripe in its last two games, Alice Lloyd (Dec. 17) and Arkansas State (Dec. 21), good for 75 percent.
SCOUTING THE GAMECOCKS
Having started the season with a 2-5 record, South Carolina has won three of its last four games to bring its record to merely one game below .500. The Gamecocks are coming off a three-game stay in Hawaii at the Diamondhead Classic, where they recorded a third-place finish with a 2-1 record.
South Carolina's last two games have been against an Akron team that the Herd will play Dec. 30, with the Gamecocks having won both meetings with the Zips by a combined 43 points.
Averaging just 68.5 points per game, South Carolina has just two of its own averaging in double-figures as freshman guard Sindari Thornwell is the top scorer with 11.7 points per game. Junior guard Tyrone Johnson is the other with 10.6 points per game.
The Gamecocks are 3-2 at home this season and have lost their last two home contests at Colonial Life Arena.
UP NEXT
The Herd will travel to Ohio for a date with Mid-American Conference member Akron, Thursday, Jan. 2, at 7 p.m.
---HerdZone.com---
