Marshall University Athletics
Herd's Two-Game Road Swing Starts Wednesday at Tulane
2/4/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 4, 2013
Game Notes
| | Herd All-Access
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall begins a two-game road trip on Wednesday at 8 p.m. in New Orleans, La. against Tulane.
The Thundering Herd (10-12, 3-4 Conference USA) has had great success against the Green Wave (14-8, 2-5 C-USA) over the years, leading the all-time series 8-5 and winning the last four meetings. The game serves as an opportunity for Marshall's first road win of the season (0-7) as it sports a 4-2 record against Tulane in New Orleans, the last five meetings all within a six-point margin.
The game will feature four of the top 11 scorers in the conference with Marshall's Elijah Pittman (T-9th, 14.8 ppg) and DeAndre Kane (11th, 14.4 ppg) and Tulane's Josh Davis (2nd, 17.1 ppg) and Ricky Tarrant (T-9th, 14.8 ppg). D.D. Scarver is averaging 13.8 points for the Herd, which ranks 15th in the conference.
Pittman and Scarver rank one and two, respectively, in scoring average among first year players in C-USA. Rod Rucker of UAB, which the Herd will play on Saturday at 3 p.m., is third on that list with 13.6 points per game.
Senior center Nigel Spikes is coming off his most impactful game of the season with 11 points and a career-best nine blocks in Marshall's 75-71 win over UCF on Saturday. The nine blocks is tied for the fourth most in school history and the most since Hassan Whiteside's school-record 13 vs. UCF on Feb. 27, 2010. Spikes is just the 11th different player among NCAA D1 players to record at least nine blocks in a game, which is also the most in C-USA this season.
Tulane has lost five of its last seven games including a 62-50 defeat at UTEP on Saturday. One thing that the Green Wave has done well this season is play defense as its 59.3 points allowed per game ranks second in the conference.
Davis is not only Tulane's best scoring threat, but also its best rebounder with a conference-leading 9.9 boards per game this season. In addition to Tarrant, the 2011-12 C-USA Freshman of the Year, the Green Wave has two additional standout guards in seniors Jordan Callahan (10.7 ppg) and Kendall Timmons (7.1 ppg). Both rank in the top 25 in scoring all-time at Tulane.
The game can be heard on the radio throughout the Thundering Herd IMG Sports Network. It can be viewed and herd online with a paid subscription to Herd All-Access. Gametracker can be accessed through HerdZone.com. Follow @HerdZone on twitter for scoring updates in every game throughout the season.
