Marshall University Athletics
@HerdMBB to Continue Texas Swing at Rice, Saturday
1/15/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME 18: MARSHALL (8-9, 4-0) VS. RICE (6-11, 1-3)
Saturday, Jan. 14 | 8:05 p.m. ET
Houston, Texas | Tudor Fieldhouse (5,750)
TV: American Sports Network (ECHS local) | | Radio | Twitter
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - With its best start to Conference USA play on the line, Marshall men's basketball (8-9, 4-0) will travel south to Houston to face Rice (6-11, 1-3) on Saturday at 8:05 p.m. ET at Tudor Fieldhouse.
American Sports Network will broadcast the game with Brett Dolan on the call and Jayice Pearson as analyst. ECHS will air the game on Comcast channel 135 and Suddenlink channel 131. In addition to coverage from @HerdMBB on Twitter and Instagram, the game can be found on the Thundering Herd IMG Sports Network with Steve Cotton on the call.
HAVE YOU HERD?
Sophomore guard Jon Elmore (Charleston, W.Va.) had career highs of eight assists and five rebounds while leading Marshall with 21 points in a 97-78 thumping of North Texas on Thursday night at The Super Pit. With the wire-to-wire win, the Herd improved to 8-9, 4-0 in Conference USA, marking its best start to league play since going 4-0 in 2011-12. Marshall is one of two remaining teams unbeaten in C-USA, with UAB. It was the Herd's first visit to Denton, as well as its first road win since last season at Southern Miss (Jan. 29, 2015). Marshall reached the 90-point mark for the fourth consecutive game; a first for the Herd since December 1996.
ON A ROLL
Since beginning the 2015-16 season with six losses, the Herd has won eight of its last 11 games, including its first four of conference play. While Marshall leads Conference USA in overall scoring offense (81.5 points per game), a more impressive statistic is the Herd's offensive output in league games - 95.0 points per contest with a scoring margin of plus-19.5 points. In contrast, Marshall averaged 77.3 points per game in non-conference play with a minus-6.2 scoring margin.
A WIN WOULDââ'¬Â¦
- Give the Herd its best start to Conference USA play (5-0) since joining the league in 2005-06
- Give Marshall its longest win streak since winning the first five games of 2011-12
- Give the Herd its longest win streak in conference play since winning five consecutive games from Feb. 12 to 26, 2011
- Give Marshall back-to-back road wins for the first time since Jan. 7 and 11, 2012, at Rice (63-61) and UAB (61-59), respectively
SCOUTING THE OWLS
Rice (6-11, 1-3) earned its first C-USA victory of the season with a vicious 83-73 comeback against WKU on Thursday, snapping a five-game losing streak. The Owls ended the game on a 21-3 run at Tudor Fieldhouse.
Marcus Evans, a four-time C-USA Freshman of the Week, leads the league with 19.7 points per game. Egor Koulechov is Rice's top rebounder with 7.0 per game, and Max Guercy is top in assists with 5.35 per game.
Marshall holds a 9-2 advantage in the series, and has not fallen to the Owls since March 11, 2009, at the C-USA Tournament in Memphis, Tenn. The Herd has never lost to Rice when playing in Houston, at 4-0 all-time. Last season, Marshall picked up a 69-55 victory at Cam Henderson Center (Feb. 5, 2015).
#BEHERD
Stay up-to-date on all things Herd men's basketball via social media: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Snapchat (username: HerdZone).
UP NEXT
The Herd will stay on the road, visiting Charlotte (Jan. 21) and Old Dominion (Jan. 23). For the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
---HerdZone.com---
