Marshall University Athletics
@HerdMBB to Clash with Hilltoppers in C-USA Opener
1/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME 14: WKU (8-5, 0-0) VS. MARSHALL (4-9, 0-0)
Sunday, Jan. 3 | 1 p.m. ET
Huntington, W.Va. | Cam Henderson Center (9,043)
TV: ASN | | Radio | Twitter
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Marshall men's basketball (4-9) will clash with the WKU Hilltoppers (8-5) to open the 2015-16 Conference USA season on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Cam Henderson Center. The game will be broadcast by American Sports Network with Jeff McCarragher on the call and Mack McCarthy as analyst.
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 and Woody Woodrum as analyst. Live stats will be available on HerdZone.com.
HAVE YOU HERD?
Five players reached double-figure scoring for Marshall in an 87-67 road loss at No. 4 Maryland in front of a sellout crowd of 17,950 at XFINITY Center on Sunday night. The loss closed non-conference play for the Thundering Herd. A quartet of guards had 11 points apiece to lead Marshall: redshirt freshman C.J. Burks (Martinsburg, W.Va.), sophomore Jon Elmore (Charleston, W.Va.) and juniors Stevie Browning (Logan, W.Va.) and Austin Loop (South Webster, Ohio). Senior forward James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich.) had 10 points, reaching his 13th consecutive game in double-figure scoring. Kelly, Browning and junior forward Ryan Taylor (Indianapolis) had team highs of seven rebounds apiece.
KELLY NAMED C-USA PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Senior forward James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich.) was named Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Week, the league announced Monday. The honor is the first of Kelly's career. His is the fifth Herd player in history to earn the title, and the first since Elijah Pittman on Nov. 11, 2013. The award is the third C-USA weekly honor for Marshall this season, as redshirt freshman guard C.J. Burks (Martinsburg, W.Va.) was named Freshman of the Week twice (Nov. 30, Dec. 14).The self-proclaimed "garbage man" leads Conference USA with 9.2 rebounds per game (6.8 on the defensive side). He leads the league with five double-doubles, all on points and rebounds.
C-USA OPENERS
The Herd is opening C-USA play at home for the first time since the 2012-13 season, when it defeated Tulsa 79-61 at Cam Henderson Center (Jan. 9, 2013). That game marked the Herd's last win to open C-USA play. Marshall is 4-6 in Conference USA openers since joining the league in 2005-06, and is 5-5 in C-USA home openers. In total, the Herd is 73-87 in regular-season C-USA games over 10 seasons.
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
WKU begins its second season in Conference USA at Marshall sporting an 8-5 record and having won four of its last five games. WKU is averaging 78.5 points per game, its highest-scoring output through 13 games since 2007-08 (79.3). Leading scorer and rebounder Justin Johnson ranks 12th in the nation in field goal percentage (.647) and 52nd in offensive rebounds per game (3.2). Ben Lawson ranks 10th in the nation in blocked shots per game (3.0) and ninth in total blocks (39).
WKU leads the all-time series with Marshall, 13-6, and won the most recent meeting in the 2015 C-USA Tournament, but the Hilltoppers have dropped games in Huntington in each of the last two seasons.
#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 continue its C-USA home stretch with Florida Atlantic (Jan. 7) and FIU (Jan. 9). For the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
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