Marshall University Athletics
@HerdMBB Ready for Second Round with Monarchs, Saturday
2/19/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME 27: OLD DOMINION (15-11, 8-5) AT MARSHALL (14-12, 10-3)
Saturday, Feb. 20 | 7 p.m. ET
Huntington, W.Va. | Cam Henderson Center (9,048)
Live Video | | Radio | Twitter
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - The top offense and defense in Conference USA men's basketball will collide on Saturday night as Marshall (14-12, 10-3) hosts Old Dominion (15-11, 8-5) at Cam Henderson Center with a 7 p.m. ET tipoff.
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 video and live stats will be available through HerdZone.com.
HAVE YOU HERD?
Herd senior James Kelly (Ann Arbor, Mich.) turned in a game for the ages Friends of Coal Night at the Henderson Center Thursday, in what was his 12th double-double of the season ââ'¬Â¦ by halftime. When the 6-foot-8 senior left the floor with 3:34 to play, he'd finished with 27 points and 23 rebounds as Marshall rolled to an 87-72 Conference USA victory over Charlotte.
The Miami (Fla.) transfer posted the first 20-20 game for a Marshall player in 43 years. The last of those came by 6-8 Randy Noll, at Veterans Memorial Field House on Jan. 6, 1973. Noll, a senior that season, had 25 points and 20 rebounds in an 83-72 triumph over Eastern Kentucky.
Kelly's 23 rebounds compare favorably back even further ââ'¬Â¦ to the senior season of his coach, Dan D'Antoni. Kelly's number is the highest board total for the Herd since D'Antoni teammate Bob Allen corralled 25 in a 131-91 rout of visiting Old Dominion on Feb. 27, 1968. Only two players in Herd history have had more rebounds in a game than Kelly produced against the 49ers - the great Charlie Slack did it 18 times in the 1950s, and Allen had games of 28 and 25 in the '67-68 season.
A WIN WOULDââ'¬Â¦
- Give Marshall its best 14-game start to league play since going 12-2 during the 1987-88 Southern Conference regular-season championship campaign under Rick Huckabay, when the Herd ended at 14-2
- Be the Herd's first against ODU in Huntington since Nov. 29, 2008 (68-64)
- Mark the Herd's first single-season sweep of ODU
- Give the Herd its most wins in a season (15) since going 21-14 in 2011-12, and tie its record for Conference USA wins (11-5 in 2009-10)
SCOUTING THE MONARCHS
Saturday's matchup will pit Conference USA's top defense (Old Dominion, allowing 61.8 ppg) against its top offense (Marshall, scoring 85.1 points per game). Additionally, the Herd will welcome the league's leading scorer, Monarch guard Trey Freeman (24.1 ppg) to Cam Henderson Center. Brandan Stith is ODU's top rebounder with 9.4 boards per game.
The Herd is looking for its first single-season sweep of Old Dominion, after claiming a 78-75 win in Norfolk on Jan. 23. Marshall has not defeated the Monarchs when playing in Huntington since Nov. 29, 2008 (68-64). Three of the last four meetings at the Henderson Center have been decided by seven points or less.
#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
Marshall will meet two of the top teams in Conference USA for the second time this season, visiting UAB (Feb. 25) and Middle Tennessee (Feb. 27). For the latest information about Marshall men's basketball, follow @HerdMBB on Twitter.
---HerdZone.com---
