Marshall men’s basketball resumes Conference USA play at Southern Miss Saturday at 6 p.m. ET.
The game is an early season battle for first place as the Thundering Herd is the only team without a C-USA loss an overall record of 13-5 and 4-0 in conference. Marshall’s 4-0 start is its best since beginning the 2010 C-USA season 4-0. The Herd has not started better than 4-0 since 1996-97 during a 6-0 start to the Southern Conference. The Golden Eagles’ lone conference loss came at Memphis as they hold an overall record of 16-3 including and 3-1 in conference.
The game will be broadcast nationally on Comcast Sports as well as locally on WSAZ with Mike Morgan (play-by-play) and Brian Oliver (analyst) calling the action.
Marshall is coming off a 78-62 loss to intrastate rival West Virginia in the annual Capital Classic in Charleston. The loss snapped Marshall’s third winning streak of at least four games.
The Herd was outrebounded for the first time all season, but still ranks among the nation’s leaders in rebounding. Marshall ranks fourth with 42.0 rebounds per game including an average of 17.1 offensive boards, which leads the NCAA.
Sophomore guard DeAndre Kane is coming off a team-high 19 points against WVU and currently ranks third in C-USA with 16.1 points per game. Junior forward Dennis Tinnon had 10 rebounds against WVU, his 13th game of at least 10 boards, and ranks ninth in the NCAA with 10.8 rebounds per game. He remains the nation’s leader with 4.9 offensive rebounds per game.
Southern Miss has won 12 of its last 13 games including a 59-55 win over UAB last Saturday. Junior guard LaShay Page leads five Golden Eagles in double-figures with 13.3 points per game.
USM leads C-USA in free-throw percentage at 74.9 percent thanks in large part to sophomore guard Neil Watson’s conference leading 89.4 percent.
Marshall leads the all-time series 6-5, but Southern Miss holds a 3-1 advantage at home in Reed Green Coliseum, a place the Golden Eagles are 9-0 this season.
Along with the television broadcast, the game can be heard throughout the Thundering Herd Radio Network. Gametracker can be accessed at HerdZone.com.