Everyone expected the worst when Marshall took the floor against Memphis three weeks ago at the FedEx Forum. The Herd was coming off its one of the worst losses in program history, a 102-46 embarrassment at the hands of Southern Miss. It would have been easy for The Herd to fold, but instead Marshall rallied, nearly pulling off the upset falling by a single point to the Tigers.
Round two is today at the Cam Henderson Center.
Memphis comes to Huntington with a 21-3 record and ranked 22nd in the country. So far, the Tigers’ 73-72 win over Marshall was the closest Memphis has come to falling to a conference opponent this season. The Tigers, 10-0 in C-USA, are outscoring conference opponents by nearly 15 points per game and have won 15 straight. Memphis last lost to Louisville back on Dec. 15th.
However, none of that matters to The Herd which will be brimming with its own confidence. Marshall is 4-1 at the Cam Henderson Center this season and it knows it can push Memphis to the point of breaking.
DeAndre Kane and D.D. Scarver scored 22 and 20 points respectively last time against the Tigers. Kane comes into the game just three points shy of tying Marshall great Hal Greer for 19th on the all-time scoring list. Kane has historically stepped up against the Memphis averaging 17.5 points against C-USA’s top team.
On the season, four Herd players are averaging double figures. Elijah Pittman has poured in 15.4 points per game followed by Kane’s 14.3 points. D.D. Scarver is hauling in 13.2 points a game and Dennis Tinnon is averaging 10.5 points a game.
The Herd will must also take care of the basketball, something that has been a challenge this season. Memphis is dangerous in transition and can wreak havoc on opponents by converting turnovers into points. Junior guard Geron Jackson leads the Tigers with 13.9 points per game and sophomore Adonis Thomas is averaging nearly 11 points a game.