— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall has two opportunities on itc court this week to guarantee avoidance in the bottom of Conference USA’s standings when the league’s unique pod play system begins in two weeks.
The Herd (10-13, 4-6) hosts Southern Miss (7-16, 3-7) at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Cam Henderson Center, while Louisiana Tech (17-5, 8-2) will be in Huntington to take on Marshall with the same tip time Saturday.
Marshall is tied in the standings with UTEP and UTSA at 4-6 — and the Herd will face those two teams on the road next week.
The Herd is coming off a Florida road trip last week that included an 84-74 win at FIU and 91-73 loss at FAU.
Although Marshall has lost five of seven overall, three Herd players are scoring in double figures on average. Swingman Taevion Kinsey leads the group at 15.6 points, with guards Jarrod West (14.3) and Andrew Taylor (10.6) directly behind. Post presence Iran Bennett is at 9.9 points with a team-high 5.7 rebound average.
Marshall leads the all-time series with Southern Miss 13-11, but the Golden Eagles beat the Herd twice last season, including an 82-73 victory in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament last March.
The Golden Eagles have struggled in their first season under head coach Jay Ladner, a Southern Miss alum who was hired after Doc Sadler’s resignation last spring. Wins have been few and far between this season, but Southern Miss is coming off a home overtime win last Saturday over one of C-USA’s top teams, Charlotte, 74-68.
Sophomore guard Gabe Watson is the Golden Eagles’ top scorer at 13.2 points per game. 6-foot-4 junior LaDavius Draine and 6-8 sophomore Tyler Stevenson also average 12 points per game. Six-5 senior Leonard Harper-Baker is the squad’s top rebounder at 7.4 per contest.
Southern Miss has only one road victory, that back on Jan. 23 at UAB, 84-77.
Louisiana Tech is tied for the Conference USA lead with North Texas an beaten Marshall in eight of the last 11 meetings.
Eric Konkol is in his fifth year of leading Tech and recorded his 100th victory last Saturday in a 76-73 home win over Old Dominion.
Senior guard Daquan Bracey runs the show for the Bulldogs and leads them in scoring at 12.6 points per game. Junior guard Kalob LeDoux is the only other double-figure scorer at 11.1 ppg. Six-7 senior forward Mo Muhammad leads the Bulldogs in rebounds at 9.1 per game.