— By David Walsh
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Marshall University men’s basketball team gets an extended break before resuming the second phase of the Conference USA season.
The Bonus Play schedule starts this Saturday and continues on Thursday, Feb. 28; Sunday, March 3; Wednesday, March 6; and Saturday, March 9.
Marshall finished the first phase of its schedule 7-7 in the league and 14-13 overall thanks to a 98-93 win over Middle Tennessee on Saturday at Cam Henderson Center.
The win landed the Thundering Herd in Group 2 where it is the No. 7 seed. Also in Group 2 are No. 6 North Texas, No. 8 Florida Atlantic, No. 9 FIU and No. 10 Louisiana Tech.
Marshall’s first game will be Feb. 28 at Louisiana Tech. Game time is 7:30 p.m. The Herd’s other road date is March 3 at North Texas at 4 p.m. Home games are March 6 against FIU at 7 p.m. and March 9 against FAU at 2 p.m. Marshall has the bye for Feb. 23 when six other games are scheduled.
Marshall has earned a spot in the Conference USA Tournament scheduled March 13-16 at Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. The Herd, which will be seeded between sixth and No. 10 in the tournament, is defending C-USA Tournament champion. Twelve of the league’s 14 teams qualify for the tournament.
Groups and Bonus Play Schedule
Group 1: (1) Old Dominion, 2. Western Kentucky, 3. Southern Miss, 4. UTSA, 5. UAB.
Group 2: (6) North Texas, (7) Marshall, (8) Florida Atlantic, (9) FIU, (10) LA Tech.
Group 3: (11) Rice, (12) Middle Tennessee, (13) UTEP, (14) Charlotte.
Feb. 23
WKU at Old Dominion, UAB at Southern Miss, FIU at Florida Atlantic, North Texas at Louisiana Tech, Charlotte at Middle Tennessee, Rice at UTEP.
Feb. 28
WKU at UAB, Old Dominion at UTSA, Marshall at LA Tech, Florida Atlantic at North Texas.
March 3
Southern Miss at WKU, UAB at UTSA, LA Tech at FIU, Marshall at North Texas, Middle Tennessee at Rice, UTEP at Charlotte.
March 6
Southern Miss at Old Dominion, UTSA at WKU, LA Tech at Florida Atlantic, FIU at Marshall, Rice at Charlotte, Middle Tennessee at UTEP.
March 9
Old Dominion at UAB, UTSA at Southern Miss, Florida Atlantic at Marshall, North Texas at FIU, UTEP at Middle Tennessee, Charlotte at Rice.