By Bill Cornwell
Marshall’s basketball hopes its road opener goes as well as last week’s home opener, a 70-56 win over Arkansas State.
The Herd (1-0) will be in Fairborn, Ohio on Thursday night to take on the Wright State Raiders of the Horizon League. Tip-off time at the Nutter Center is 7pm and will be televised by ESPN+. The game is the season opener for Wright State.
The teams have met twice in the past, with each winning on its home floor. Marshall beat the Raiders in Huntington during the 2006-2007 season by 7 points, but lost the WSU in Fairborn during the 2007-2008 season by 7 points.
Wright State is coming off of a 25-7 season in the pandemic-shortened 2019-2020 season. The Raiders were 15-3 in the Horizon League.
Wright State, like Marshall, who had two preseason practice stoppages due to Covid-19 issues, has had to deal with severe pandemic issues. The Raiders were down to six healthy players over the past few weeks, but Head Coach Scott Nagy hopes to be at full strength against the Herd as several players hope to be able to league quarantine.
Some of the key players for Nagy who have been quarantined include starting point guard Trey Calvin, who averaged just under five points per game last season. Other key returnees for the Raiders include Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year Loudon Love, a 6-8 senior and 6-9 sophomore forward Grant Basile. Love and Basile combined for over 23 points per game last season and Love averaged nearly 10 rebounds in each game.
Another Wright State player brings some Marshall heritage. 6-6 sophomore guard Tanner Holden is the son of former Herd player Rodney Holden, who is the top rebounder in Marshall Men’s Basketball history earned in a career from 1984-1988. Tanner Holden averaged nearly 12 points per game last season, shooting over 60% as he earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman team.
Thursday’s game could see a Marshall record fall, as senior guard Jarrod West is two steals away from becoming the school’s all-time leader, passing Skip Henderson. West had five steals and forced 11 turnovers in last week’s Arkansas State win.
Notes…Marshall was supposed to play at Akron on Saturday, but that game has been postponed due to Covid-19 issues with the Zips program. The Herd’s next scheduled game will be at the College of Charleston on Wednesday, December 9th at 7pm. Marshall’s next scheduled home game is Sunday December 13th at 4pm against rival Ohio.