— By Bill Cornwell
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — Marshall’s nine-game win streak was fun while it lasted. The Herd now has its attention on starting a new streak.
After losing for the first time in more than a month Tuesday at UNC-Greensboro, Marshall hopes to rebound from its 75-67 loss on Saturday when the Herd welcomes Toledo for a 3:30 p.m. tip at the Cam Henderson Center.
The matchup will be shown on ESPN+.
Marshall and Toledo are clashing for a seventh straight season, have met 61 times and the Rockets have won 38 games in the series. Toledo has five straight wins over the Herd.
Marshall (9-2) will be playing its first game on a new floor that was installed earlier this week.
“I just love this court,” first-year MU Athletic Director Christian Spears said. “I’m excited that our team was able to secure one of the NCAA regional courts from last year’s tournament. The design is outstanding and will absolutely pop on the ESPN+ Sun Belt games.
“Our teams are playing for us and they deserve to play on a first-rate surface in front of our awesome community and fans. The goal is to produce NCAA Tournament teams within our programs. Now, we have an NCAA Tournament floor on which they can make their run.”
Toledo (7-3) is led by 13th-year head coach Tod Kowaczyk and has won four of its last five games, including a 69-68 triumph over Canisius last weekend.
The Rockets have three double-figure scorers led by senior forward J.T. Shumate, who averages 19.5 points. Junior guard RayJ Dennis (19.1 ppg) and senior forward Setric Millner Jr. (14.3 ppg) are also key scorers.
Millner is the Rockets’ top rebounder at 7.4, while Dennis averages nearly six assists per game.
Shumate is also a major contributor defensively and leads the team with 15 blocks.
Toledo shoots 47.6 percent from the field, 36.5 percent from 3-point range and 76.5 percent from the free-throw line.
The game features two of the nation’s top scoring teams as the Rockets average 83.3 points per game and the Herd 80.7.
Taevion Kinsey, coming off a 24-point performance in the loss to the Spartans, continues leading Marshall in scoring with a 21.6 average. Junior guard Andrew Taylor is second at 18.6 points.
Freshman Micah Handlogten is still Marshall’s top rebounder at 10.5 per game and has blocked a team-high 27 shots.
Fans are also now able to purchase beer in the Henderson Center thanks to a policy approval this week by Marshall’s Board of Governors.