— By Bill Cornwell
Two struggling teams to rebound Saturdaywhens Marshall makes the short trip to Athens, Ohio to face an old rival in Ohio.
The contest will tip at 4 p.m. inside the Convocation Center on the OU campus, and the game can be seen on ESPN+.
The teams are coming off a different result Wednesday. The Bobcats (2-6) picked up a much-needed 79-57 win over winless Maine, while Marshall (5-3) squandered a seven-point lead in the final 2 minutes of a 70-69 loss at UNC Wilmington.
The Bobcats’ only other win came exactly one month ago against Illinois State. Ohio has suffered losses to Arkansas State, St. Mary’s, Louisville, Bethune-Cookman, George Mason and Loyola Marymount.
As for Marshall, head coach Cornelius Jackson says the hard-luck loss earlier this week to the Seahawks must be evaluated, then forgotten prior to facing the Bobcats.
“I thought we deserved to win that game, but we don’t want Wilmington to beat us twice,” Jackson said.
Marshall’s four double-figure scorers haven’t changed. Wyatt Fricks (14.2) leads in scoring, followed by Jalen Speer (12.9), Noah Otshudi (11.8) and Matt Van Komen (10.6). Van Komen, a 7-foot-4 center, still leads the Herd in rebounding at 7.8.
Speer is 29th nationally with an average of 6.3 assists, and Otshudi has scored 18 points in consecutive games.
Caleb Hollenbeck leads the Sun Belt Conference and is No. 33 nationally with a 46.5 percentage from three-point range.
The Bobcats have three players averaging double-figure scoring in each game in senior guard Jackson Paveletzke (16.6 points), senior forward Aidan Hadaway (13.5) and redshirt junior forward Javan Simmons (13.3). Hadaway is Ohio’s top rebounder at 7.1.
Saturday’s meeting will be the 110th in the storied Marshall-Ohio series, and the Bobcats have a 57-52 series lead. The teams met in Huntington last season and Marshall won, 79-70.
Ohio head coach Jeff Boals, a former Marshall assistant, is in his seventh season leading his alma mater. He’s won only one game against Marshall in five opportunities.