Herd has hard road to conference title, may face defending champions

TULSA Okla. —With a win over SMU Saturday, Marshall University's men's basketball team has posted its highest win total since the 1987-88 season. More importantly, it has a bye in the first round of the Conference USA Tournament.

It is the first time since joining C-USA in 2005 that the team has earned a bye in the tournament.

The Herd knows it has to take the chance it was given and use that extra day off to prepare.

"It's going to be tough," said senior guard Chris Lutz. "There are a lot of good teams, and the last half of the league has played really good. We have to grind it out. That's why getting that bye is really important."

What is also important is that the Herd has extra time to scout its opponent for Thursday. Marshall will take on the winner of No. 12 seed Rice against No. 5 seed Tulsa.

The Herd has a win over both teams, but as assistant coach Shawn Finney said about the tournament, any team has a chance.

"The tournament is going to be wide open," Finney said. "There are a lot of good teams that can put a good streak together. It's going to be exciting."

It is unlikely that Rice will beat Tulsa, as Rice has one win in conference play. The Herd easily disposed of Rice in Houston on Feb. 24, 77-54.

As for Tulsa, the Herd is at a disadvantage. The Golden Hurricane is the host team in this year's tournament. While Marshall defeated Tulsa at home on Feb. 17, 64-58, the Herd fell at Tulsa on Feb. 3, 73-69.

If the teams were to meet again, it might favor the Golden Hurricane to have the game at home.

But the Herd has an advantage going into the game as Marshall has won eight of its last nine games.

Rice is on a seven-game losing streak, and Tulsa has lost six of its last nine. But whoever faces Marshall in the second round will have to deal with a high scoring Herd team.

As for the rest of the tournament, the Herd has to pull off wins against the top tier teams in the league.

Marshall can't seem to pull off wins against UTEP, UAB or Memphis, the other three teams getting byes, though the Herd has come close.

After the loss to UTEP, head coach Donnie Jones said his team is only just a few plays away from getting big wins.

"You have to make plays, and you have to get stops when you win those games," Jones said after the game. "But that's what happens when you play a really good basketball team, there is not room for error."

Although those upper echelon teams have yet to lose to the Herd, Marshall has impressed a lot of coaches in the league.

C-USA regular season champion UTEP's head coach Tony Barbee said after his team's game against the Herd, that Marshall could do something in March.

"Marshall has one of, if not the most, talented teams in the league," Barbee said. "The postseason starts out a new season. It gives everyone new life."

When Memphis came to Huntington on Jan. 27, the Tigers escaped the Cam Henderson Center with a 75-72 win.

Tigers' head coach Josh Pastner said his team was lucky to get out of West Virginia with a win.

"We were very fortunate to get this win," Pastner said. "It was tough, but we went on the road in a tough environment and won. This is a very good win for us."

After the Memphis game, Jones said something he should repeat to his team before the start of the tournament:  You have to take the next step.

"We've been right there at every game," Jones said. "But that's not good enough. You got to be able to win those close games and to take that next step. We just got to continue to work. And I know they're hurting, but they're going to be there at the end."

For Marshall to be there at the end, it has to depend on the twin towers down low. On the offensive end, it will look to leading scorer Tyler Wilkerson, who averages 13.7 points per game.

Wilkerson also brings senior leadership to the team, but he has to stay in the game and out of foul trouble.

On the defensive end of the court, Marshall has the national leader in blocks in Hassan Whiteside. The 7-foot center averages 5.5 blocks per game, but also 13.5 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

Many think Whiteside will be a NBA draft pick one day, and he could add to his draft stock by leading the Herd to the NCAA Tournament.

The Herd has a chance to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1984-85 season. And for the Herd, it's all about the postseason.

Some think that it's already meant to happen, especially when you ask them what is the most memorable moment of the season.

"When we win the Conference," said senior guard Darryl Merthie when asked what a memorable moment would be.

The Herd starts its journey toward a storybook ending at 6:30 p.m. Thursday when it faces the winner of Tulsa vs. Rice.

Kyle Hobstetter can be contacted at hobstetter@marshall.edu.