Herd needs help to make NIT

As it turns out, my lucky Jesse Oglesby jersey is not so lucky.

The Herd, as it turns out, is also not so lucky. Sure, the beatdown Marshall took at the hands of Tulsa last night stings, but what makes it worse is the losses by UAB and Memphis.

That sound ringing through the BOK Center all day Thursday was the bubble bursting for the Tigers and Blazers, and possibly Marshall. UAB and Memphis were thought to be potential teams that could qualify for the NCAA tournament next week, but with their losses, those squads have likely been relegated to the NIT, where Marshall was thought to be a lock to qualify.

That looks to be in doubt now with the Herd's early exit in Tulsa. The NIT field is getting more crowded by the hour it seems, and Marshall is going to need some help. Sunday went from being a day of celebration for Herdies to a day of waiting and hoping.

So how did we get here? For starters, Marshall turned a five-point halftime lead into a 16-point loss last night. Hassan Whiteside has been exposed as soft in the paint, and teams have taken advantage of that. UTEP went to Derrick Caracter consistently in the second half in the Miners come-from-behind win in Huntington last week, and Tulsa center Jerome Jordan, the preseason C-USA Player of the Year, took over in the second half last night and showed the world what an NBA-ready player dominating a not-so-ready for the NBA player looks like. Not only did the Herd possibly play its way out of the NIT last night, but Whiteside might have played himself out of a being a lottery pick in this year's NBA Draft.

It seemed like whenever Marshall needed a big bucket this season, senior Chris Lutz was the player knocking down the big shot. On Thursday, if Lutz hadn't made a foul shot with just a shade over two minutes to play, you could have convinced me he was a few stools down watching the game at the same bar I was at.

Tyler Wilkerson's bugaboo showed up last night too. With 10 minutes to play, Wilkerson was whistled for his fourth foul and took a stroll to his spot on the bench, not coincidentally the same spot he resided for much of the first half. Wilkerson played hard the entire time he was on the court, but the problems for the Herd began as a direct result of his lengthy residence in the "Gatorade towel over the head" section of the Marshall bench. Throughout the season, when things went sour for the Herd, Wilkerson was usually in foul trouble. It's unfortunate that a player as good and as likeable as Tyler Wilkerson had to end his C-USA career with another disappointment in the conference tournament.

If, and that's a big if at this point, Marshall qualifies for the NIT, I know I'll be pulling for Wilkerson to bounce back and end his collegiate career with a bang.

Speaking of C-USA sob stories…

The Herd bowed out in its opening game of the conference tournament for the third consecutive year. The last time Marshall won a game in the tourney, it was Ron Jirsa's second-to-last game on the sidelines as MU beat UAB in a 2007 first-round matchup before being served up to one of the mighty Memphis teams. Donnie Jones is now 0-3 in the conference tournament, with the Herd having been upset in all three games.

Tom Bragg can be contacted at tom.bragg@marshall.edu.