Jacksonville State at Marshall

Last season Marshall finished with an 11-22 record overall and a 4-12 mark in Conference USA play. They went out on a limb and brought in Dan D'Antoni, the brother of Mike D'Antoni to hopefully catch lightning in a bottle and turn the program around. The good news is redshirt sophomore forward Ryan Taylor returns as both the team's leading scorer from last season at 12.8 points per game and the leading rebounder with 7.2 rebounds per game. The Thundering Herd was actually pretty decent at home a year ago, but a 2-12 road mark did them in. Jacksonville State won just 10 games a season ago, and just four in Ohio Valley play. Coach James Green hasn't finished with an above .500 record in OVC play in any of his first six years, and the roster does not show any indication that will change. The Gamecocks struggle offensively and averaged just 65 ppg last season, and the road for a poor shooting team is a death sentence. Marshall is respectable at home and has a very winnable game here with a short number to get over the top. Take Marshall.