The Marshall Men’s Basketball team will continue its road conference games this week at Louisiana Tech and Southern Mississippi after losing to Western Kentucky Monday night.

Marshall (12-7, 5-1 C-USA) will face the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (13-7, 3-4 C-USA) Thursday night, followed by the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (11-8, 3-4 C-USA) on Saturday afternoon.

Despite its first conference loss, the Herd is focused on moving forward as conference play continues throughout the season. Marshall men’s basketball head coach Dan D’Antoni said that every game the Herd faces is a battle in conference play.

“We jumped out (and started) real(ly) well,” D’Antoni said. “We have to keep playing. It’s going to be a tough road (trip).

Sophomore guard Jarrod West said that the two road games are going to be tough. West averages 2.5 steals per game and has a passion for playing defense.

“Defense is definitely something that I take pride in, “West said. “All my entire life I have been the smallest guy on the floor. You can’t play unless you guard your position.”

Coach D’Antoni said that he is impressed with the defensive end throughout the season.

For the Bulldogs, junior guard DaQuan Bracey leads with 13.4 points per game and 1.1 steals. Sophomore forward Anthony Duruji follows behind with 12.4 points. Junior forward Oliver Powell leads the Bulldogs with 5.8 rebounds per game.

As for the Herd, senior guard Jon Elmore leads with 20.1 points per game. Senior guard C.J. Burks comes after with 17.6 points per game. Sophomore forward Jannson Williams is at the top of the list with 4.5 rebounds per game.

The Bulldogs are 10-0 at home this season. Marshall is looking to give the Bulldogs its first home conference loss of the season.
“Conference USA teams are better than they have been,” D’Antoni said. “From top to bottom, this is probably the most out of Conference USA teams I have seen.”

Tipoff in the first of two games this weekend is set for 8 p.m. Thursday at Thomas Assembly Center in Ruston, Louisiana.

“It’s good for the fans (to watch),” D’Antoni said. “It’s going to be a fun game. It’s great. I’m happy for them.”

Taylor Huddleston can be contacted at [email protected].