Marshall men’s basketball team will take the court Thursday as it hosts Bluefield State College in its first exhibition game of the season.

The Herd will take the court with a slew of new faces.

Of the 16-man roster, 10 players will make first appearances as members of the Herd.

Head coach Dan D’Antoni said Thursday’s contest is important for the new players.

“That’s what exhibitions are for, to make sure they’re ready for the first game,” D’Antoni said. “They’ll be some excitement and some mistakes but that’s why you play these [exhibitions].”

Bluefield State has a similar situation.

Following a 10-14 season, the Big Blue’s top two scorers are no longer on its roster.

Mark Durgan, who attended Marshall, and Dajon Reno both averaged over 20 points per game last season but are no longer on the team.

Though Marshall may be filled with youth, it returns a few familiar faces – one of those being junior Ryan Taylor.

Taylor was named to the Preseason All-Conference USA team last month.

Taylor said the key to being successful this year is by becoming a family

“We do a lot of things outside of practice that makes us close,” Taylor said. “We’re closer as a team than most people expect, and we’ll definitely be ready to compete.”

Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center.

Ishmael Witten can be contacted at [email protected].