The Marshall Thundering Herd will be at Constant Convocation Center to take on the Old Dominion Monarchs in a Conference USA matchup. The game gets underway at 2:00 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 23.
The Monarchs were victorious over Western Kentucky 68-62 on Thursday. Trey Freeman led all scorers on the team with 28 points on 13-for-25 shooting. The Thundering Herd are coming off a 103-95 loss at the hands of Charlotte on Thursday. James Kelly scored 27 points and recorded 14 rebounds earning his ninth double-double of the season.
Freeman has really been playing well as of late for the Monarchs, averaging 25.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.6 three-pointers over the last five games. On the other side, the Thundering Herd have their own duo that have been hot in that span. Jon Elmore has averaged 18.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 4.2 three-pointers, while Kelly has put up 25.0 points, 11.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 1.6 three-pointers.
It will be a tale of two tempos, as the up-tempo Thundering Herd (ranked sixth in the nation in possessions per game) take on the slow-paced Monarchs (347th).
Old Dominion is a six-point favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 151 points. The Monarchs look to build on their records of 10-9 Straight Up (SU) and 3-12 Against The Spread (ATS). They are 2-6 ATS over their last 10 games. Few teams in the nation have a higher assist-to-turnover ratio than Old Dominion, which ranks 39th at 1.37. Turning to the defensive side, teams have to fight for open shots against the Monarchs, who have one of the best opponent field-goal percentages in the country at .394.
On the other side, Marshall has a SU record of 9-10 and an ATS record of 11-7. Marshall has done particularly well ATS over its past 10 matchups, going 9-1.
This game marks the first time these teams will play this season. The last time Old Dominion and Marshall played, Old Dominion won, bringing its SU record to 5-1 over the Thundering Herd. Additionally, Old Dominion leads the matchup ATS with a record of 4-2.
Predictions: SU Winner – ODU, ATS Winner – ODU, O/U – Under
Notes
Old Dominion is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games.
Old Dominion is 6-3 SU in its last 9 games.
Old Dominion is 20-5 SU in its last 25 games at home.
The Marshall Thundering Herd have a solid 5-1 SU record against the Conference USA Conference, while the Old Dominion Monarchs have split their meetings with conference opponents, 3-3.
Old Dominion has allowed an average of 57.2 points per home game this season. Marshall averages 78.9 points per away game, ranking 27th in scoring.
The Marshall Thundering Herd average a field goal percentage of 45.3% this season. The Old Dominion Monarchs are a winless 0-6 when opponents have a FG% of 45.3% or greater.
The Old Dominion Monarchs rank higher based on their field goal percentage (199th) than their effective field goal percentage (285th). The Marshall Thundering Herd rank higher based on their effective field goal percentage (82nd) than their field goal percentage (106th).
Marshall ranks 47th in assists, recording 16.1 per game. Old Dominion performs worse at 197th with 13.2 assists per game.
Old Dominion, the 80th-ranked team in blocked shots, records an average of 4.4 per game. Marshall does worse, ranked 218th with 3.1.
The Old Dominion Monarchs make an average of 5.9 steals per game. The Marshall Thundering Herd are 8-7 when they allow 5 or more steals.
