The No.3-seeded Marshall Thundering Herd (16-15) and UTEP Miners (19-13) meet in the third round of the CUSA tournament at Legacy Arena. Action begins at 9:30 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 10.
The Thundering Herd come into this game hoping to repeat their last performance, edging Southern Miss 108-106 in their last matchup. Jon Elmore was the team’s leading scorer with 35 points on 9-for-19 shooting. The Miners, meanwhile, are coming off an 85-77 win against FIU in the 2. Lee Moore was the game’s top scorer, accounting for 30 points on 8-for-9 shooting.
Elmore and Ryan Taylor have been better than usual over the last five games for the Thundering Herd. During that stretch, Elmore has averaged 19.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.2 three-pointers, while Taylor has recorded 14.6 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 0.8 three-pointers a game. Moore has upped his play for the Miners. In the same five-game span, he is averaging 19.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steal, 1.0 block, and 2.2 three-pointers.
From an eFG% perspective, this will be a matchup of two heavyweights. Marshall’s sharp-shooting offense is ranked 28th in the nation in that metric at 54.2%, while UTEP is 25th-best in the nation at making opponents miss (48.9%).
This is the second game of the season between these two teams, with the Miners winning the first matchup 85-77. Moore had a stellar game with 30 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals, one block, and two three-pointers.
Notes
The Marshall Thundering Herd rank 76th for their offensive rating of 110.4. The UTEP Miners have a defensive rating of 102.3 (ranked 27th).
The Marshall Thundering Herd average 77.8 possessions and 1.104 points per possession in games this season. The UTEP Miners average fewer possessions with 72.6, as well as fewer points per possession with 1.063.
The Marshall Thundering Herd average an effective field goal percentage of 54.2% this season. The UTEP Miners have split their games this season (5-5) when opponents have an eFG% of 54.2% or greater.
Marshall attempts an average of 29.0 three pointers per game and UTEP attempts 19.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Marshall Thundering Herd have a 16-15 record while the UTEP Miners have a 6-8 record.
Marshall ranks 49th in the nation with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.31, while UTEP ranks 75th with an A/TO of 1.23.
UTEP ranks 304th in offensive rebounds, while Marshall ranks at 56th in defensive rebounds.
The UTEP defense has forced an average TO% of 19.7% this season (ranked 17th). In games where it gives up a TO% of 20% or greater, Marshall has a subpar 2-4 record.
