By GARY FAUBER for the Daily Telegraph
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
— During the zaniness affectionately known as March Madness, only one thing is certain.
Marshall will not play another road game this season.
The Thundering Herd is the overall No. 1 seed in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, which extended an invitation to Marshall Sunday night after the team was passed over by the National Invitation Tournament. Marshall (23-8) opens tonight by hosting Western Carolina.
Tip-off from the Cam Hen-derson Center will be 7 p.m.
As the top seed, Marshall is guaranteed a home game, from the round of 16 to the championship game. That’s welcome news in itself, but the mere fact that the Herd is playing in the postseason at all would be big enough. Marshall has not played in a tournament since losing 81-80 to Virginia Commonwealth in the 1988 NIT.
“It’s been 22 years since we played in the postseason,” Marshall coach Donnie Jones said. “It is a great opportunity for the kids to keep playing. We are the No. 1 seed, so it gives us a chance to play all of our games at home if we advance. And for our senior, Chris Lutz, Darryl Merthie and Tyler Wilkerson, it gives them a chance to extend their seasons. This is a great opportunity.”
The CIT, in its second year of existence, spotlights mid-major teams who were not selected to play in the NCAA tournament or the NIT. All games are played at on-campus sites, with the championship game set for March 30.
The tournament is not bracketed. Rather, matchups are determined geographically. So, should Marshall win tonight, it will not know its second-round opponent until Friday.
That quarterfinal game would be played Monday.
Old Dominion beat Bradley to win last year’s inaugural tournament.
Marshall and Western Carolina are former Southern Conference foes, but they last played in 2003 when Marshall was in the Mid-American Conference. The Catamounts (22-11) lost 77-58 to Wofford in the Southern Conference championship game March 7.
Their biggest win easily was a 91-83 upset at Louisville on Dec. 12.
“They are one of the better teams in the tournament,” Jones said. “They fell a little short in the Southern Conference (finals). And (head coach) Larry Hunter is a terrific coach. I have great respect for their program.”
Marshall forward Cam Miller transferred from Western Carolina before the 2008-09 season and knows some of the current Catamounts.
“He’s looking forward to seeing some of those guys and talking to them,” Jones said. “He’s kind of excited to see some of his former teammates.”
Western Carolina has posted a 20-win season for the first time since becoming a Division I program over 30 years ago. The team is ninth in the nation with 9.7 steals per game and is 24th in turnover margin at plus-3.2.
Senior guard Brigham Waginger is Western Carolina’s career leader in steals and is currently sixth nationally at 2.7 per game (89 in 33 games). He also has 145 assists.
Brandon Giles, a 6-foot-6 senior guard, leads the Catamounts in scoring at 11.8 points per game. Next is sixth man Jake Robinson, a 6-8 senior forward averaging 11.4. Mike Williams, a 6-2 junior guard, averages 10.0.
Harouna Mutombo, a 6-4 guard, is the leading rebounder at 4.7.
Giles went to Auburndale (Fla.) High School, the alma mater of former Marshall football player Chubb Small.
Marshall will go with its usual starting five, led by forwards Tyler Wilkerson and Hassan Whiteside. Wilkerson, a 6-8 senior, is the team’s leading scorer at 14.0 ppg and also grabs 7.2 rebounds. Whiteside, the nation’s top shot blocker at 5.4 per game, averages 13.6 ppg and 9.2 rpg.
The guards will be Lutz (9.1 ppg) and sophomores Damier Pitts (10.0 ppg, 4.6 assist) and Dago Pena (6.9 ppg).
Tickets can be purchased at the MU ticket office, which opens at 8:30 a.m. today, or by calling 1-800-THE HERD. Prices are $20 for lower reserved seats, $11 for upper reserved and $10 for general admission. Marshall student tickets are $4 with valid ID.
Parking for tonight’s game is free on a first-come, first-served basis at the Third Avenue parking garage and in the West lot at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.
The game can be seen online at www.FoxCollegeSports.com. Because of contractual obligations, the game will not be available on Herd All-Access.
— E-mail: gfauber@
register-herald.com
*****
College Insider.com Tournament
By The Associated Press
First Round
Tuesday, March 16
Western Carolina (22-11) at Marshall (23-9), 7 p.m.
Fairfield (22-10) at George Mason (17-14), 7 p.m.
South Dakota (22-9) at Creighton (16-15), 8:05 p.m.
Wednesday, March 17
Harvard (21-7) at Appalachian State (22-10), 7 p.m.
Middle Tennessee State (19-13) at Missouri State (20-12), 8:05 p.m.
Portland (21-10) at Northern Colorado (24-7), 9:05 p.m.
Pacific (20-11) at Loyola Marymount (18-14), 10:35 p.m.
Thursday, March 18
Southern Mississippi (20-13) at Louisiana Tech (23-10), 8 p.m.
———
Second Round
TBA
