Cody Linn
Marshall Athletics

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The Marshall Thundering Herd men’s basketball team is set to begin the 2018-19 season off an NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament bid with fifth-year head coach Dan D’Antoni at the helm.
HAVE YOU HERD
Marshall took its pair of exhibitions by a combined 23 points over Glenville State College and West Virginia Wesleyan.
The Herd had five reach double-figures in points against Glenville lead by senior guard C.J. Burks with 25. Burks shot 10 of 13 from the field, including 3 for 5 from three-point range, while dishing out five assists and grabbing three rebounds.
Sophomore guard Darius George scored 19 in a breakout performance that saw him shoot 6 for 11 in the matchup.
Senior guard Jon Elmore fell an assist and two boards short of a triple-double with a stat line of 16 points, nine assists and eight rebounds.
It was the “dunk show” for the Herd against West Virginia Wesleyan as they slammed home 12 dunks in 83-65 win.
SCOUTING THE COLONELS
Eastern Kentucky is coming off an 11-20 season. A.W. Hamilton, a former Thundering Herd men’s basketball player is in his first season as head coach of the Colonels.
Last season EKU was outscored by its opponents 76.5 to 71.9 and were outrebounded 35.7 to 33.0. The Colonels shot 43.7 percent from the field, while recording a 35.4 shooting percentage from three-point range.
EKU lost four of its top-five scorers from last season.
WHO TO KNOW
Nick Mayo is a three-time first-team all-OVC player. He has appeared in 93 games for the Colonels and is averaging 17 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He is a better than 80 percent shooter from the free-throw line and is career 54 percent shooter from the field.
Last season Mayo scored 19 points in a loss to the Herd.
SERIES HISTORY
Marshall will meet EKU for the 43rd time and trails 22-20 in the all-time series.