Marshall Men\u2019s Basketball Preview
\nBy Ben Anderson, FM88 Sports Director
\nNov. 12, 2025
\nHUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) \u2014 Tomorrow, the Marshall Thundering Herd plays host to the Elon Phoenix for the Herd’s 2025-26 home opener.<\/p>\n
The Thundering Herd has had the hot hand to start the season, opening up with a pair of road wins against UMass and Toledo. Redshirt senior Wyatt Fricks said that the start helps boost the team morale entering tonight.<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting two wins on the road to start the year, that\u2019s big time.\u201d Fricks said. \u201cLast year we really struggled on the road. Getting two early, that really helps with that kind of team morale, that confidence that you can win on the road, you can overcome adversity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Herd trailed the Toledo Rockets 40-30 at halftime, before outscoring the Rockets 55-33 in the second half to pick up the 85-73 victory. Something that stood out to head coach Cornelius \u201cCorny\u201d Jackson was the team\u2019s effort in the second half.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was proud of our second-half effort,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI thought we really executed the game plan. I thought we played tougher with more physicality in the second half than we did in the first half. The shots, they didn\u2019t fall the first half, but that\u2019s how we play. So, we have to be okay with the misses just as well as the makes in the second half.\u201d<\/p>\n
The team stepped on the gas defensively in the second half, holding the Rockets to just 36% from the field after allowing 45% in the first half.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the goals going into the game was to take away their transition, as best we could.\u201d Jackson said. \u201cI felt the first half they got out in transition. After watching the film, it was eight times they got in transition and either scored or got fouled or got an easy look. Second-half, we made a better conscious effort of getting back, making those guys score over us versus giving them easy stuff in transition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fricks said that he is pleased with the way that the team has gelled through the first two games of the season.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just being able to play together, having that chemistry on and off the court,\u201d Fricks said. \u201cWe got depth, we\u2019ve played with lineups throughout the summer. We\u2019ve played with lineups through the preseason. Just being able to mesh guys, figuring out the roles is big time. The freshman Landon Joesph against Toledo really helped us in the first half kind of staying in it a little bit. Guys like that are just coming in, knowing their role, locked in and staying read. That sort of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Elon Phoenix enter the contest at 2-0, coming off a 92-90 thrilling overtime victory against the UNC Greensboro Spartans in a game that the Phoenix connected on 11 triples in the contest. Jackson said that the Phoenix have an attack from all areas of the floor.<\/p>\n
“They have shooters all over the floor,\u201d Jackson said. “Their bigs are good. Their one forward, he plays a point forward. He\u2019ll get the rebound, and he\u2019ll start the break and spray it out to the shooter. They\u2019re a good team, they\u2019re physical, they\u2019re experienced. Their guards are really quick.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elon won the only previous matchup in the series, defeating the Herd in Elon, N.C. last season 73-59. Elon through two games has allowed an average of 70.5 points per game on 43% shooting. Jackson said that the Phoenix is improved from a year ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a whole different team,\u201d Jackson said. \u201cThey still play their zone. But they played exclusively zone last year when they had Matt (Van Komen), especially when we went down there and played them. But they\u2019re playing faster. They\u2019re probably more athletic than they were last year.”<\/p>\n
The game will broadcast on 88.1 WMUL-FM and online on Stream 1 at marshall.edu\/wmul. FM88 Sports’ Ben Anderson & Rhys Owens will be on the call with pregame coverage at 6:30 p.m. and tip-off at 7 p.m.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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