Damier Pitts is sitting this one out.
Marshall University men?s basketball coach Donnie Jones said Pitts will serve a one-game suspension Wednesday when the Thundering Herd takes its 13-2 overall record and 2-0 mark in
Conference USA on the court for an 8 p.m. game against UCF (9-6, 1-0) in Orlando, Fla.
The game at UCF Arena is televised on the CBS College Sports Network.
Pitts, the starting point guard, was suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules, Jones said in a news release. He is scheduled to return to the team in time for a Saturday home game against Tulane.
The sophomore is averaging 10.2 points and 4.4 assists per game. He?s also a clutch performer who is second among C-USA free throw shooters at 85.7 percent while making 47 of 52 in the final five minutes of games during his career.
Darryl Merthie, a Florida native from Sanford, will be in the starting lineup for his final game on home turf. Merthie started 10 games this season. He?s averaging 5.1 points and 3.0 assists.
Sophomore Shaq Johnson could also get some minutes at point guard.
Marshall was already shorthanded with junior forward Tirrell Baines (knee surgery) definitely out and junior forward Antonio Haymon (abdominal infection) listed as doubtful.
Playing road games is difficult enough, and it becomes harder without an important player.
The Herd solved the road riddle Saturday in an 83-65 victory at East Carolina, but Jones said he doesn?t know if there is a guaranteed method for winning away from home.
?You need to have great preparedness,? he said ?You need great intensity. You have to be able to rebound and defend. And making shots is important.?
Marshall is riding high in its best season start since 1999-00 and is playing with confidence, but isn?t arrogant, Jones said.
Senior forward Tyler Wilkerson is scoring 13.1 points to lead a Marshall team averaging 82 a game to rank second behind Houston (84.6) in the conference. Marshall is C-USA?s best field goal percentage team at 48.3 percent. Freshman center Hassan Whiteside and Johnson are next with 11.9 and 11.6 scoring averages respectively.
Whiteside, a 7-footer, leads the nation with 5.1 blocked shots a game. Whiteside (8.9) and Wilkerson (7.3) are the Herd?s top rebounders.
Marshall is ranked in the middle of C-USA in scoring defense (64.8) but ranks high in field goal percentage defense (38.0) and is first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.2).
UCF, which beat Rice in its conference opener, 77-58, is a motion offense team averaging 67.6 points and giving up 65.1 per game. Sophomore guard Isaac Sosa (11.3) and junior forward A.J. Tyler (10.1) are the only Knights averaging double-figure points.
Keith Clanton, a 6-8 freshman, averages 9.3 points and 7.2 rebounds.
?This will be one of the smartest team we?ve played,? Jones said. ?They?ve got very good basketball players. It?s going to be a different challenge for our team.?
Michael Jordan?s son, Marcus, is a freshman guard for the Knights scoring 5.4 points per game. Jordan plays hard and is a good fit in the UCF system, Jones said.
Marshall and UCF have met eight times with each team winning four games. The home team won the last five games in the series.
UCF is 32-8 at home since its 10,000-seat arena opened in 2007.
Marshall University men?s basketball coach Donnie Jones said Pitts will serve a one-game suspension Wednesday when the Thundering Herd takes its 13-2 overall record and 2-0 mark in
Conference USA on the court for an 8 p.m. game against UCF (9-6, 1-0) in Orlando, Fla.
The game at UCF Arena is televised on the CBS College Sports Network.
Pitts, the starting point guard, was suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules, Jones said in a news release. He is scheduled to return to the team in time for a Saturday home game against Tulane.
The sophomore is averaging 10.2 points and 4.4 assists per game. He?s also a clutch performer who is second among C-USA free throw shooters at 85.7 percent while making 47 of 52 in the final five minutes of games during his career.
Darryl Merthie, a Florida native from Sanford, will be in the starting lineup for his final game on home turf. Merthie started 10 games this season. He?s averaging 5.1 points and 3.0 assists.
Sophomore Shaq Johnson could also get some minutes at point guard.
Marshall was already shorthanded with junior forward Tirrell Baines (knee surgery) definitely out and junior forward Antonio Haymon (abdominal infection) listed as doubtful.
Playing road games is difficult enough, and it becomes harder without an important player.
The Herd solved the road riddle Saturday in an 83-65 victory at East Carolina, but Jones said he doesn?t know if there is a guaranteed method for winning away from home.
?You need to have great preparedness,? he said ?You need great intensity. You have to be able to rebound and defend. And making shots is important.?
Marshall is riding high in its best season start since 1999-00 and is playing with confidence, but isn?t arrogant, Jones said.
Senior forward Tyler Wilkerson is scoring 13.1 points to lead a Marshall team averaging 82 a game to rank second behind Houston (84.6) in the conference. Marshall is C-USA?s best field goal percentage team at 48.3 percent. Freshman center Hassan Whiteside and Johnson are next with 11.9 and 11.6 scoring averages respectively.
Whiteside, a 7-footer, leads the nation with 5.1 blocked shots a game. Whiteside (8.9) and Wilkerson (7.3) are the Herd?s top rebounders.
Marshall is ranked in the middle of C-USA in scoring defense (64.8) but ranks high in field goal percentage defense (38.0) and is first in 3-point field goal percentage defense (29.2).
UCF, which beat Rice in its conference opener, 77-58, is a motion offense team averaging 67.6 points and giving up 65.1 per game. Sophomore guard Isaac Sosa (11.3) and junior forward A.J. Tyler (10.1) are the only Knights averaging double-figure points.
Keith Clanton, a 6-8 freshman, averages 9.3 points and 7.2 rebounds.
?This will be one of the smartest team we?ve played,? Jones said. ?They?ve got very good basketball players. It?s going to be a different challenge for our team.?
Michael Jordan?s son, Marcus, is a freshman guard for the Knights scoring 5.4 points per game. Jordan plays hard and is a good fit in the UCF system, Jones said.
Marshall and UCF have met eight times with each team winning four games. The home team won the last five games in the series.
UCF is 32-8 at home since its 10,000-seat arena opened in 2007.
