Marshall Preview
By Ben Anderson, FM88 Sports
Jan. 30, 2025
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. (WMUL-FM) — Marshall men’s basketball aims to extend its winning streak to four games on Thursday when it welcomes the Georgia State Panthers to the Cam Henderson Center.
The Thundering Herd earned its first road win of the season during its most recent four game stretch and hasn’t looked back since.
Marshall enters the contest at 13-9 (6-3) and ranked 5th in the Sun Belt Conference. Georgia State is 7-14 (3-6) and ranked 12th in the league.
The Herd is coming off a 71-67 road victory over the Georgia Southern Eagles, and is 10-2 at home this season. The Panthers aim to end a four-game skid and earn its first road win of the season where they are 0-7 on the year.
The contest marks the sixth overall meeting between the two programs and the second in the past two weeks. On Thursday, Marshall defeated Georgia State in Atlanta 92-79. Marshall leads the series 5-1 dating back to its first matchup in the 2022-23 season.
The contest matches a Marshall team that ranks third in the Sun Belt Conference in scoring at 75.6 points per game against a Georgia State team that ranks last in the conference in scoring defense allowing 80.2 points per game.
The matchup features two teams with multiple players averaging double-digit scoring with Marshall having four led by Obinna Anochili-Killen with 13.1 points per game, Mikal Dawson (13.0), Jalen Speer (10.9) and Dezayne Mingo (10.7). Georgia State is led by Cesare Edwards with 14.9 points per game along with Tonerai Lane (14.8), Zarique Nutter (14.4) and Nick McMullen (10.0).
Speer was named Sun Belt Conference player of the week after averaging 20.5 points per game and 4.0 assists per game in a pair of road wins against Georgia State and Georgia Southern. The graduate student went 14-for-22 (63.6 percent) from the field, 7-for-12 (58.3 percent from three, and 6-for-7 (85.7 percent) from the free throw line.
In Sun Belt Conference games, Speer leads the league in three-point percentage (53.5 percent) and makes from trifecta (32) while ranking second in field-goal percentage (54.1 percent).
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Cam Henderson Center with live coverage on WMUL-FM 88.1 and online at www.marshall.edu/WMUL. Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.