Marshall vs. Ohio Odds
| Marshall Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
+5.5 -110 | 152.5 -110o / -110u | N/A |
| Ohio Odds | ||
|---|---|---|
| Spread | Total | Moneyline |
-5.5 -110 | 152.5 -110o / -110u | N/A |
Marshall puts its high-powered offense to the test, as the Thundering Herd travel to face the Ohio Bobcats on Wednesday night.
Marshall plays with the second-fasted tempo in the nation, which has led to its offense averaging 83 points per game.
The Herd are 7-3 on the season while outscoring opponents by an average margin of 10 points per game. After dropping back-to-back outings to Indiana and Akron, the program has put together three wins in a row.
Ohio is 7-2 on the young season, with both losses coming to top-20 teams in Kentucky and LSU. The Bobcats haven’t faced any other high-level competition, as five of their victories came over opponents that rank outside the top 200 in the nation.
Ohio relies on its defense and playing at a more methodical slower pace to find its success.
Whichever team can dictate the tempo will have a clear edge in this matchup.
Marshall Thundering Herd
Marshall’s head coach Dan D’Antoni has preached for his program to play with speed since he took over the reigns in 2014. During that span, the lightning quick pace has resulted in wins. Now, he has found the recruits to perfectly align with that playing style.
Taevion Kinsey is one of the most electric players in the country especially when he gets out in transition. Kinsey is averaging 21.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He’s the leader of the offense and has scored 20 or more points in all but one game this season.
His counterpart is sophomore guard Andrew Taylor, who is one of the fastest players on the roster and the primary ball handler. Taylor is the swiss army knife who is averaging 13.5 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.7 assists per contest.
The dynamic duo of Kinsey and Taylor are on the floor for an average of 35 minutes per contest.
The up-tempo offense has led to easy transition opportunities, which is why the Thundering Herd are hitting 57% of their two-point attempts, good for 17th nationally.
The Herd average 16.7 points per game off of turnovers and are strong offensively in terms of taking care of the basketball. Though they have only hit 28% of their 3-point attempts, the offense is tough to slow down due to the amount of fast break opportunities.
Ohio Bobcats
The Ohio Bobcats lost only one player in the offseason, but it was a monumental loss in Jason Preston, who was selected 33rd overall in the NBA draft. Preston averaged 16.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game last season.
Mark Sears has done a solid job in replacing that production at point guard, as he’s the team's leading scorer with 16.2 points per game and has hit the double-digit mark in every contest. Sears has struggled taking care of the basketball, though, totaling 29 turnovers to 34 assists in his nine starts.
The frontcourt has been dominated by Ben Vander Plas and Jason Carter, who are each averaging over a dozen points per game. Both are 6-foot-8 and can spread the court with 3-point range.
Ohio plays at a tempo that ranks outside the top 225 in the nation and will look to slow down the pace. The group has struggled inside the paint — both defending and scoring, which has been a strength for Marshall all season.
The Bobcats take 42% of their shot attempts from behind the arc, where they have converted on 35.2% of their attempts. But Marshall will look to capitalize on any misses, turning them into transition opportunities for itself.
Marshall vs. Ohio Betting Pick
Ohio’s defense has thrived at defending the 3-point shot, holding opponents to just 27%. But that won’t affect Marshall, which already struggles at shooting from the outside and focuses on dominating the paint.
The Thundering Herd rank 17th nationally in two-point field goal percentage, while the Bobcats' defense ranks 309th at defending inside the arc.
Ohio will need to be shooting lights out if it wants to cover the number in this game. The Bobcats take a boatload of 3s and any misses will quickly turn into points for Marshall, more specifically high-flying dunks by Kinsey.
Taevion Kinsey with the finger roll? Nope. 🔨 pic.twitter.com/yoeedI0Gk5
— Matt Babcock (@MattBabcock11) November 14, 2021
Marshall's playing style will dominate the flow in this game and force Ohio to play in a track meet, which the Bobcats won't be able to keep up in.
The Thundering Herd are a live underdog in this matchup.
