Game Day info
For the second straight year, Terence Harcum ate himself a big bag of onions in Norfolk. He now has 50 combined points in two games there. And App needed them at crucial times as ODU stuck around like a bad habit for 30 minutes. The Monarchs lived off vibes, push offs and unique interpretations of a moving screen to have hope. Then the Monarchs' hope was burned, extinguished, buried, unburied and scattered into the ocean as Nearer My God To Thee played.
One big positive after Thursday is that the double-bye is secured. App State won't play in Pensacola until the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 9. But in bad news, the team has to go to Huntington.
For some, West Virginia is God's Country, akin to a label often given to High Country of Northwest North Carolina. Unfortunately, the App State Men's Basketball team is going to Huntington, which might as well be south Ohio or east Kentucky.
On the banks of the Ohio river sits a Marshall basketball team that is struggling to meet the lofty expectations of its loyal and loud fanbase. Since Coastal's Cliff Ellis retired to the ostrich farm, Dan D'antoni is now the oldest head coach in the league. When asked at halftime in Boone what his Thundering Herd had to do, his answer was "shoot the ball better" and "let's beat em." A master wordsmith of southeastern Kentohio.
The Herd will have an advantage in this one having played at home Wednesday night and not putting up a fight against JMU, losing their 4th in a row and 5 of their last 6. Now 12-16 overall and 7-8 in the Sun Belt, the Herd are a longshot for a top four finish and many fans just want the season to end.
As was said last time, Marshall shoots a lot of 3s. And on national TV, they will probably shoot some 3s. No need to rehash the stats for this one. The Herd spread it out, outrebounded App State in Boone and was competitive for 30ish minutes. That 30-minute mark, usually around the second half U12 timeout, is when the Mountaineers have shifted into a higher gear as shorter-bench foes began to wilt.
National TV will be there, moreso for the visitors than the home team. Always good to get more TV time the closer we get to March. There's a parlay scenario where the Apps can clinch a share of the Sun Belt title and the No. 1 seed in Pensacola with a win on Saturday. That requires both Troy and JMU to lose. Troy plays at ULM at 3:30 p.m. and JMU at 5 p.m. in Statesboro. Both happening are unlikely, but it's there. On the other end, App could be tied for first with JMU if the Huntington trip turns into crap and only a game in front of Troy. Crazier things have happened. Heck, the Hornets have won four real NBA basketball games in a row!
This is the road finale for the Apps, with a chance to go a rare 6-0 at the homes of the Sun Belt "East Division" sextet of hate (and could go a perfect 12-0 versus the east next Wednesday if all goes well). That would be really awesome.
My guess is this will be a higher-scoring game than the first meeting in Boone. Can App hold Anochili-Killen again? Will Abson be more of a force down low after a sub-standard ODU performance? Will Harcum remain hot or someone else start hitting shots? The good kind of pressure is on the Apps as they chase a regular season title.
