Marshall Thundering Herd vs. Old Dominion Monarchs: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/24/2023

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Chartway Arena, Norfolk, VA

Where to watch: ESPN+

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FanDuel: Check back later for odds.

BetMGM: Check back later for odds.

Caesars: Check back later for odds.

Marshall: 24-6 (13-4 Sun Belt)

Old Dominion: 18-11 (10-7 Sun Belt)

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If you don’t love this time of year, I don’t know what to do with you. Because even in the Sun Belt Conference, things get absolutely wild. The Marshall Thundering Herd are now in a tie for first place in the conference and can clinch at least a share of the regular season title with a win over the Old Dominion Monarchs on Friday in Norfolk, Virginia.

 

How did we get here, you ask? Just look at the home team. Old Dominion upset the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 69-64 on Wednesday, opening the door for Marshall to do some damage. They did in fact do that in yet another high-scoring game on Wednesday, knocking off the James Madison Dukes 92-83 to vault to the top of the standings.

 

Taevion Kinsey scored a game-high 31 points for Marshall, who went 9 off 17 from the floor and 13 of 16 from the free-throw line. Andrew Taylor struggled shooting the ball but still finished with 19 points to put the Thundering Herd on the cusp of potentially their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2018 should everything fall into place.

 

Southern Miss will be playing Texas State in their finale, which should be a winnable game, so Marshall has to at least take care of business on its end. But I compare what Old Dominion did earlier this week to the Loyola Marymount Lions. The team that’s beaten both Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s this year is the one team in the WCC no one wants to face. Old Dominion is coming into this game in an all-time high after playing extreme spoiler by beating the Golden Eagles on Wednesday.

 

Mekhi Long had a game-high 20 points, and Old Dominion held the Southern Miss offense to 33.3 percent shooting. The Monarchs shot just 5 of 19 from 3-point range, which was offset because of that stellar defense. It’s been a while, if at all this year, that Southern Miss was kept in check the way that it was. This was a defensive masterclass from Old Dominion.

 

Chaunce Jenkins had 16 points, and Dericko Williams had nine points, 11 rebounds, four assists and two assists in what was a dominant all-around performance from the forward.

 

Old Dominion doesn’t have much to play for other than pride heading into the conference tournament. I’m not sure if Sun Belt supporters can put into context what an ODU win would mean for Southern Miss in the most weird round of ‘thank you, ma’am’ we’ve ever seen, but it’s likely going to happen if Marshall isn’t careful.

 

But given what Marshall has done on offense as of late, I don’t anticipate that being a problem. That’s now five straight games of at least 84 points scored with no answer from the opposition on how to stop it. If Old Dominion’s defense can hold the Herd to under 80, that would be a huge win. Marshall 85, Old Dominion 70

Check back later for trends.

PG: Kamdyn Curfman

SG: Andrew Taylor

SF: Taevion Kinsey

PF: Obinna Anochili

C: Micah Handlogten

PG: Chaunce Jenkins

SG: Tyreek Scott-Grayson

SF: Bryce Baker

PF: Mekhi Long

C: Dericko Williams

Points: Taevion Kinsey -- 22.3

Rebounds: Micah Handlogten -- 10.0

Assists: Taevion Kinsey -- 5.4

Points: Tyreek Scott-Grayson -- 13.6

Rebounds: Mekhi Long -- 8.6

Assists: Chaunce Jenkins -- 2.9