Game 1, 2025-26: Marshall (11/3)

[MikeUMA]

Copying this over from another thread...

Marshall's off season looks like ours. They lost their top 3 scorers (approx. 40 points/game). They kept the 4th highest (10.8) and 6th highest (5.0) and lost their #5 scorer (9.6) and 7-9 scorers (11 points/game). The players they lost were also their top rebounders (22 per game).

Tough to scout them, as they have a bunch of transfers and freshmen, as do we. This is what life is like today in college BB.

Last season, Marshall went 20-13 overall, 18-13 vs D-I, and 5th in the 14-member Sun Belt.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/sc ... /2025.html

Their NET peaked at 174 late in the season, finishing at 177.
https://bracketologists.com/team/marsha ... ering-herd

Tangent: Marshall's season ended in the conference tourney with a loss to Arkansas State, Dyondre Dominguez' club. Dyondre was a non-factor in that one, only getting 4 minutes. DD played in 33 of their 36 games last season, but got just 12.1 mpg, less than half he had gotten the season before, and had 10 games with 5 minutes or less. Curious why he fizzled out there.
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... uez-1.html

Anyway, back to Marshall...
We played 'em several times in the Bruiser/Lappas era, ironically when they were a MAC school.
https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id ... t_marshall

They moved to C-USA and were there 17 years before the league started to fall apart, then they joined the Sun Belt. This will be season 4 in that league.
https://www.espn.com/college-football/s ... es-confirm
https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/sc ... shall/men/

[bobolink]

Their kick-off, introduce the team event is today. Wonder how their interest/support level compares.
https://herdzone.com/news/2025/9/16/gen ... man-square

[69MG]

A little more info about Marshall:

Marshall is under second-year Head Coach Cornelius 'Corny' Jackson coming off a 20-win season and an appearance in the 2025 SBC Tournament Quarterfinals.

The 15-man roster features eight returners and seven newcomers on the roster. Among the returners include Jaleen Speer, who made 71 threes last season with a program-best 7-for-7 night from behind the arc against James Madison on January 9.

Among the newcomers, Matt Van Komen comes to Huntington off a Colonial Athletic Association All-Defensive Team nod with 75 blocks, the 13th most in the country during the 2024-25 season.

Van Komen is 7'4, so this will be interesting. Speer is a 6'1 guard who averaged 11 points a game last year and shot 35% from three. He was their 4th leading scorer, but they lost the 3 above him.

[MikeUMA]

Marshall was picked 6th among the 14 in the Sun Belt pre-season poll.
https://sunbeltsports.org/news/2025/10/ ... -year.aspx

First Team: Jalen Speer [Gr. | G | Gainesville, Fla.] Was a teammate of our K'jei Parker in Parker's frosh season (23-24). https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... eer-1.html

Third Team: Matt Van Komen [Gr. | C | Lehi, Utah] This dude started his college career pre-COVID https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... men-1.html

[inthescoop]

Marshall was picked 6th among the 14 in the Sun Belt pre-season poll.
https://sunbeltsports.org/news/2025/10/ ... -year.aspx

First Team: Jalen Speer [Gr. | G | Gainesville, Fla.] Was a teammate of our K'jei Parker in Parker's frosh season (23-24). https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... eer-1.html

Third Team: Matt Van Komen [Gr. | C | Lehi, Utah] This dude started his college career pre-COVID https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/pl ... men-1.html

Since he's from Utah and a Mormon, I thought it was for sure because he went on a 2 year mission trip. But nope, it's due to tons of injuries and going from D1 to D2 and now back to D1. Hell of a journey for Mr. 7'4.

https://www.midmajormadness.com/2024/10 ... ith-flurry

[MikeUMA]

Looking at Marshall's pre-season...

Last week, they hosted Alice Lloyd College, a 600-student NAIA school for an exhibition game. Marshall won 123-63, but didn't do a write-up or even post a box score.

On Tuesday, they step it up to D-II's Davis & Elkins College, a 700-student school, for another exhibition.

[m626t]

^
Apparently, some coaches (Frank?) do not wish to risk fragile egos by playing competitive exhibition games, but this is nuts.

[InnervisionsUMASS]

^
Apparently, some coaches (Frank?) do not wish to risk fragile egos by playing competitive exhibition games, but this is nuts.

Outside of closed practices, when has UMass even played a legit exhibition? I recall UMass teams playing the *FireFighter All-Stars in the early 2000s.


*I'm exaggerating

[Steve81]

^
Apparently, some coaches (Frank?) do not wish to risk fragile egos by playing competitive exhibition games, but this is nuts.

Outside of closed practices, when has UMass even played a legit exhibition? I recall UMass teams playing the *FireFighter All-Stars in the early 2000s.


*I'm exaggerating

I remember a few after than and before Frank.
Looks like McCall.

Started diving into Mike's wiki https://umasshoops.com/wiki/doku.php?id=season_history
Springfield College 11/3/2017
Westfield State 10/30/2018

[Juice Stand]

Maybe I'm missing the joke here, but UMass played their first exhibition this year against Brown, a D1 Ivy. I know Brown isn't the cream of the Ivy crop, but I'd consider that a legit exhibition where our guys were testing themselves against other D1 players. And last year they played an exhibition against Providence, a Big East school.

[Floyd]

Juice, the UMasshoops alarm clock. First to post everyday

[69MG]

^ What we haven't figured out yet is whether Juice is just getting up in the morning or just getting home from a long night out!

[InnervisionsUMASS]

Maybe I'm missing the joke here, but UMass played their first exhibition this year against Brown, a D1 Ivy. I know Brown isn't the cream of the Ivy crop, but I'd consider that a legit exhibition where our guys were testing themselves against other D1 players. And last year they played an exhibition against Providence, a Big East school.

They did, similar to the closed scrimmages they used to do. The "exhibitions" have generally been lower level opponents.

[Juice Stand]

Juice, the UMasshoops alarm clock. First to post everyday

^ What we haven't figured out yet is whether Juice is just getting up in the morning or just getting home from a long night out!

Listen guys, I'm here to post opinions about UMass basketball. I'm not messing around.

[MikeUMA]

I can't find a box score, but Marshall won their final exhibition last night, 90-62 over Davis & Elkins.
Found a forum where they're talking about it: https://www.herdfans.com/12thman/index. ... c=120585.0

For our game on Monday...

@acsamaha 3h
Frank Martin has confirmed his starting lineup for Marshall will be:

K’Jei Parker
Marcus Banks Jr
Jayden Ndjigue
Daniel Hankins-Sanford
Leonardo Bettiol

Same as the exhibitions.