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SPORTS
Chuck Landon: Herd has another offense that leaks
Plumbers just naturally seem to have a different pipe wrench on life.
Perhaps, it's all the clogs, all the stopped up commodes, all the corrosion they deal with on a daily basis.
Or, maybe, the task of keeping everything flushing, flowing and not leaking instills plumbers with the unique philosophy of dismissing pipe dreams, not fretting over spilt sewage and understanding that water under the bridge or in the septic tank should be. ... well, just let it go.
They see the big fitting.
America first learned that from Joe Wurzelbacher.
The Ohioan leaped to national fame when Wurzelbacher, an employee of a plumbing contractor, pointedly questioned Barack Obama during the 2008 presidential campaign about his tax plan on small businesses.
Soon, the moniker "Joe the Plumber" became a point of reference for the Republican camp.
Well, now, I have my own "Joe the Plumber."
Except, his name is Bob.
But the unique, cut-to-the-clog perspective is the same. "Bob the Plumber" proved that during a phone conversation Thursday afternoon.
"I was sitting in my driveway listening to the end of the Marshall game on the radio last night," said Bob. "And it occurred to me that the basketball team is starting to take after the football team.
"Good defense, but not much offense."
I couldn't have been more speechless if my throat were cross-threaded.
"Bob the Plumber" absolutely nailed, er, flushed it. He was right as the rain that keeps leaking into my downstairs steps.
Marshall's 2011-12 basketball team is indeed mirroring the 2011 Herd football squad.
The basketball team's .427 field-goal percentage is ranked a lowly No. 191 (out of 338 schools) in the nation. MU football's total offense was ranked No. 102 (of 120 teams). Basketball's scoring offense of 69.2 points is No. 135, while football's 21.85 point average was No. 99.
Then, there are the Conference USA comparisons.
Marshall basketball is ranked No. 6 in scoring offense, No. 9 in field goal percentage, No. 12 in 3-point percentage and No. 12 in foul-shooting percentage in the 12-team league.
Football? More of the same. It was ranked No. 9 in scoring offense, No. 9 in rushing offense, No. 10 in passing offense and No. 11 in total offense in C-USA last season.
Similar comparisons are valid defensively.
Marshall basketball has the best 3-point percentage defense and is the No. 1 rebounding team in the league going into a game against Memphis at 9 p.m., Saturday, in the FedExForum at Memphis, Tenn. Herd football counters with rankings of No. 74 in the nation in scoring defense and No. 78 in total defense.
Let's be frank. ... or Joe or Bob.
It was Marshall's defense that led Herd football to a 7-6 record and a win over Florida International in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl.
And if Marshall's basketball team reaches postseason play in either the NCAA Tournament or NIT, it will be because the Herd's defense and rebounding got it there.
It wasn't what anyone envisioned for either Marshall team in either sport when the respective seasons began. But it's what happened.
For whatever reason, Marshall's basketball and football teams both have become defensive-oriented and offensive-challenged during 2011-12.
It doesn't mean seasons have to go down the drain, however.
Just ask "Bob the Plumber."
Chuck Landon is a columnist for The Herald-Dispatch. Call him at 304-526-2827 or email him at clandon@herald-dispatch.com.
