Print |
E-mail to a friend
SPORTS
Marshall men earn AP Top 25 votes
Marshall forward Hassan Whiteside (21) blocks a shot by Brescia forward Anthony Ingram (13) during their college basketball game on Wednesday, December 16, 2009, at the Cam Henderson Center.
Purchase this photoHUNTINGTON -- Win games, and people notice.
Marshall University men's basketball has a 15-2 record along with a six-game winning streak and received two votes Monday for The Associated Press Top 25.
It's the first time since December 2000 that the Thundering Herd received votes.
"Our kids have played well and we've won," Marshall coach Donnie Jones said. "When you win games you get some recognition."
Marshall was ranked No. 25 on the AP ballots filed by West Virginia poll representative Jack Bogaczyk of the Charleston Daily Mail and National Public Radio voter John Feinstein. It took 122 total voting points to get into the Top 25 based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote. The Herd and Xavier tied for 44th.
Win some more games, and a Top 25 breakthrough is possible.
Marshall's next action is at 9 p.m., Wednesday against No. 11 West Virginia University (13-3) as part of the annual Capital Classic in the sold-out Charleston Civic Center.
"We have a tough stretch coming up," said Jones, thinking ahead to the WVU game, followed by Conference USA clashes with UAB (Saturday), Memphis (Jan. 27), at Houston (Jan. 30) and at Tulsa (Feb. 3).
"We have to keep the same mentality and focus on who we play next," Jones said. "That's what we've done a pretty good job of.
"We lost to (No. 24) North Carolina, but we put it behind us and we've won six in a row."
The Associated Press began ranking college basketball teams on Jan. 20, 1949, and Marshall has appeared in the weekly list only 14 times.
Marshall appeared in the AP poll for the first time at No. 18 on Jan. 31, 1956. Coach Jule Rivlin's team went on to finish with an 18-5 record in a Mid-American Conference championship and NCAA tournament season.
All other Marshall entries in the AP rankings were in the 1971-72 season when the Herd finished 23-4 and played in the NCAA tournament. That team climbed to No. 8 in the Feb. 22, 1972 rankings and ended the season No. 12.
Hassan Whiteside of the Herd also received national attention Monday from Andy Katz of ESPN.com, who reported that the 7-foot freshman continues to be the sleeper player in the country.
Whiteside was selected as the C-USA Rookie of the Week for the third time. He averaged 17 points, 13 rebounds and nine blocked shots per game in a 2-0 week for the Herd that included his third triple-double performance of the season.
The NCAA leader in blocked shots with 5.6 per game has 95 in 17 contests, which is only six shy of Omar Roland's school-record 101 in the 1989-90 season.
VICTORY CLUB: Marshall has a Victory Club booster group luncheon at noon, Tuesday, in Pullman Plaza Hotel. Head coach Donnie Jones is the speaker. Lunch is $12.
