Speer leads Marshall against UL Monroe after 22-point showing

UL Monroe Warhawks (3-16, 0-7 Sun Belt) at Marshall Thundering Herd (12-7, 4-3 Sun Belt)

Huntington, West Virginia; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Marshall takes on UL Monroe after Jalen Speer scored 22 points in Marshall's 77-72 victory against the James Madison Dukes.

The Thundering Herd have gone 9-2 in home games. Marshall is fourth in the Sun Belt scoring 79.5 points while shooting 45.8% from the field.

The Warhawks have gone 0-7 against Sun Belt opponents. UL Monroe is 0-1 in one-possession games.

Marshall is shooting 45.8% from the field this season, 2.1 percentage points lower than the 47.9% UL Monroe allows to opponents. UL Monroe has shot at a 42.5% clip from the field this season, 0.7 percentage points above the 41.8% shooting opponents of Marshall have averaged.

The matchup Thursday is the first meeting this season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Matt Van Komen is averaging 7.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.4 blocks for the Thundering Herd. Speer is averaging 2.8 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

Krystian Lewis is averaging 16.7 points and 1.6 steals for the Warhawks. MJ Russell is averaging 14.5 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Thundering Herd: 7-3, averaging 78.9 points, 35.7 rebounds, 16.3 assists, 6.5 steals and 5.6 blocks per game while shooting 45.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 72.0 points per game.

Warhawks: 1-9, averaging 74.5 points, 29.1 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 5.9 steals and 4.7 blocks per game while shooting 42.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 84.2 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.