Valdes and Troy host Marshall

Marshall Thundering Herd (7-4) at Troy Trojans (7-5)

Troy, Alabama; Saturday, 2 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Troy takes on Marshall after Victor Valdes scored 26 points in Troy's 86-85 victory against the UAB Blazers.

The Trojans are 2-1 on their home court. Troy is 3-1 in games decided by less than 4 points.

The Thundering Herd are 2-3 on the road. Marshall averages 79.5 points and has outscored opponents by 2.1 points per game.

Troy averages 89.0 points, 11.6 more per game than the 77.4 Marshall gives up. Marshall averages 9.8 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.8 more made shots on average than the 8.0 per game Troy allows.

The matchup Saturday is the first meeting of the season for the two teams in conference play.

TOP PERFORMERS: Valdes is averaging 17.6 points, four assists and 1.6 steals for the Trojans. Thomas Dowd is averaging 15.4 points over the last 10 games.

Jalen Speer is averaging 14 points and 5.8 assists for the Thundering Herd. Wyatt Fricks is averaging 13.5 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Trojans: 5-5, averaging 90.1 points, 38.5 rebounds, 17.5 assists, 9.7 steals and 3.0 blocks per game while shooting 45.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 80.2 points per game.

Thundering Herd: 6-4, averaging 79.6 points, 34.5 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 5.2 steals and 6.3 blocks per game while shooting 46.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 77.9 points.

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