Bracketology 2023: 5 things to watch on the first weekend in February

Marshall 18-5 (7-3) at Louisiana 18-4 (18-2)

Lafayette, LA, Saturday, February 4, 8:00 PM ET, ESPN+

Don’t look now, but there is a two-way tie for first place in the Sun Belt and one of those teams does battle on Saturday when Louisiana plays host to the Thundering Herd of Marshall who sits just one game behind the Ragin’ Cajuns. Bob Marlin’s squad was a near-unanimous pick to win the conference behind preseason player of the year pick Jordan Brown who is averaging 19.6 points, 7.7 rebounds, two assists, and shooting 58.6% from the field.

They average 80 points per game and are one of the best three-point shooting teams in the country at 38.7%. The problem comes at the defensive end where they allow their opponents to shoot it nearly as well at 37.8 *%. Since a three-game losing streak in late December, they have won 9 straight which is the 4th longest streak in the country.

Dan D’Antoni’s Marshall squad was picked to finish 6th but it is February and is a game out of first place entering this battle in Louisiana. Marshall likes to play fast, they average nearly 83 points per game, they are 25th in average tempo and their 15-second length of possession is the 3rd shortest in the country.

For a team that scores so many points they don’t get to the free throw line often with less than 13% of their points coming from there and that’s probably a good thing because they only shoot it at 65.9%. They boast arguably the best 1-2 combo in the conference with Taevion Kinsey and Andrew Taylor who put up 31.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 10.6 assists. The one thing to look at moving forward for the Thundering Herd is their lack of depth with only one reserve averaging more than 20 minutes per game.

There is one thing that might work in Marshall’s favor in this regard is their experience, they have the 7th oldest roster in the country and that will be key for a team short on depth in games like this and as they get closer to March.