It’s Thanksgiving week and one thing I am thankful for, along with the rest of the Big Blue Nation, is more Kentucky basketball. After beating beating Saint Joseph’s 96-88 in a resilient overtime win, the Wildcats will pick things back up on Black Friday against the Marshall Thundering Herd.
This will be the first time since 2012 the two teams have played against each other, when Kentucky won 82-54. Kentucky will look to improve to 13-0 in the series, and if they do so, Marshall will become the team the Wildcats have beaten the most without a loss, breaking a tie with Chattanooga and Morehead State at 12-0.
Coached by Dan D’Antoni, the older brother of former NBA Coach of the Year Mike D’Antoni, Marshall is 2-3 on the season and ranked 174th in KenPom. While maybe not quite as good as Saint Joseph’s they are a team capable of providing a test, especially phyiscally.
That said, let’s take a closer look at the matchup.
Rebounding Battle
One of the biggest reasons for Kentucky’s struggles against Saint Joseph’s was due to being outrebounded. Marshall is also a team that crashes the boards effectively, with four players averaging five rebounds or more, highlighted by Nate Martin who is averaging more than nine rebounds per game. Meaning, each Wildcat will have to do their part and box out.
While Martin is the leading rebounder, the Herd also have another big that plays limited minutes, but averages over 13 rebounds per 40 minutes. That player is Goran Miladinovic, who stands 7’0, 244 pounds.
One positive is that Marshall takes eight less three-pointers than Saint Joseph’s, resulting in fewer long rebounds. That said, it’s still going to a battle on the boards, but Kentucky can’t allow 14 offensive rebounds again.
Play Fast, Play Loose
Marshall plays a fast pace that Kentucky is very comfortably playing. In terms of possessions per game, they are withing half of a possessions of each other with Marshall ay 76.7 and Kentucky at 76.2. Both teams ranked in the top 60
That said, Kentucky is by far the more efficient offensively. To view that, let’s take a look at some stat comparisons.
Points Per Possession
- Kentucky: 1.176 (18th nationally)
- Marshall: .942 (254th nationally)
Effective Field Goal Percentage
- Kentucky: 57.1% (25th nationally)
- Marshall: 45.1% (286th nationally)
That said, Kentucky should be able to outscore them at the least. With just a 24.6 percent team three-point percentage, hopefully Marshall will be unable to joining the list of opposing teams that shoot absurdly well in Rupp Arena.
Will Aaron Bradshaw Play?
On Tuesday afternoon, Aaron Bradshaw posted an Instagram story with the caption, “God is great man 🤞,” seemingly hinting at return. Shortly after, reports began to surface that he would begin practicing on Wednesday, which has been confirmed.
So the natural question is, will he play against Marshall?
Kentucky will practice just once before the Marshall game, on Wednesday, as Tuesday was a rest day following Monday’s game and Thanksgiving is Thursday. That said, it is unlikely to see Bradshaw on the court after just one practice, and unlikely that he will debut against a top 10 Miami team. That puts a return around UNC Wilmington on December 2nd, or against Penn in a Philadelphia homecoming game on December 9th.
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