HUNTINGTON - There are a few certainties with modern-day Marshall basketball. The ball is going to whip around so fast it will make you dizzy. And the 3-pointers are going up - after Saturday's games, the Herd has attempted at least 152 more than other Conference USA team.
And good inside games will give the Thundering Herd trouble. Take the 7-2 Herd's two losses, to Charlotte and the gut-punch setback Saturday against Alabama-Birmingham.
At Charlotte, Joseph Ochebo struck for 24 points and 21 rebounds, eight on the offensive end. It could have been worse for the Herd - his 11-of-23 from the floor included six missed layups.
UAB provides double trouble with Chris Cokley and William Lee. They combined to shoot 12 of 21 and score 26 points. Cokley's baskets were assisted by capable point guard Nick Norton three times, Lee once.
Catch the pass, take one good pivot move, see the open layup and score. Another big man who has pestered the Herd was Adrian Diaz of Florida International (8 of 11, 16 points).
Marshall's best chance is to deny the entry pass, and the Herd has been successful at times. Ryan Taylor is tough enough but undersized at 6-foot-5, and James Kelly is not exactly a defensive specialist at the "five." Both men have to stay out of foul trouble, which can limit aggressiveness.
At the other end, I was not surprised that UAB had the best inside defense I've seen. The Blazers officially blocked only three shots (Lee was not credited with one), but altered or deterred several others. This too: The Herd did not convert an alley-oop basket, nor do I remember an attempt.
n Another issue: Will the Herd have enough in the tank to get through this month and into March?
The upcoming schedule is not kind, as the Herd makes the long trudge to Texas-El Paso and Texas-San Antonio this week. A visit to Western Kentucky comes the next week, the first of five straight rematch games.
The Herd plays only two home games in February, the 18th against Charlotte and the 20th against Old Dominion.
But there are positives. I think the Thursday-Saturday format works in the favor of a short-bench team, with five days between the two-in-three format. The Herd gets a full week before playing WKU on Feb. 13.
n When some team loses in a controversial ending, at least two annoying themes pop up.
First, there is "if you play better, you take the game out of the official's hands." Well nooooo joke, Sherlock!
The truth of the matter is this: Close games happen. The Herd was playing a deep, talented bunch of Blazers, and played well enough for a chance to win.
Second and much more offensive is the "you have to officiate differently at the end of the game" crowd. Or the "let the players decide the game" crowd.
Oh, puh-leeeeeeeze.
That is the second-worst philosophy in all of sports, only "behind" rooting for your team to lose so as to get the coach fired. (If you do that, please stop following sports.)
If it's a foul in the first five seconds, it's a foul in the last five. If it's not a foul in the last five seconds, it's not a foul in the first five.
n I'm not sure about the idea of selling beer at MU football games. You may have heard that Big Green members have received questionnaires on the matter, along with that of halftime pass-outs.
Let's remove the questions of morality, fan experience and revenue for a second. My biggest concerns are purely about infrastructure.
Joan C. Edwards Stadium needs improvements, including wider concourses and more bathrooms. If you're going to sell beer and/or end pass-outs, you really, really need those.
When the stadium expanded from 30,000 to 38,000 seats for the 2001 season, it was done in a haphazard manner. There were no bathrooms added, and a journey from the far-corner seats to the nearest loo has to be painful.
n Some schools sell beer at basketball games. I have seen Louisville's KFC Yum! Center referred to as "the world's largest sports bar."
Maybe I'm stuck in the rowdier 1970s and '80s, but I envision being in the flight path of a half-full beer after UAB's Nick Horton trucked MU's Stevie Browning and the officials choked on their whistles.
n A word on officiating assignments: Officials are contractors hired by conferences and assigned on a game-by-game basis. They are not beholden to a single conference, region or even division.
I'd daresay the crew for the Herd-UAB game was assigned when the matchup didn't look so attractive. Conversely, C-USA had assignment duties for the last-ever Capital Classic in December and were able to bring in the best.
I was told that crew of John DeRosa, John Higgins and Mike Roberts worked a combined nine Final Fours. At times, the crew that worked Saturday looked as if it would struggle to call a Connect Four game.
n Marshall hosted an indoor track meet Saturday at its new Cline Athletic Complex, which serves many more purposes than indoor football practice.
Sixteen women's teams and eight men's teams competed. The host team finished sixth among the women, but was nonexistent on the men's side.
No, really, the MU men's team is nonexistent, and has been since 2003-04. Twelve years later, it's more embarrassing than ever.
n I guess I shouldn't root against blue-chip football players who announce their choice of colleges Wednesday on ESPNU, even if it's the most blatant example of self-absorption expressed by a teenager who hasn't accomplished much.
Fortunately, I don't keep track.
I'm trying to figure out what to watch that morning: 1997 Classic College Basketball (Florida State at Wake Forest), Monster Jam from Tampa or whatever's on Golf Channel.
Or maybe "The View."
Will Whoopi Goldberg "flip" her commitment from ABC to NBC?