HUNTINGTON - Marshall assistant coach Mark Cline broke down his team's game with Western Kentucky before the opening tip.
The Thundering Herd's offensive flow versus the Hilltoppers' changing defenses would be key. Would MU attack the WKU defense or slow down?
Also, would Marshall be bullied on the glass?
"Yeah, that was the message all week, that they would switch up zones," said MU standout and Charleston native Jon Elmore. "A lot of teams have started mixing up their defenses against us, throwing different looks at us."
In the first half, it was a battle of the keys. Marshall was effectively attacking WKU's defense, rallying from a 14-point disadvantage to score 40 points and take a one-point lead into the locker room.
On the other hand, Western Kentucky's 6-foot-7 Justin Johnson, 7-1 Ben Lawson and 6-7 Anton Waters were bullying Marshall inside.
Back and forth it went. MU's attacking offense versus WKU's inside game. Even when Marshall's Ajdin Penava would come up with a blocked shot, it would careen and end in a Johnson dunk.
At the break, WKU held a 29-18 rebounding advantage and 22-12 edge in points in the paint.
It set up for a terrific finish.
Except, well, forget the ol' forum. A funny thing happened on the way to that finish.
Elmore, Austin Loop and Stevie Browning started raining treys on the Hilltoppers. The script was interrupted like a Robin Williams ad lib. Those keys were tossed aside as if found in a basement.
The final box score showed that WKU outrebounded the hosts 50-34. In the paint, the Hilltoppers destroyed the Thundering Herd 42-18.
But it didn't matter. Elmore and company wore out the voice of public address announcer Mike Kirtner with his 3-point calls.
In the end, Marshall tied a school record with 19 treys. Elmore had 27 points. Browning added 23 and Loop 17.
Coming off back-to-back losses at Middle Tennessee and UAB, it was a necessary MU victory if it hoped to build on a nice start to the season.
"We were a little hot and then hit a bump on the road," Elmore said. "Hopefully we'll keep this up."
If Marshall continues to move the ball as it did Saturday, the Herd will always be competitive.
"I feel we got a little stagnant with the ball and out of our system on the road," Elmore said. "But the way we moved the ball tonight ... we kept playing hard and kept moving. It really countered their switching of zones and defenses. We just have to keep playing like that."
MU connected on 19 of 41 3-point attempts. That's an impressive 46.3 percent.
"That's Marshall basketball," Elmore said. "That's the way we practice. Sometimes they're falling; sometimes they're not. But we're going to keep firing. We were hitting on all cylinders tonight."
He paused.
"It was a great feeling for everybody to get going," he said. "It didn't seem like one person was necessarily off. It felt like everybody had their 'A' game tonight. Hopefully we can keep this up."
Part of this season's story, of course, is Elmore playing - and starring - near his home of Charleston.
"It's huge," he said. "I look out in the crowd and 75 percent of the people there I've seen before. I know half of them on a daily basis. I have a bunch of friends and family that come from Charleston. I've made a bunch of friends in Huntington. To see all of them come together and rally around the school is great.
"Coach [Dan] D'Antoni has that saying, 'Stay and play.' That's actually really neat because you see how many people are starting to get back into Marshall basketball."
On Saturday, 6,813 showed at the Henderson Center. The average home attendance had been 5,543. So, yes, the support seems to be growing.
It's probably partly because of D'Antoni's offense. It's probably partly because of the roles of state players.
The key there though - one that will never change - will be winning.
There are 11 regular-season games left for the Herd.
It shall be interesting.
Contact Mitch Vingle at 304-348-4827 or mitchvingle@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @MitchVingle.