So why, oh why, is Marshall's basketball team stuck in a three-game losing streak, one that has sent the Thundering Herd plunging into the middle of the Conference USA pack?
I'm not the one with all the answers, but I can spot a trend, a common denominator in the setbacks against Texas-El Paso, Southern Mississippi and Louisiana Tech. If you're going to look somewhere, look at the second half and compare to the first half.
The difference is startling.
In the first half of the 94-90 loss Saturday at Louisiana Tech, the Herd shot 56.3 percent from the floor both from 3- and 2-point range - 9 of 16 at each distance. In the second half, that tumbled to 35.9 percent, 4 of 13 from behind the arc.
The disparity was more pronounced in the 91-76 debacle Thursday at Southern Miss. Marshall shot 51.6 percent in the first half, but that fell to 32.3 percent after halftime.
Add up Marshall's shooting lines and you'll see a substantial difference. The Herd was 48.9 percent in the first half of the three losses, but 33.7 percent in the second half. On 3-point goals, the Herd was 17 of 44 (38.6 percent) in the first, 8 of 40 (20 percent) in the second.
Shoot, the Herd even dipped in free-throw shooting, from 76.5 percent to 61.4 percent.
So why is this Herd offense hitting the skids late?
Looking over the season's box scores, the Herd had similar second-half dips in losses to Akron and Cincinnati. Against the Bearcats, the Herd slumped from 48.6 percent to 33.3 percent, falling from 14 of 22 from 3-point range to 2 of 7.
In that game, Marshall riddled the Bearcats' soft matchup zone early. When UC wised up and used a straight man-to-man, the shots weren't so open and the Bearcats rallied.
That team is now 21-2, unbeaten in the American Athletic Conference and ranked 14th in the land. What about Marshall's current three-game skid?
As always, defense is an issue, and the Herd gave up 56 percent shooting in the last three second halves. This undersized team is going to concede some baskets inside, but that number has to come down.
That can affect the offense. If you're giving up three, four baskets in a row, you may press on the offensive end. If you suddenly lose a lead, as happened in both games last week, you may press harder.
I always look at conditioning. Is the Herd tiring out as the calendar flips to the dog days of February, looking for a collective second wind?
Could be. I only know one thing: The bench has shortened in conference play, which isn't uncommon.
Looking at subs after the starting five and sixth-man C.J. Burks, the rest of the bench played 19 minutes in the UTEP game on Jan. 28, then hit a season-low 10 minutes in the Southern Miss game. That raised to 27 at Louisiana Tech, thanks to 21 mostly strong minutes by Ajdin Penava.
But Penava faltered toward the end, getting his a potential game-tying shot blasted on a weak drive to the basket. Did he forget he was playing the American game again, or was he getting tired?
I don't know. Just putting it out there.
And finally, consider the opposition. Southern Miss is the inexplicable game - even in Hattiesburg, the Herd should not have collapsed badly enough to lose by double digits. Conversely, Louisiana Tech is 31-2 in league games at home since joining C-USA, and the switch has flipped for a formerly woeful UTEP team.
If you missed it, the Miners rallied from 17 points down to knock off league leader Middle Tennessee on Saturday night, 57-54. They have won six of the last seven and 7-foot-1 Matt Willms is rising above a league of glorified power forwards.
MU's schedule doesn't get easier. The next four opponents are a combined 16 games over .500 in league play, and there isn't a gimme until the season finale, March 4 against 0-10 North Texas. Next up is the trip to Western Kentucky, a 6 p.m. game Saturday.
Whatever the root cause, the Herd must figure out how to end those second-half funks.
Contact Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsmock@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @dougsmock and read his blog at http://blogs.wvgazettemail.com/dougsmock/.