# 1955–56 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team

The 1955–56 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team represented Marshall College (now Marshall University) during the 1955–56 NCAA men's basketball season. The Thundering Herd, led by first-year head coach Jule Rivlin, played their home games at the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 18–5, 10–2 in MAC play to finish in first place. For the first time in school history, they received the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost to Morehead State in the first round.
The season also marked the first time in the program's history that the Thundering Herd were ranked in the AP Poll during the season, coming in at No. 18 on the week of January 31.

## Schedule/results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Dec 8, 1955* | | Spring Hill | W 83–69 | 1–0 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Dec 10, 1955* | | Washington and Lee | W 115–83 | 2–0 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Dec 15, 1955 | | Ohio | W 87–71 | 3–0 (1–0) | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Dec 17, 1955 | | at Western Michigan | L 70–80 | 3–1 (1–1) | Oakland Gymnasium Kalamazoo, MI |
| Dec 20, 1955* | | at Morehead State | L 89–102 | 3–2 | Button Hall Morehead, KY |
| Dec 29, 1955* | | vs. Boston College Fayetteville Invitational | W 130–69 | 4–2 | Fayetteville, IN |
| Dec 30, 1955* | | vs. Denver Fayetteville Invitational | W 79–78 | 5–2 | Fayetteville, IN |
| Jan 4, 1956 | | Miami (OH) | W 99–93 | 6–2 (2–1) | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Jan 7, 1956 | | Western Michigan | W 85–72 | 7–2 (3–1) | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Jan 12, 1956 | | at Ohio | W 72–63 | 8–2 (4–1) | Woodruff Hall Athens, OH |
| Jan 14, 1956 | | Toledo | W 92–53 | 9–2 (5–1) | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Jan 18, 1956* | | Morris Harvey | W 115–76 | 10–2 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Jan 20, 1956* | | at Baldwin Wallace | W 91–87 | 11–2 | Berea, OH |
| Jan 21, 1956 | | at Kent State | W 97–83 | 12–2 (6–1) | Men's Physical Education Building Kent, OH |
| Jan 28, 1956 | | Kent State | W 110–108 | 13–2 (7–1) | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Feb 2, 1956* | No. 18 | Morehead State | L 103–108 | 13–3 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Feb 7, 1956* | | West Virginia Wesleyan | W 85–64 | 14–3 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Feb 10, 1956 | | at Bowling Green | W 87–85 | 15–3 (8–1) | Bowling Green, OH |
| Feb 11, 1956 | | at Toledo | W 78–70 | 16–3 (9–1) | The Field House Toledo, OH |
| Feb 20, 1956 | | Bowling Green | W 95–91 | 17–3 (10–1) | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Feb 22, 1956 | | at Miami (OH) | L 82–103 | 17–4 (10–2) | Withrow Court Oxford, OH |
| Feb 25, 1956* | | at Morris Harvey | W 109–91 | 18–4 | Charleston, WV |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1956* | | vs. Morehead State First Round – Midwest Region | L 92–107 | 18–5 | Allen County War Memorial Coliseum Fort Wayne, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||