# 1971–72 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team

The 1971–72 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team represented Marshall University during the 1971–72 NCAA University Division men's basketball season. The Thundering Herd, led by first-year head coach Carl Tacy, played their home games at the Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse as an Independent. They finished the season 23–4 and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost to Southwestern Louisiana in the First Round. They finished ranked No. 12 in the AP Poll and No. 18 in the UPI Poll.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Dec 4, 1971 | | South Dakota | W 104–70 | 1–0 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,225) Huntington, WV |
| Dec 8, 1971 | | Saint Peter's | W 106–71 | 2–0 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Dec 11, 1971 | | George Washington | W 97–73 | 3–0 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,254) Huntington, WV |
| Dec 13, 1971 | | at Morehead State | W 105–82 | 4–0 | Wetherby Gymnasium (5,500) Morehead, KY |
| Dec 17, 1971 | | Mississippi State Marshall Memorial Invitational | W 95–69 | 5–0 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,344) Huntington, WV |
| Dec 18, 1971 | | No. 8 St. John's Marshall Memorial Invitational | W 110–107 $^{OT}$ | 6–0 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,344) Huntington, WV |
| Dec 20, 1971 | | Maine | W 100–68 | 7–0 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,180) Huntington, WV |
| Dec 27, 1971 | No. 20 | vs. Wisconsin Milwaukee Classic | W 85–83 | 8–0 | Milwaukee Arena (10,746) Milwaukee, WI |
| Dec 28, 1971 | No. 17 | at No. 2 Marquette Milwaukee Classic | L 72–74 | 8–1 | Milwaukee Arena (10,746) Milwaukee, WI |
| Dec 30, 1971 | No. 17 | Ohio | W 88–81 | 9–1 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,500) Huntington, WV |
| Jan 6, 1972 | No. 13 | Morehead State | L 98–103 | 9–2 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,742) Huntington, WV |
| Jan 8, 1972 | No. 13 | Western Michigan | W 102–77 | 10–2 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Jan 12, 1972 | No. 20 | DePauw | W 102–76 | 11–2 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,270) Huntington, WV |
| Jan 15, 1972 | No. 20 | at Morris Harvey | W 88–69 | 12–2 | Charleston Civic Center (7,100) Charleston, WV |
| Jan 19, 1972 | No. 16 | Miami (OH) | W 81–63 | 13–2 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,333) Huntington, WV |
| Jan 22, 1972 | No. 16 | at Bowling Green | W 103–80 | 14–2 | Anderson Arena (4,480) Bowling Green, OH |
| Jan 29, 1972 | No. 14 | Morris Harvey | W 78–68 | 15–2 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,473) Huntington, WV |
| Feb 3, 1972 | No. 11 | Cleveland State | W 102–70 | 16–2 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,312) Huntington, WV |
| Feb 5, 1972 | No. 11 | vs. Long Island | W 70–61 | 17–2 | Madison Square Garden New York, NY |
| Feb 8, 1972 | No. 11 | at Samford | W 92–79 | 18–2 | Seibert Hall (3,100) Homewood, AL |
| Feb 12, 1972 | No. 11 | Bowling Green | W 91–67 | 19–2 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse Huntington, WV |
| Feb 16, 1972 | No. 10 | at Ohio | W 95–76 | 20–2 | Convocation Center (10,965) Athens, OH |
| Feb 19, 1972 | No. 10 | at UNC Charlotte | W 89–69 | 21–2 | Belk Gymnasium (3,750) Charlotte, NC |
| Feb 21, 1972 | No. 10 | at Saint Francis (PA) | W 95–80 | 22–2 | Johnstown War Memorial Arena Johnstown, PA |
| Feb 29, 1972 | No. 9 | UNC Charlotte | W 76–59 | 23–2 | Veterans Memorial Fieldhouse (6,519) Huntington, WV |
| Mar 2, 1972 | No. 9 | at Miami (OH) | L 71–77 | 23–3 | Millett Hall Oxford, OH |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1972 | No. 10 | vs. No. 9 Southwestern Louisiana First Round – Midwest Region | L 101–112 | 23–4 | Pan American Center (3,976) Las Cruces, NM |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||