Marshall can take one bit of solace in its 28.6 percent shooting performance Wednesday at Memphis: It probably won't be the only Conference USA team whose offense is so shackled.

Among its usual stratospheric goals, Memphis is aiming to break the modern record for field-goal percentage defense, the 35.2 percent set by Stanford in 1999-2000.

If the Tigers defend like they did in their 80-57 win Wednesday night over Marshall, it could very well happen. After suffocating the Thundering Herd, the season figure fell to 36.1 percent.

While the Tigers continued their momentum and won their fifth in a row, Marshall is left to rebuild its offensive confidence after hitting 21.2 percent in the second half. That effort comes on the heels of an 80-70 loss at San Diego, preceded a week or so by a 62-50 setback at Dayton.

"We've played three very good defensive teams," said Herd coach Donnie Jones. "Two of those three teams we played are top-five in the country in defense. We had trouble scoring, but those teams had something to do with it, too.

"This Memphis team is better defensively than they were last year."

The Memphis game was the Herd's roughest shooting night in the Jones era. Marshall hadn't failed to shoot 30 percent in a game since going 29.3 percent in a 70-57 loss at Alabama-Birmingham on Feb. 24, 2007.

The second half was the Herd's worst since going 16.7 percent in the first half last season at UAB. When Memphis played at Cam Henderson Center last January, Marshall was held to 23.3 percent after halftime.

With East Carolina coming to town for a 3 p.m. game Saturday, Jones is not interested in a repeat. And he has several players who need to get back on track, as they have slumped during the Herd's 1-3 stretch.

Scanning the Herd-Memphis boxscore, you might be drawn to the stat lines of Marshall's Chris Lutz, Tirrell Baines and Dago Pena, each of whom went 0-for-5 from the floor.

Marshall can take one bit of solace in its 28.6 percent shooting performance Wednesday at Memphis: It probably won't be the only Conference USA team whose offense is so shackled.

Among its usual stratospheric goals, Memphis is aiming to break the modern record for field-goal percentage defense, the 35.2 percent set by Stanford in 1999-2000.

If the Tigers defend like they did in their 80-57 win Wednesday night over Marshall, it could very well happen. After suffocating the Thundering Herd, the season figure fell to 36.1 percent.

While the Tigers continued their momentum and won their fifth in a row, Marshall is left to rebuild its offensive confidence after hitting 21.2 percent in the second half. That effort comes on the heels of an 80-70 loss at San Diego, preceded a week or so by a 62-50 setback at Dayton.

"We've played three very good defensive teams," said Herd coach Donnie Jones. "Two of those three teams we played are top-five in the country in defense. We had trouble scoring, but those teams had something to do with it, too.

"This Memphis team is better defensively than they were last year."

The Memphis game was the Herd's roughest shooting night in the Jones era. Marshall hadn't failed to shoot 30 percent in a game since going 29.3 percent in a 70-57 loss at Alabama-Birmingham on Feb. 24, 2007.

The second half was the Herd's worst since going 16.7 percent in the first half last season at UAB. When Memphis played at Cam Henderson Center last January, Marshall was held to 23.3 percent after halftime.

With East Carolina coming to town for a 3 p.m. game Saturday, Jones is not interested in a repeat. And he has several players who need to get back on track, as they have slumped during the Herd's 1-3 stretch.

Scanning the Herd-Memphis boxscore, you might be drawn to the stat lines of Marshall's Chris Lutz, Tirrell Baines and Dago Pena, each of whom went 0-for-5 from the floor.

Lutz has two points combined in losses at San Diego and Memphis and is 0-for-8 from 3-point range in the young calendar year of 2009. He shot a blistering 54.1 percent from long range in the 2008 portion of the schedule, in the games he wasn't sidelined.

Baines, the sophomore power forward, has tallied just one point and seven rebounds in the last two games. He also was held to seven points and three boards Dec. 23 against Dayton, giving him three tough games sandwiching an inspired 18-point effort Dec. 30 against Tennessee State.

"It's one of those things," Jones said. "I wish I knew the answer. They're working hard; they've got a great attitude. They've just got to regain their confidence. We've got to hug them a little bit.

"It's a slump, just like the Celtics. Ray Allen is going 5-for-30 from the 3-point line, and he's one of the best shooters in the world."

On the other hand, Herd regulars Tyler Wilkerson and Markel Humphrey have picked up the pace. Wilkerson had 11 points and eight rebounds against Memphis, but enjoyed a strong 22-point, 15-rebound night at San Diego.

Humphrey, considered questionable at Memphis, played 28 minutes and led the Herd with 14 points. Struggling with his aching left foot, he was held to a basket in Dayton and San Diego.

"The three days' rest was good for him, and I took a little pressure off of him bringing him off the bench," Jones said. "He took a shot in that foot to knock some of the inflammation off. I thought he played the best game of the year. He did a lot of things that didn't show up in the stats."

Reach Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.