Talk » third game with 30 or more points this season. The Rap

Huntington, WV (SportsNetwork.com) - The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs made it out of the Conference USA West Division with a 7-1 mark in league play, and will travel this weekend to face the Marshall Thundering Herd in the conferences championship clash at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. Louisiana Tech breezed through Conference USA competition during the regular season until an overtime loss against Old Dominion in the second-to-last week raised some concerns. But the Bulldogs squashed those feelings with an absolutely dominant 76-31 victory over defending C-USA champion Rice at home to earn a spot in the title game. Marshall had already clinched its spot in the title contest after running through East Division play and earning an unblemished record up until the regular-season finale. Even though the Herds dreams of a perfect record were shattered by Western Kentucky last weekend in a 67-66 loss, the team is still a favorite to take the conference crown. These two conference rivals have met just one time on the football field before this championship matchup - a 26-0 shutout by the Bulldogs back in the 1942 season in Ruston, Louisiana. Its been 72 years since that clash, so this second matchup could be well worth the wait. Louisiana Tech entered this season with high hopes, but it wasnt until the team took the field that fans saw what the Bulldogs were capable of. The strong offense, which averages 38.8 ppg entering the title tilt with Marshall, is led by two of the strongest offensive stars in the league. Running back Kenneth Dixon had a stellar regular season, finishing the campaign with 1,080 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on 220 carries. He led the team averaging 90.0 ypg, but also served as a primary target out of the backfield in the passing game. He caught five touchdown receptions and averaged another 25.5 ypg through the air during the season. Dixon is coming off a three-touchdown game against Rice. Cody Sokol took the reins under center and ran with them this season. The signal caller passed for 3,117 yards (ranked 23rd in the FBS) with 29 touchdown tosses. He averaged 259.8 passing ypg in 12 contests, and comes into this game sporting a completion percentage just shy of 60 percent. As an offensive unit, the Bulldogs are gaining 415.2 ypg. Dixon is certainly one of Sokols main weapons through the air, but Trent Taylor has made his mark more than anyone in the passing game. Taylor enters this weekend averaging 67.3 ypg receiving, having caught 61 passes this season for 808 yards and a team-best nine touchdowns. Dixons five receiving scores is second on the squad, while Paul Turner has proven his worth with 38 receptions for 466 yards and four scores through the air. The teams defense will have its hands full as it prepares for a Marshall offense that ranks second in the nation in scoring and total offense. But that hasnt stopped the Bulldogs from doing plenty of damage this season, holding opponents to 349.6 offensive ypg and 25.2 ppg. The same Western Kentucky team that just posted 67 points on Marshalls defense was held to a mere 10 points by Louisiana Tech back on the first day of November, which could be very telling. Kentrell Brice leads the Bulldogs this season with 73 tackles, adding in three sacks, two interceptions and four forced fumbles. But Tony Johnson isnt far behind Brices tackle total with 69 on the season, adding in six quarterback hurries. Linemen Houston Bates (nine tackles for loss, 10 quarterback hurries) and Vernon Butler (12.5 tackles for loss) are going to need to be very active in trying to get to Marshall quarterback Rakeem Cato and slowing down a high- powered run game. The Bulldogs do lead the nation in takeaways with 36 (12 fumble recoveries, 24 interceptions). This football team is really special to me because I do not know that I have had a football team that has had to overcome so much, with the schedule, new faces, new coaches and everything to make this year work, coach Skip Holtz said. This group of guys is really special. They will always have a special place in my heart. Marshall could be in for a real shock if running back Devon Johnson cant go this weekend after suffering a shoulder injury in last weekends loss to WKU. The tailback carried the ball just three times before he was knocked out of the game and replaced by Steward Butler, who ran for 233 yards and a pair of scores in the relief effort. This season, Johnson has been a monster out of the backfield, gaining 1,602 yards with 16 rushing scores, averaging 145.6 rushing ypg. Its unclear if he will be ready to go this weekend Devon, hes not in real good shape right now, coach Doc Holliday said after the teams loss to the Hilltoppers. Fortunately for Marshall, Butler has rushed for 761 yards and seven touchdowns this season in the reserve role. Cato has been a capable runner as well, scoring six touchdowns with his feet. But the passing game is where Cato excels the most, throwing for 3,314 yards and 35 touchdowns against 12 interceptions (four of which came in last weekends loss). The senior signal caller did toss a school single-game record seven touchdowns in that contest, however. Hes the centerpiece of an offense that is averaging 46.7 ppg and 574.6 offensive ypg. The bottom line is weve got to put (the loss to WKU) behind us because were playing for a championship, Holliday said. And the leadership on this football team has to do a tremendous job of putting this game behind us and moving on because the ultimate goal was to win a championship, and weve still got that out there for us. Defensively, the Herd have been dominant as well. The 67 points allowed to Western Kentucky raised the teams scoring average significantly, and its still at a mere 20.7 ppg. It was the first time all season long that Marshall allowed more than 27 points to a challenger, and just the third time all season the Herd gave up more than 20 points or more in a single game. Linebacker Neville Hewitt leads the team with 100 tackles this season, adding in 10.5 tackles for loss with 4.5 sacks. He and lineman Arnold Blackmon (13 tackles for loss, eight sacks, four forced fumbles) will be the two players the Herd turn to in order to slow down Dixon and Sokol. Darryl Roberts (15 pass breakups), Corey Tindal (11 pass breakups) and Taj Letman (four interceptions) will be tasked with keeping the strong Louisiana Tech pass game in check. Scarpe Running Asics Outlet .1 million contract. The club said that Boll will earn $950,000 in 2012-13 and $1.15 million in 2013-14. The 26-year-old Boll had two goals and one assist with 126 penalty minutes in 54 games with the Blue Jackets in 2011-12. Scarpe Asics Uomo Scontate . Chan captured two silver medals at last months Sochi Winter Games — mens singles and the inaugural team event. But he doesnt have the urge to resume training to defend his world title when the event is held in Saitama, Japan, later this month. http://www.asicsscontate.it/ . The Philadelphia Eagles acquired running back Darren Sproles from the New Orleans Saints for a fifth-round draft pick on Tuesday. Scarpe Asics Scontate . Goodell said in an ESPN Radio interview Monday (http://es.pn/1gkbauy ) that participants played harder and made the game very competitive. Goodell says he had fun watching the game Sunday and thinks fans did, too. Scarpe Asics In Offerta . Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reports that the Raptors have traded forward Steve Novak along with a second-round pick to the Utah Jazz in exchange for guard Diante Garrett - who will then be waived.TORONTO - Sitting atop the Atlantic for the first time since 2007, the Raptors (5-7) hope to build on their lead in the division when they host the Washington Wizards (4-7) at the Air Canada Centre on Friday. Catch the game on TSN2 and listen live on TSN 1050 Radio beginning at 7pm et. The Raptors dethroned Philadelphia in the weak Atlantic Division with their most recent victory, a 108-98 road win Wednesday. After emphasizing ball movement in practice this week, Dwane Caseys team responded with a season-high 24 assists, leading to 14-for-29 shooting from three-point range. Still, Casey believes the offence has a ways to go. "We have been [where we need to be] in one game but we have to get that consistently," Casey said of his teams offence. "Im watching the NBA and a lot of teams are in the same boat, trying to find that identity offensively and were doing the same thing." "I like where we started against Philadelphia, we got to continue that especially against an athletic and defensive-minded team like Washington." After losing four straight, the Wizards have won two in a row but are tied for last place in the loaded Southeast Division with a similar record to Toronto. Washington got off to a quick start against the Cavaliers on Wednesday - a 98-91 win in Cleveland - leading by 18 at halftime and by as many as 27 in the game. Sophomore Bradley Beal paced the Wizards in scoring with 26 points, knocking down six three-pointers. "Theyre a very lethal team with great athletes, a team that can defend and cover a lot of ground," Casey said Friday morning after shootaround. "They can make mistakes and get back in the play defensively." Beal is averaging 26.3 points, shooting 12-for-19 from long distance over Washingtons last three games. He is scoring a team-best 21.2 per game on the season. Trends and Tidbits Kyle Lowry ranks third in the NBA with a 3.95 assists-to-turnover ratio. The Raptors point guard has totalled 34 assists compared to just five turnovers over the last four games. The Raptors have scored 100 or more points in five of the last six games, averaging 103.3, after failing to reach the century mark in each of their first six contests, scoring just 92.3 per. Toronto is 3-2 when scoring over 100 and are 5-3 when holding their opponent below 100 points. Toronto begins a four-game homestand, its longest of the season. The Raptors are 2-3 at the ACC. The Wizards are last in the league in bench scoring, getting just 22.0 points per game from their reserves. The Raptors subs are averaging 24.2 points, the fourth-lowest mark in the NBA. Washington has lost sixx of the last seven games in Toronto.dddddddddddd What to Watch For Slowing down the Wizards Led by the speedy John Wall, the Wizards are one of the quickest and most lethal teams in transition, averaging 19.3 fast-break points per game, good for second in the league. "Our focus has to be [to get] back," Casey said. "Not only the guy guarding [Wall], but we have to have four of his teammates back building a wall." Defending the three Winning the battle behind the arc is important for the Raptors after they were burned by the three-ball in Sundays loss to Portland. Toronto connected on a season-best 14 three-pointers in Philadelphia Wednesday after allowing the Trail Blazers to shoot 15-of-32 from deep three days prior. Beal is third in the NBA, having hit 33 treys to begin the season while the Wizards rank eighth in both three-point shots made and three-point percentage. "Offensively, theyre one of the best corner three-point shooting teams in the league," Casey acknowledged. "So thats something we have to have a focus on going into the game." Washington has shot more corner threes (97) than any team in the league, making the second most (43) from that territory. The Raptors rank 15th, shooting 41 per cent from the corners, where DeMar DeRozan has connected on 10 of his 16 attempts. Who to Watch For DeMar DeRozan DeRozan scored 33 points in Wednesdays win, his third game with 30 or more points this season. The Raptors guard is one of 11 players in the NBA with three or more 30-point games to begin the campaign. The fifth-year guard led the Raptors averaging 22.3 points in four games against the Wizards last year. John Wall Although Wall is shooting just 36 per cent from the field this season, hes recoded 37 assists over the last three games and is averaging a career-best 9.7. "Its humanly impossible to stop Wall in a one-on-one situation coast-to-coast," Casey said, praising the Wizards point guard. "I timed it against Cleveland the other night, against Kyrie Irving, he went from one end to the other in three seconds or a little bit less. Its unbelievable how fast he can go with the ball from coast-to-coast." Injury Report Raptors forward Quincy Acy participated in shootaround Friday morning after missing Wednesdays game with a sprained right ankle. Hell be a game-time decision. Back-up point guard Dwight Buycks has been excused from the team as he attends to a personal/family matter. Casey didnt indicate who, between D.J. Augustin and Julyan Stone, would back-up Lowry with Buycks unavailable Friday. ' ' '