The Sun Belt Conference will feature some early afternoon basketball on Thursday, as the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks hit the road to face the Marshall Thundering Herd. With Marshall sitting comfortably above .500 and ULM struggling through a difficult season, the Thundering Herd are heavy favorites on their home floor. This game features an early start time due to an impending snowstorm in the south. Before this contest gets going, continue reading for my UL Monroe vs Marshall prediction in college hoops.
Our UL Monroe vs Marshall Pick
Pick:
UL Monroe +18.5 ATS PRO
Confidence:
3/5
Game Snapshot
Matchup: UL Monroe Warhawks @ Marshall Thundering Herd
Date & Time: Thursday, January 22, 2026, 12:00 PM ET
Venue: Cam Henderson Center, Huntington, West Virginia
Broadcast: ESPN+
Key Storylines
The Warhawks enter this game with a 3-16 overall record and an 0-7 record in Sun Belt play, including a blowout loss to Georgia State in their most recent outing. Their scoring has been subpar at 72.8 points per game while allowing over 82 points per game, leaving them with a large negative scoring differential. ULM’s offensive struggles and defensive inefficiency have been apparent all season long and they are expected to struggle on both ends of the floor in this game as well.
Marshall has been stronger than UL Monroe, sitting at 12-7 overall with a 4-3 Sun Belt record. They average nearly 80 points per game while allowing just over 75, giving them a positive scoring differential on aggregate. The Herd have shown some ability to shoot from deep and rebound effectively, particularly at home. They snapped a two-game losing streak with a win over James Madison in their last game and Marshall will try to build on that performance in this game.
This game was originally scheduled to tip off at 5:00 PM ET on Thursday evening. But the winter weather throughout the United States has prompted the Sun Belt to opt to change the start times for their games on Thursday. It is possible that additional games are changed over the weekend, but we are in for several early games on Thursday in the Sun Belt for the time being.
Head-to-Head & Betting Trends
These teams are 1-1 against each other all-time.
UL Monroe is 9-8 against the spread so far this season.
Marshall is 6-11-1 against the spread going into Thursday afternoon.
The over is 13-4 in UL Monroe's games this year.
Marshall is 9-8-1 to the over in their games this year.
UL Monroe vs Marshall Model Projection
Score Projection: Marshall 88 – UL Monroe 72 ATS PRO
Win Probability: Marshall 87%, UL Monroe 13% ATS PRO
Final Thoughts
Marshall is a much better team than UL Monroe, but laying 18.5 points is a big ask in a game with such an early start. All it takes is a slow start or a few lackluster minutes for a huge favorite to blow a cover like this. I'm going to take the points with the Warhawks, with the hope that they can get off to a decent enough start to stay within striking distance.
Jay Sanin is the GM and Head of Sports at ATS.io. He has been writing about sports gambling since 2013, handicapping tens of thousands of sporting events. He plays sides and totals aggressively across most sports and is more selective in player prop markets. He does his own modeling across most sports, and his family is jealous of how much time he spends on his precious spreadsheets.
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