No. 1 ODU MONARCHS (26-7) vs. MURRAY STATE RACERS (29-5)
National Invitation Tournament Quarterfinals
Tickets for the game will be $11 for adults and $5 for youth 17 and under. ODU students will be admitted free and validate tickets online at odusports.com/students. All seats will be general admission.
RADIO/TV COVERAGE
ESPN 94.1 in Hampton Roads; Sports FM 100.5 in Richmond, Va.;WBRG 104.5 FM & Super Talk 1050 AM in Lynchburg, Va. Play-by-play: Ted Alexander- Color Analysts: Dave Twardzik (ODU’72)
TV: – ESPN2: Rich Hollenberg (Play-by-Play); LaPhonso Ellis (Color)....
MONARCH PROBABLES
G 1 Aaron Bacote, 6-4 Jr, Hampton, VA. 10.2 ppg/ 3.2 rpg
G 0 Jordan Baker , 6-2, So., Hampton, VA. 3.8 ppg/ 2.1 rpg
G 20 Trey Freeman, 6-2, Jr. Virginia Beach, VA. 16.8 ppg/ 3.5 apg
F 35 Jonathan Arledge, 6-9, Gr. Silver Spring, MD. 8.8 ppg./4.9 rpg.
F 21 Denzell Taylor, 6-7, So., Ontario, Canada 3.1 ppg/ 6.1 rpg.
RESERVES
G 3 Keenan Palmore, 6-1, Jr. Stone Mountain, GA. 2.7 ppg/ 1.6 rpg
F 23 Richard Ross, 6-6, Sr., Wichita Falls, TX./ 8.1 ppg/ 5.6 rpg.
G 22 Ambrose Mosley, 6-2, RSo. Jacksonville, FL. 6.8 ppg/ 2.0 rpg
F 30 Nik Biberaj 6-8, Jr., Fairfax Station, VA. 2.1 ppg/ 1.8 rpg.
F 10 Javonte Douglas, 6-7, Jr., Charlotte, NC. 3.5 ppg/ 2.6 rpg
G 15 Deion Clark, 6-3, RSo. Naples, FL. 0.8 ppg/ 0.5 rpg.
F 11 Joe Ebondo, 6-7, Sr. Euless, TX. 0.3/ 1.0 rpg
G 2 Martin Shaw, 6-1, JR., Hampton, VA. 0.3 ppg/ 0.0 rpg.
MONARCH NOTES
ODU’s third appearance in NIT quarterfinals (1979 & 2006) – advanced to semifinals in 2006
ODU has won eight of last nine games.
ODU won 23 straight at home (Constant Center Best), 19-0 this year (2nd in C-USA to LA. Tech)
Head Coach Jeff Jones won his 400th career game vs. Charleston Southern.
So. Miss 38 points is the second lowest by an opponent this year(MT. St. Mary’s held to 35)
ODU has shot .50 percent or better vs. FIU,FAU, So. Miss & NC A&T
ODU is the only C-USA team to hold both LA Tech & Charlotte below 60 pts. They lead C-USA in scoring
ODU home attendance average is 7,132, (3 sellouts) second only to UTEP at 8446
Aaron Bacote became the 49th Monarchs to reach 1,000 career points vs. Charlotte.
The Ga. State win was ODU’s first OT win since 2-22-12 at GSU & first at home since 2-14-08 vs. Drexel.
ODU RPI is 46 as of March 14 (6 top 100 wins including VCU & LSU)
81 points (.703 FG PCT) by UAB is the most ODU has allowed this year
ODU has been held under 50 points twice (Ill. State & at UTEP)
13-1 start was the best in ODU’s Div. I history.
ODU is 3-0 against the Atlantic 10 (beating VCU, Richmond & Mason)
ODU’s win over No. 14 VCU was the first since the 61-57 at 11th ranked Georgetown in 2010
Trey Freeman is C-USA Newcomer of the Year Player/ All-Academic/Two-time Player of the Week
Jeff Jones is second vice-president of the NABC
Asst. coaches John Richardson & Lamar Barrett were teammates at Elizabeth City St.
ODU basketball players hail from seven different states & Canada.
SERIES VS. MURRAY STATE
Murray State leads the series, 2-1. The Racers defeated ODU 76-61 in the 1990-91 Puerto Rico Tournament and at Murray in the 2012-13, 79-72. ODU won last year’s match-up here in the Constant Center, 70-60.
Jeff Jones record
Record at ODU: 44-25 (2nd season)
Career Record: 401-312 (22 years)
NCAA NATIONAL RANKINGS
(10th) .56.5 Scoring Defense
(30th) +5.5 Rebound Margin
C-USA RANKINGS
Scoring – Freeman (3RD) 16.8
Field Goal PCT: Ross (4th) .578
Free Throw PCT: Bacote (2nd) .840
Rebounding: Taylor (14) 6.1
Assists: Freeman (7) 3.4
Steals: Freeman (8th) 1.4
Asst/TO Ratio: Freeman (5) 2.1
Blocked Shots: Ross (5th) 1.6
Offensive Rebs: Taylor (1st) 3.6
Team Scoring Def: (1st) 56.7
Team FG Def: (1st) .399
3 PT FG DEF: (2nd) .310
Team Rebounding: (5th) 36.3
Rebound Margin (1st) +5.5
COMPARING THE TEAMS
ODU MURRAY
Scoring 64.9 79.3
FGPCT .432 .485
FG DEF: .399 . 406
3 PT PCT .328 .392
FT PCT .669 .697
REBS 36.3 37.0
R-Margin +5.5 +4.0
ASTS: 13.5 15.7
Turnovers 10.8 11.8
Steals 6.3 7.2
WINNER meets the winner of the Vanderbilt/Stanford game on March 31st in Madison Square Garden.