NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men’s basketball team will kick-off the 2016 season with two home exhibitions this week at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. First on Wednesday, Nov. 2, ODU will welcome Virginia State, before hosting Virginia Wesleyan on Friday, Nov. 4. Both tip-offs are slated for 7:00 p.m. EST.
Both ODU exhibitions can be viewed live in HD for FREE via C-USA TV. Friday night’s game against Virginia Wesleyan will also air live on the ODU Sports Radio Network with Ted Alexander on play-by-play and ODU Hall of Famer Dave Twardzik will handle color duties.
Tickets for Wednesday and Friday’s exhibitions are $10. All ODU students get in free all year long. Single-game and season tickets for Old Dominion University men’s basketball are on sale now at www.ynottix.com or by calling 757-683-4444. For group pricing (10+), please call Todd McKeating at 757-683-7087.
Old Dominion is coming off a Conference USA title game appearance and inaugural Vegas 16 championship crown in 2016. Last season, Old Dominion compiled a 25-13 overall record, as the Monarchs posted a 12-6 mark within the C-USA.
In his fourth season at the helm, Jeff Jones’ 2016-17 squad will boast four returning starters and four of its seven leading scorers from last season including Brandan Stith, Zoran Talley, Denzell Taylor and Jordan Baker. Jones is 70-39 in 3 years at ODU, which includes three postseason appearances. ODU’s 52 wins in the past two years ranks in the top 20 nationally.
Virginia State has been predicted to win the CIAA again this season. The Trojans finished last season 24-6 overall with a 14-2 conference record. VSU advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament, where the team fell in the second round.
In addition to the VSU’s top preseason CIAA ranking, VSU has two Trojans representing them on the Preseason All-CIAA Team. Senior Elijah Moore who earned 14.3 points per game last season and senior Kevin Williams who tallied 14.7 points per game, each earned a place on the preseason team.
The Trojans are coached by Lonnie Blow, who served as an assistant at ODU from 2010-2012. Blow is assisted by former Monarch point guard, Drew Williamson.
Williamson helped the Monarchs to the post-season three times and an overall record of 93-37 during his career from 2003-07. The Monarch point guard led the Monarchs to the 2005 Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) Championship, as well appearances at the 2005 and 2007 NCAA Tournaments and the 2006 NIT Semifinals. Garnering CAA All-Defensive Team honors twice and a selection to the Second Team All-CAA as a senior, Williamson averaged 7.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.7 steals in his career.
Williamson's name can be found numerous times in the ODU records books. He holds the school record for consecutive career games played having made 130 appearances in the ODU uniform. He is the third all-time leader in steals with 215 and is seventh all-time at ODU and eighth all-time in the CAA in career assists with 555. Williamson along with former Monarch Frank Smith ('88) are the only Monarchs to have recorded over 200 career steals and 500 career assists.
Virginia Wesleyan College was tabbed the top team in the 2016 ODAC Men's Basketball preseason poll for the second straight season. The Marlins finished last season with an 18-9 overall record and a 12-4 mark in conference play. VWC’s season ended in the ODAC semifinals a season ago.
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
For a more in-depth look into the men’s basketball program, be sure to follow @ODUMBB on Twitter, ‘ODU Basketball’ on Facebook and odu_mbb on Instagram!