Old Dominion (11-8, 4-3 C-USA) at Rice (13-7, 3-4 C-USA)
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2017 at Tudor Fieldhouse at 8:00 p.m. EST
STREAM: Campus Insiders
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
Old Dominion (11-8, 4-3 C-USA) at North Texas (6-13, 0-7 C-USA)
Saturday, Jan. 28, 2017 at the Super Pit at 3:00 p.m. EST
STREAM: C-USA TV
Live Stats: CLICK HERE
HOUSTON, Texas - The Old Dominion men’s basketball team (11-8, 4-3 C-USA) travels to Rice (13-7, 3-4 C-USA) for a Thursday, Jan. 26th showdown at Tudor Fieldhouse at 8:00 p.m. EST, which will air live on Campus Insiders (free online stream). Then on Saturday, Jan. 28, the Monarchs will take-on North Texas (6-13, 0-7 C-USA) in Denton at 3:00 p.m. EST, which will air on C-USA TV.
Radio for Thursday and Saturday
Old Dominion Senior Associate Athletic Director Ted Alexander will take care of the play-by-play duties, while ODU Hall of Famer and former NBA champion Dave Twardzik will handle color commentary. Ted and Dave’s live pregame show will begin at 7:30 p.m. EST on Thursday and at 2:30 p.m. EST on Saturday.
Radio: ODU Sports Network - ESPN Radio 94.1 FM (Norfolk), Sports FM 100.5 (Richmond), 94.1 FM WLVA and Fox Sports 580 (Lynchburg).
What You Need to Know
Old Dominion enters Saturday’s contest with the sixth best scoring defense in the country, as the Monarchs defense allows just 60.3 points per game.
Old Dominion ranks seventh nationally for offensive rebounds per game (14.63), while Denzell Taylor ranks seventh in the country for hauling down 3.89 offensive rebounds per game. The Monarchs are looking to kick their current two-game skid, as they haven’t lost three in a row all season.
In conference play, Zoran Talley leads the Monarchs in scoring (15.6 ppg), while B.J. Stith (15.3 ppg) and Ahmad Caver (15.3 ppg) follow.
Rice is 8-3 this season when playing on its own hardwood. The Owls are led by Egor Koulechov’s 19.2 points per game and 8.8 rebounds per contest. Marcus Evans (Chesapeake, Va.) is averaging 18.2 points per game, while Marcus Jackson chips in 13.1 ppg.
North Texas enters the week with a 6-5 record at home this season. The Mean Green are led by Jeremy Combs’ 10.2 points per contest and 6.4 boards per game. NT is currently on an eight game losing streak.
ALL-TIME SERIES: ODU vs. Rice
-Thursday marks the eighth all-time meeting between ODU and Rice.
-Old Dominion leads the all-time series, 6-1.
-The last time these two schools met was last season on Dec. 31, 2016 in Norfolk, where ODU took down the Owls 62-56.
-ODU and Rice met twice last season, as each team won on the road.
-These two schools first met during the 1971-72 season, in a game ODU won 114-86.
ALL-TIME SERIES: ODU vs. North Texas
-Saturday’s game marks the seventh all-time meeting between the two schools.
-ODU has won all six of the previous meetings.
-These schools last met back on Jan. 2, 2017, in a game the Monarchs won 55-48.
-Old Dominion is 2-0 all-time when playing North Texas in Denton.
-The two teams met twice last season, with ODU winning in Denton (76-70) and Norfolk (67-47).
-These two schools first met during the 2013-14 season, in a game ODU won 72-62.
ODU NCAA Ranking Highlights:
TEAM
-Scoring Defense Per Game: 6th (1st in C-USA) – 60.3
-Offensive Rebounds Per Game: 7th (1st in C-USA) – 14.63
-Total Rebounds Per Game: 19th (2nd in C-USA) – 40.21
-Rebound Margin: 28th (1st in C-USA) – 6.6
-Blocked Shots Per Game: 30th (2nd in C-USA) – 5.3
-Total Blocks: 35th (3rd in C-USA) - 100
-FG % Defense: 36th (1st in C-USA) – 40.0%
INDIVIDUAL
-Offensive Rebounds Per Game: Denzell Taylor: 7th (1st in C-USA) – 3.89
-Offensive Rebounds Per Game: Brandan Stith: 27th (2nd in C-USA) – 3.33
-Blocked Shots Per Game: Brandan Stith: 40th (3rd in C-USA) – 2.07
QUICK HITTERS
-Zoran Talley is coming off a career high for rebounds (12).
-ODU is 3-3 on the road overall and 1-2 on the road in conference play.
-ODU is 3-3 in January.
-ODU is 2-3 on Thursday’s.
-ODU is 3-3 on Saturday's.
-Jordan Baker cannot play Thursday’s game due to suspension.
-Brandan Stith did not re-enter the game after spraining his ankle on the last play of the first half at Marshall.
For in-game updates all of ODU’s games, follow us on Twitter @ODUMBB.
SINGLE-GAME TICKETS
Single-game 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.
All ODU students get in free all year long.
VOUCHER BOOKS
The voucher book includes 10 ticket vouchers that can be redeemed for tickets to any remaining home men’s basketball games. The tickets can be used all at once to bring a family or group of friends or spread out amongst multiple games. If you run out of vouchers, simply come back and purchase another voucher book. At just $99 per voucher book, it represents more than $70, or 40%, savings over face value.
FOLLOW 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.