NORFOLK, Va. - The Old Dominion men’s basketball team (15-10, 8-5 C-USA) takes on Charlotte (11-13, 5-8 C-USA) for a Saturday night showdown at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will air live on ESPN3.
C-USA
The Monarchs are currently in a four-way tie for third place at 8-5 in Conference USA play with Rice, Marshall and UTEP. The top four seeds after the conclusion of the regular season receive a first round bye for the 2017 C-USA Tournament.
View Conference USA Standings Here
Radio for 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 6:30 p.m. EST on Saturday.
Radio: ODU Sports Network - ESPN Radio 94.1 FM (Norfolk), ESPN 950 AM WXGI (Richmond), 94.1 FM WLVA and Fox Sports 580 AM (Lynchburg).
What You Need to Know
Old Dominion enters Saturday’s contest with the seventh best scoring defense in the country, as the Monarchs allow just 61.3 points per game. Charlotte on the other hand is averaging 77.5 points per outing in conference play.
Old Dominion ranks eighteenth nationally for offensive rebounds per game (14.72), while Denzell Taylor ranks ninth in the country for hauling down 3.72 offensive rebounds per game.
ODU’s Trio of Sophomores
In conference play, Ahmad Caver (15.2 ppg) leads the Monarchs in scoring, while B.J. Stith (14.2 ppg) and Zoran Talley (13 ppg) follow.
Charlotte
In C-USA play, the 49ers have are led in scoring by Jon Davis (19.5 ppg) and Austin Ajukwa (12.1 ppg).
Charlotte won the first meeting on January 21, 2017 in Charlotte behind a game winning jump shot by Jon Davis with 0.2 seconds left in regulation.
ALL-TIME SERIES: ODU vs. Charlotte
-Saturday night marks the 34rd all-time meeting between these two schools.
-ODU leads the all-time series, 19-14.
-ODU has won two of the last three meetings, but Charlotte won at home on a Jon Davis buzzer-beater in the last meeting (1/21/17), 74-72.
-The two schools first met during the 1982-83 season, in a game that ODU won 78-58.
ODU NCAA Ranking Highlights:
TEAM
-Scoring Defense Per Game: 7th (1st in C-USA) – 61.3
-Offensive Rebounds Per Game:1 8th (1st in C-USA) – 13.52
-Total Rebounds Per Game: 58th (3rd in C-USA) – 38.36
-Blocked Shots Per Game: 44th (3rd in C-USA) – 4.8
-Total Blocks: 45th (3rd in C-USA) - 120
-FG % Defense: 36th (1st in C-USA) – 39.9%
-Rebound Margin: 33rd (1st in C-USA) – 6.0
INDIVIDUAL
-Offensive Rebounds Per Game: Denzell Taylor: 9th (1st in C-USA) – 3.72
-Offensive Rebounds Per Game: Brandan Stith: 96th (2nd in C-USA) – 2.76
QUICK HITTERS
*Last Saturday at UAB marked:
-The third time this season ODU had five players score double-figures (also did it at Marshall and at Rice).
-The highest field goal percentage in a half (72.0%) and game (66.0%) for ODU this season.
-The first 20(+) point game ODU has been involved in all season.
*ODU is 5-4 on Saturday’s so far this season and 2-2 in February.
*The Monarchs are 8-4 at home so far this season and 4-2 at home in C-USA play.
*Charlotte is 2-7 on the road overall and 1-5 on the road in C-USA play.
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.