NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men’s basketball team (18-10, 11-5) and its fourth nationally ranked scoring defense will end its season on the road with games against UTEP (13-15, 11-5) and UTSA (12-17, 7-9). The Monarchs will be in El Paso to take on the Miners on Thursday night, Mar. 2 with tipoff slated for 8:00 p.m. EST, which will air on beIN. The winner of Thursday night’s game secures the No. 3 seed in the 2017 C-USA Tournament next week in Birmingham, Ala.
Game | Date | Time | Network | Cox | Verizon | DirectTV |
ODU at UTEP | March 2 | 8 p.m. ET | beIN | 183 / 1183 HD | 805 HD | 620 HD |
The Monarchs will close out the regular season on the road in San Antonio against the Roadrunners on Sat. Mar. 4 at 4:00 p.m. EST. Saturday’s contest will air on C-USA TV. Saturday will mark Senior Day for UTSA.
C-USA
The Monarchs are currently in a two-way tie for third place at 11-5 in Conference USA play with UTEP. The top four seeds after the conclusion of the regular season will receive a first round bye for the 2017 C-USA Tournament. The Monarchs need one win on this final road trip to secure a first round bye in the C-USA tournament.
View Conference USA Standings Here
ODU
The Monarchs are riding a four-game winning-streak, their longest of the season. The Monarchs rank seventeenth nationally for offensive rebounds per game (13.32), while Denzell Taylor ranks fifteenth in the country for hauling down 3.57 offensive rebounds per game.
QUICK HITTERS
-ODU is 12-1 when allowing less than 60 points.
-ODU is 15-5 when leading at the half.
-ODU is 14-5 when outrebounding its opponent.
-ODU is 6-4 on the road for the season and 4-3 on the road in C-USA play.
-ODU is 5-3 on Thursday’s.
-ODU is 7-4 on Saturday’s.
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 3:30 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).
UTEP
UTEP is tied for third with ODU in C-USA standings with an 11-5 conference record. Entering Thursday, the Miners have three players averaging double-figures, Omega Harris (16.6 ppg), Dominic Artis (15.3 ppg) and Matt Willms (11.9 ppg). UTEP is also riding its longest winning streak of the season (5).
The Miners have won eight of its last nine and 11 of its last 13. UTEP is 6-1 at home in conference play; the one loss came to LA Tech, 62-61, which marked the Miners’ last loss.
UTSA
UTSA is currently ninth in C-USA with a 7-9 record, most recently coming off a loss to FAU. The Roadrunners have two players averaging double-figures, Jeff Beverly (15.9 ppg) and Nick Billingsley (11.1 ppg). UTSA is 10-2 at home this season and 5-2 on its own hardwood in C-USA play.
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. UTEP
-Thursday night marks the fourth all-time meeting between the two schools.
-UTEP leads the series, 2-1.
-ODU won the last meeting between the schools late last season (02/25/2016), 74-53.
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. UTSA
-Saturday might marks the fifth all-time meeting between the two schools.
-The series is tied 2-2 between both schools.
-ODU won the last meeting between the schools late last season (02/27/2016), 78-56.
ODU NCAA RANKING HIGHLIGHTS
TEAM
Blocks Per Game: 38th (3rd in C-USA) - 4.9
Fewest Turnovers: 28th (3rd in C-USA) – 321
FG PCT Defense: 21st (1st in C-USA) – 39.7
Off. Rebs. Per Game: 17th (1st in C-USA) – 13.32
Rebound Margin: 27th (1st in C-USA) – 5.9
Scoring Defense: 4th (1st in C-USA) – 60.6
Turnovers Per Game: 39th (2nd in C-USA) – 11.5
INDIVIDUAL
Asst./TO Ratio: Ahmad Caver: 51st (2nd in C-USA) – 2.44
Blocks Per Game: Trey Porter: 58th (5th in C-USA) – 1.68
Minutes Per Game: Ahmad Caver: 51st (3rd in C-USA) – 35:30
Offensive Rebounds Per Game: Denzell Taylor: 15th (1st in C-USA) – 3.57
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