NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion basketball team (12-5, 2-2 C-USA) returns to the Ted Constant Convocation Center this week for a pair of conference games on ESPN+. First on Thursday, Jan. 17 at 7:00 p.m., the Monarchs will welcome LA Tech (13-5, 3-2 C-USA). Then on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 4:00 p.m., ODU will host Southern Miss (10-7, 2-3 C-USA).
Both games will air on the ODU Sports Radio Network, with Ted Alexander and Dave Twardzik’s live pregame show starting at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday and 3:30 p.m. on Saturday.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-The Monarchs have won 10 of their last 12 contests.
-Old Dominion’s defense ranks sixth in the country for scoring defense, allowing just 60.3 points per game. The Monarchs rank 13th in the nation for holding teams to 38.2% shooting from the floor for the season.
-Ahmad Caver ranks 36th in the nation for his 2.9 assist to turnover ratio. Caver’s 36:59 minutes played per contest ranks 15th in Division I.
-B.J. Stith’s seven double-doubles this season ranks 24th in the country and are the most within the conference.
ODU IS...
-12-3 when scoring 60 or more points.
-11-2 when allowing 69 points or less.
-10-2 when shooting 40% or better from the floor.
-11-4 when outrebounding its opponent (has outrebounded opponent in all but two games).
-8-2 when committing less turnovers than its opponent.
-7-1 when leading at half.
-8-1 at home this season and 61-11 at home since the 2014-15 season.
CURRENT MONARCHS CLIMBING THE ALL-TIME LEADERBOARDS
AHMAD CAVER
-His 163 career steals rank 10th in school history.
-His 404 career assists rank 14th in school history.
-His 1,263 points rank 31st in school history.
B.J. STITH
-His 1,091 points (doesn’t include the 13 he scored at UVA) rank 41st in school history.
LA TECH
LA Tech enters Thursday night’s contest with a 13-5 overall record and 3-2 mark in league play. Five Bulldogs are currently averaging double-digits: DaQuan Bracey (13.4 ppg), Anthony Duruji (12.6 ppg), Exavian Christon (12.0 ppg), Amorie Archibald (10.4 ppg) and JaColby Pemberton (10.3 ppg).
Head coach Erik Konkol is in his fourth season at the helm in Ruston.
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. LA TECH
-Thursday night marks the eighth all-time meeting between these two schools.
-ODU leads the all-time series, 5-2.
-These two teams met twice last season, as ODU swept the series, the last being in the C-USA Tournament (62-58).
-ODU has won five of the six meetings against LA Tech.
-ODU is 1-2 all-time against LA Tech at the Ted.
-ODU is 2-0 all-time against LA Tech in the C-USA Tournament.
-These two schools have met every year since the 2013-14 season.
SOUTHERN MISS
The Golden Eagles enter the week with a 10-7 overall record and 2-3 mark in Conference USA play. USM has been led by Cortez Edwards (14.2 ppg), Tyree Griffin (12.4 ppg) and LaDavius Draine (10.1 ppg).
Head coach Doc Sadler is in the midst of his fourth season at the helm in Hattiesburg.
ALL-TIME SERIES vs. SOUTHERN MISS
-Saturday will mark the 12th all-time meeting between these two schools.
-ODU owns the all-time series, 9-2.
-ODU defeated USM last season in Hattiesburg, 68-63.
-ODU has won two in a row against USM.
-These two schools first met during the 1969-70 season.
-ODU won the first six meetings between these two schools.
-ODU is 5-1 at home all-time against USM.