CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – In the second ever meeting between the two schools, the Old Dominion men's basketball team (3-8) fell to Illinois (8-3) by a 69-55 score on Saturday night at the State Farm Center in front of 13,267 fans.
"It just isn't good enough," said ODU head coach Jeff Jones. "It has nothing to do with losing. You look down at the 19 turnovers and so many of those turnovers were bad and led directly to Illinois baskets. There were times when we played well, but we have to sustain that play. We need to keep working, getting better and playing with more team pride."
In his first game as a Monarch, A.J. Oliver II led ODU with 17 points, going 4-6 from deep, to compliment two rebounds and one steal in 21 minutes of work. Xavier Green followed with 13 points, to go along with five assists and four rebounds. Marquis Godwin chipped in nine points, a team-high six rebounds and one assist. Joe Reece finished with eight points and four rebounds.
"I'm not going to lie, I was gassed after those first 5-7 minutes, it is hard to replicate game speed and conditioning," explained Oliver II. "It felt good to be back out there though, but it wasn't enough. I want to win and it is time to get back to work. I know what I need to work on and get better at. We have to make sure we are ready for conference play after these next two games."
The Monarchs trailed by 15 after the opening 20 minutes, 40-25. ODU was led by Green's eight points, four assists and three rebounds.
Old Dominion will return to the hardwood on Wednesday, Dec. 18, when the Monarchs welcome the Richmond Spiders to Chartway Arena for a 7:00 p.m. ET tip. Wednesday night's contest will be televised on WGNT/ESPN3/WTVR (Richmond's CBS affiliate).
Monarchs Fall to Illinois in Champaign, 69-55
