BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Old Dominion men's basketball team (6-10, 2-1 C-USA) hits the road for a pair of league games, starting on Thursday, Jan. 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET, when the Monarchs take on Western Kentucky (10-6, 3-1) at E. A. Diddle Arena on CBS Sports Network. Then on Saturday, Jan. 18 at 7:00 p.m. ET, ODU will square-off against Marshall (8-9, 2-2 C-USA) at the Cam Henderson Center. Saturday's game will stream on ESPN+.
Both games will air across the ODU Radio Sports Network, with Ted Alexander and Dave Twardzik's live pregame show beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
All-Time Series vs. Western Kentucky:
Thursday night will mark the 41st all-time meeting between these two schools, as ODU has a 21-19 advantage in this series. The Monarchs defeated WKU three times last season, with the third victory coming in the C-USA title game. Old Dominion has won nine of the last 12 meetings. These two programs have squared-off in the Conference USA Tournament three of last four years, with ODU winning two of those three bouts. The Monarchs and Hilltoppers first met during the 1970-71 season, in a game Western Kentucky won, 96-82. In fact, WKU won the first six contests in this all-time series (1970-76).
All-Time Series vs. Marshall:
Saturday night will mark the 21st all-time meeting between these two programs, as ODU leads the all-time series 11-9. The Thundering Herd defeated the Monarchs in Norfolk last season by a 70-67 score. Old Dominion is 3-6 all-time when playing Marshall in Huntington. These two schools first met during the 1966-67, in a game the Thundering Herd won 105-103.
NCAA/C-USA Rankings
Team
Scoring Defense: 49th (NCAA)/4th (C-USA): 62.7
Field Goal Percentage Defense: 71st/3rd: 39.9%
Rebound Margin: 72nd/3rd: 4.6
Steals Per Game: 75th/5th: 7.8
Jason Wade
Steals Per Game: 9th (NCAA)/1st (C-USA): 2.63
Total Steals: 10th/2nd: 42
Aaron Carver
Defensive Rebounds Per Game: 59th/1st: 6.31
Total Rebounds: 73rd/2nd: 141
Rebounds Per Game: 73rd/2nd: 8.8
Malik Curry
Assist to Turnover Ratio: 91st/2nd: 2.00
Xavier Green
Total Field Goal Attempts: 79th/5th: 226
Meet Western Kentucky
WKU enters Thursday's contest with a 10-6 overall record and 3-1 mark in C-USA play. Charles Bassey suffered a season ending injury earlier this season, after averaging a team-leading 15.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per outing. Taveion Hollingsworth is now leading the way for the Hilltoppers, with a 13.4 points per game average. Also averaging double-figures are Carson Williams (13.3 ppg), Camron Justice (11.9 ppg) and Jared Savage (10.2 ppg).
Western Kentucky has picked up conference wins over North Texas (93-84), Rice (68-61) and Middle Tennessee (69-53), as the Hilltoppers sole league loss came at UAB by a 72-62 score.
As a team, WKU averages 77.4 points per game.
Meet Marshall
The Thundering Herd enter the week with an 8-9 overall record and a 2-2 record in Conference USA play. Taveion Kinsey leads the team in scoring, scoring at a 14.9 points per game clip. Jarrod West follows with 14.4 points per ballgame. Also averaging double-figures are Andrew Taylor (10.3 ppg) and Iran Bennett (10.2 ppg).
In league play, Marshall defeated Rice (89-69) and Middle Tennessee (79-75), but suffered setbacks against North Texas (67-64) and UAB (61-50).
As a team, the Thundering Herd averages 75.3 points per game.
ODU Hits Road For Thursday Game at WKU (CBS Sports Network) and Saturday Contest at Marshall (ESPN+)
