NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men's basketball team (4-9, 0-0 C-USA) will commence Conference USA play by hosting a pair of games, starting on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 7:00 p.m. ET, when the Monarchs welcome Middle Tennessee (4-9, 0-0 C-USA) to Chartway Arena. Then on Saturday, Jan. 4 at 7:00 p.m., ODU will play host to UAB (9-4, 0-0 C-USA). Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Both contests will also air across the ODU Sports Radio Network with Ted Alexander and Dave Twardzik's live pregame show beginning at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, as well as Saturday.
All-Time Series vs. Middle Tennessee:
Thursday night will mark the 11th all-time meeting between these two schools, as Middle Tennessee leads the series 9-1. The Blue Raiders won the first nine games in this series. Old Dominion took down MT last season in Murfreesboro by a 55-50 score. Thursday will mark the seventh consecutive season that these two programs have met. The Blue Raiders and Monarchs first met during the 1986-87 season. ODU and MTSU have squared-off three times in the C-USA Tournament, with the Blue Raiders winning all three contests. Old Dominion has never beaten Middle Tennessee in Norfolk.
All-Time Series vs. UAB:
Saturday night will mark the 35th all-time meeting between UAB and ODU, as the Blazers hold a 21-13 advantage in the series. The Monarchs have won four of the last five games. Old Dominion took down UAB two out of three times in 2018-19, capped off by the Monarchs knocking out the Blazers in the Semifinals of the C-USA Tournament by a 61-59 score. These two programs first met during the 1982-83 season.
ODU's NCAA/C-USA Individual Rankings
Jason Wade
-Total Steals: 5th (NCAA)/1st (C-USA): 36
-Steals Per Game: 7th/1st: 2.77
Malik Curry
-Assist to Turnover Ratio: 39th/1st: 2.47
Aaron Carver
-Defensive Rebounds Per Game: 43rd/1st: 6.54
-Total Rebounds: 53rd/1st: 117
-Rebounds Per Game: 58th/2nd: 9.0
Xavier Green
-Total Field Goal Attempts: 49th/2nd: 188
-Minutes Per Game: 95th/3rd: 34:02
Season Leaders:
-Xavier Green (14.0 ppg) has led ODU in scoring in 9/13 games.
-Aaron Carver (9.0 rpg) has led ODU in rebounds in 10/13 games.
-Malik Curry (3.7 apg) has led ODU in assists in 10/13 games.
-Jason Wade (2.8 spg) has led ODU in steals in 9/13 games.
Aaron Carver
-Aaron Carver's 117 total rebounds this season rank 53rd in the NCAA. For his career, he has hauled down 487 rebounds, just 13 shy of reaching the 500 mark.
Rebounding:
-ODU has out-rebounded its opponent in 10 of 13 games so far this season.
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee enters Thursday night's contest in Norfolk with a 4-9 overall record. The Blue Raiders have lost four straight games, with their last win coming on Dec. 3 against Columbia International. MTSU is 1-3 when playing on the road this season.
C.J. Jones has led the way for the Blue Raiders so far this season, averaging 16.8 points per game. Antonio Green is also averaging double-figures, as he is scoring 13.5 points per outing.
UAB
The Blazers will ride a five-game win streak into Charlotte on Thursday night before arriving to Norfolk to take on the Monarchs on Saturday night. Prior to the five-game win-streak, UAB lost three-straight to No. 15 Memphis (65-57), Texas [RV] (67-57) and No. 9 Kentucky (69-58).
Jalen Benjamin (12.5 ppg) paces three Blazers, who are averaging double-figures. Tyreek Scott-Grayson goes for 10.9 points per ballgame, while Tavin Lovan follows with a 10.8 points per contest average.
ODU Tips Off C-USA Play by Hosting Middle Tennessee on Thursday and UAB on Saturday
