NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men's basketball team (8-13, 4-4 C-USA) will hit the road for two Conference USA games, starting on Thursday, Jan. 30 at 8:00 p.m. ET, when the Monarchs take on Southern Miss (6-15, 2-6 C-USA) in Hattiesburg, Miss. Then on Saturday, Feb. 1 at 5:00 p.m. ET, ODU will travel to Ruston, La. to take on LA Tech (15-5, 6-2 C-USA). Both games will stream on ESPN+.
Both games will also air across the ODU Sports Radio Network, with Ted Alexander and Dave Twardzik's live pregame show beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday and 4:30 p.m. ET on Saturday.
All-Time Series vs. Southern Miss
Thursday night will mark the 14th all-time meeting between the Monarchs and Golden Eagles, as ODU leads the all-time series 11-2. The two teams split last season as both games were played in Norfolk, where Old Dominion won the first meeting 76-62 and USM won the second meeting 59-52. ODU has won three of the last four meetings. The Monarchs are 4-1 against Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. These programs first met during the 1969-70 season, in a game ODU claimed a 95-92 victory.
All-Time Series vs. LA Tech
Saturday will mark the 10th all-time meeting between the Monarchs and the Bulldogs, as Old Dominion leads the all-time series 7-2. ODU has won four in a row against LA Tech and seven of the last eight meetings, with the last meeting coming in the 2019 C-USA Quarterfinals (W, 57-56). In fact, the Monarchs have knocked out the Bulldogs in three of the last four C-USA Tournaments. Old Dominion is 2-0 against LA Tech when playing in Ruston.
ODU's Team NCAA/C-USA Rankings
-Total Rebounds (818): 29th (NCAA)/2nd (C-USA)
-Rebound Margin (5.2): 48th/2nd
-Offensive Rebounds Per Game (11.86): 53rd/1st
-Scoring Defense (63.9): 53rd/5th
-Field-Goal Percentage Defense (40.0%): 55th/2nd
-Total Rebounds Per Game (38.95): 55th/2nd
ODU's Players NCAA/C-USA Rankings
Aaron Carver
-Total Rebounds (202): 22nd (NCAA)/1st (C-USA)
-Rebounds Per Game (9.6): 31st/1st
-Defensive Rebounds Per Game (6.76): 37th/1st
Xavier Green
-Total Minutes (735:22): 39th (NCAA)/3rd (C-USA)
-Total Field-Goal Attempts (292): 52nd/3rd
Malik Curry
-Assist Turnover Ratio: 112th (NCAA)/3rd (C-USA)
Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles enter Thursday night's contest with a 6-15 overall mark and 2-6 record in league play. Southern Miss is 5-4 at home this season and 1-11 away from home. Jay Ladner is in the midst of his first season as head coach in Hattiesburg after serving the previous five years at the helm for Southeastern Louisiana, guiding the team to the 2017-18 Southland Conference regular-season title. Ladner is a 1988 USM grad and was a member of the 1987 NIT championship team.
Gabe Watson (13.3 ppg), Tyler Stevenson (12.0 ppg) and LaDavius Draine (11.1 ppg) are all averaging double-figures for the Golden Eagles so far this season.
LA Tech
The Bulldogs enter the week with a 15-5 record and a 6-2 mark in C-USA play. LA Tech has won two straight and is 9-1 at home so far this season. Louisiana Tech will play host to Charlotte on Thursday night.
Konkol wrapped up his fourth season at the helm of the Bulldogs in 2018-19, leading them to a 20-win season, the program's 25th overall and the sixth in the last seven seasons. It marked the third time under Konkol, making him the seventh coach in program history with three 20-win seasons.
DaQuan Bracey (12.5 ppg), Kalob Ledoux (12.4 ppg) and Amorie Archibald (10.9) have led the charge for LA Tech so far this season.
ODU Travels to Southern Miss on Thursday and LA Tech on Saturday
