Old Dominion (4-2) at FIU (6-2)
Game Info – Friday, Jan. 1 at 7:00 p.m. EST and Saturday, Jan. 2 at 3:00 p.m. EST
Location – Ocean Bank Convocation Center (Miami, Fla.)
Stream – ESPN+
Radio – Click Here
Live Stats – Click Here
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men's basketball team (4-2, 0-0 C-USA) will commence conference play on Friday, Jan. 1 at 7:00 p.m. EST against FIU (6-2, 0-0 C-USA) in Miami, Fla. The second leg of the back-to-back games for the Monarchs will take place on Saturday, Jan. 2 at 3:00 p.m. against the Panthers. Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.
Radio:
Both games 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. ET on Friday night and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.
All-Time Series:
Friday will mark the ninth all-time meeting between these two programs, as Old Dominion leads the series 7-1. ODU won the first seven meetings of this series, before FIU claimed an 83-80 victory last season in Norfolk. The Monarchs are 4-0 when playing Florida International in Miami. These two schools first met during the 2013-14 season, when Old Dominion defeated the Panthers 52-36 in Miami.
In Case You Missed It:
Conference USA basketball will move to a divisional standings format for the 2020-21 season, as approved by the league's Board of Directors.
C-USA will feature East and West divisions and will crown divisional champions at the conclusion of conference play in March. Standings will be based on overall conference winning percentage. In addition, divisional seeding will be utilized for the C-USA Men's and Women's Championships. A cross-divisional bracket will be used to determine first-round matchups.
The East Division will be comprised of Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion and WKU. Louisiana Tech, North Texas, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP and UTSA will make up the West Division.
Old Dominion:
The Monarchs have claimed victory in four of its last five contests, most recently coming off a 77-57 win against Virginia Wesleyan on Dec. 22. In that game, Austin Trice recorded career highs for: points (27), rebounds (12), FGM (12), blocks (3) and minutes played (27).
ODU has been led by a balanced scoring attack so far this season, as five players are averaging double-figures: Malik Curry (15.6 ppg), Kalu Ezikpe (12.8 ppg), Joe Reece (11.2 ppg), Austin Trice (10.3 ppg) and A.J. Oliver II (10.2 ppg).
FIU:
The Panthers enter Friday night's contest with a 6-2 overall record and are most recently coming off a 111-34 victory over Carver College. Florida International currently has four players averaging double-figures: Antonio Daye Jr. (19.4 ppg), Eric Lovett (13.2 ppg), Radshad Davis (12.8 ppg) and Tevin Brewer (10.6 ppg).
Head coach Jeremy Ballard is in the midst of his third season at the helm in Miami, Fla.
Get in the Game!
Old Dominion athletics is providing Monarch Nation two opportunities to be involved in the 2020-21 basketball season virtually, as the athletic department is creating a virtual ticket, presented by the Virginia Lottery, that will allow fans to win various prizes, as well as the opportunity to purchase fan cutouts to be placed in Chartway Arena throughout the 2020-21 season, brought to you by Chartway Federal Credit Union. Proceeds from the sale of fan cutouts and virtual tickets will assist with paying for student-athlete scholarships.
With the purchase of a $20 virtual ticket, fans will receive one Virginia Lottery digital scratcher with the possibility to win, among other things, two season tickets for all ODU sports in 2021-22, use of a Chartway Arena suite for a basketball game in 2021-22, a $500 Harris Teeter gift card, a $500 Under Armour shopping spree, free Papa John's pizza, or Moe's Bucks to Moe's Southwest Grill.
The "Monarch Cutouts", presented by Chartway, are available for $59 and will be placed in camera-view seats. The cutouts will be in attendance at all ODU men's and women's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Be on the lookout during games because your Monarch Cutout could be featured on the game broadcast or ODU Basketball social media.
ODU Opens C-USA Action at FIU on Friday (7PM) and Saturday (3PM) on ESPN+
