By Harry Minium
It was great not only to see Xavier Green play a simply marvelous game for the Old Dominion University men's basketball team this past weekend, but also pretty cool to see that ingratiating, charming smile back on Xavier's face.
I watched Saturday night's game at UAB on TV and even though the cameras were in the nosebleed seats, you could see the joy he was feeling when the Monarchs celebrated a 65-58 victory.
A senior from Williamsburg, Green is the most experienced player on ODU's roster and can, when he's on, be the team's best player on both offense and defense.
He was both Saturday night, when he scored 16 points and held UAB guard Tavin Lovan to just two points. Lovan scored 25 points a night earlier in ODU's 76-69 loss to the Blazers.
"Lovan got almost anything he wanted" on Friday, coach Jeff Jones said. "Xavier did such a tremendous job on him defensively."
Green also played a key roll in helping the Monarchs break a ¾-court press that helped force 20 turnovers in Friday's loss.
"We made a change and put Xavier in the middle of our press attack," Jones said. With A.J. Oliver II and Malik Curry on the wings, ODU had far fewer problems with the press.
"I thought he was outstanding in everything he did," Jones said of Green. "He played great defense, he helped us handle the basketball and he scored.
"He didn't force it. He looked relaxed and like he's enjoying being out there."
The victory gave the Monarchs a split of the two-game series in Birmingham and that was quite an accomplishment. The Blazers (17-5) entered Saturday's game 14-1 at Bartow Arena.
ODU remains in the hunt for the Conference USA East Division title, but more importantly, has a better shot at earning a first-round bye in the C-USA tournament March 10-13 in Frisco, Texas.
The top two teams in each division get a bye in the 12-team tournament. ODU (12-6 overall, 8-4 C-USA) is second in the East and Marshall (12-5, 6-4) third.
Western Kentucky (15-4, 8-2), the league preseason favorite and the East Division leader, is still in the driver's seat. The Hilltoppers play all four remaining Conference USA games at home, including two on March 5-6 against ODU.
Those last two games with ODU could decide the East Division champion and will help decide the second East Division bye.
Austin Price has been a pleasant surprise off the bench this season.
ODU has four games remaining, including its final two home games Friday and Saturday against Middle Tennessee (5-13, 3-9).
"Middle Tennessee's record is a little deceiving," Jones said. "If we don't respect them, if we don't play really hard, they could make it an unhappy weekend for us.
"Those are two absolutely big games. You can't win two if you don't win the first one. That game Friday is literally the biggest of the season for us."
Winning the division title would be great, but gaining a first-round bye is more important.
It's difficult enough to win the Conference USA tournament even if you avoid a first-round game. You must still win three games in less than 48 hours.
Add a first-round game and you must win four games in 72 hours.
Jones has a simple but astute philosophy regarding that coveted first-round bye.
"That will take care of itself if you win games," Jones said. "Rather than focus on getting the bye, keep focusing on winning as many games as you can."
Will Conference USA will remain a one-bid league? On that, we'll see.
No matter how good the resume of mid-major schools on the bubble, the NCAA tournament committee always seems to take a mediocre Power 5 school when doling out the last four or five bids.
WKU is on the bubble, according to most prognosticators. WKU is receiving votes for the Associated Press Top 25.
Xavier Green led ODU over UAB offensively and defensively Saturday.
WKU lags in the NCAA NET rankings at No. 89. Yet the Hilltoppers added a game on Thursday at nationally-ranked Houston and a victory likely would be enough to move WKU off the bubble and into the AP Top 25.
Regardless, ODU remains the defending Conference USA champion.
ODU was eliminated in the first-round of the tournament last spring, but the tournament was canceled the next morning because of the pandemic.
A year earlier, in the last C-USA tournament completed, ODU swept Louisiana Tech, UAB and WKU to claim its first league title.
Green was marvelous in Frisco. He made the game-winning shot in the final seconds and scored 21 points in the semifinal win against UAB. He also scored nine points in a row at one point in the second half of the championship game.
He was named the tournament MVP.
Two years later, with two weeks to go in the regular-season, ODU is playing well. The Monarchs have won eight of their last 11 games.
Curry remains the star of this team, but as in 2019, the Monarchs are getting production from every other starter. as well as key players off the bench. Austin Trice, a transfer from Kansas State, has averaged 9.4 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds off the bench.
Green's recent hot streak only adds to the momentum for a team that would like very much to claim back-to-back Conference USA titles.
Contact Minium: hminium@odu.edu
Minium: Xavier Green's Stellar Play Gives ODU Basketball More Momentum as Monarchs Head Into Stretch Run
