Men's Basketball Hosts Marshall, WKU For Key C-USA Matchups Starting Thursday

GAME 21 – Old Dominion (8-12, 3-4) vs. Marshall (8-13, 1-7)
Date: Feb. 3 – 8 p.m.
Location: Chartway Arena – Norfolk, Va.
TV: CBS Sports Network
Audio – ODU Sports Radio Network
Live Stats – here
Social Media – Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
 
GAME 22 – Old Dominion vs. Western Kentucky
Date: Feb. 5 – 7 p.m.
Location: Chartway Arena – Norfolk, Va.
TV: ESPN+
Audio – ODU Sports Radio Network
Live Stats – here
Social Media – Facebook | Twitter | Instagram
 
NORFOLK, Va. -- The Old Dominion men's basketball team will have two key Conference USA East Division matchups at home this week starting on Thursday night when they host the Thundering Herd of Marshall at 8 pm. 
 
Two nights later, Western Kentucky visits Chartway Arena for a 7pm tip on Saturday night.  The Marshall game will be on CBS Sports Network, while the WKU game will be on ESPN+.
 
The Marshall game will be Sonny Allen night as there will be a special halftime ceremony celebrating the life of Sonny Allen.  Saturday's Western Kentucky game will be a whiteout night.
 
ODU enters the two-game stretch after defeating Charlotte 68-52 on January 29.  The Monarchs jumped out to an 11-0 advantage and held as much as a 25-point lead in the second half.    
 
C.J. Keyser leads four in double figures averaging 14.6 points and almost three rebounds per contest.    Austin Trice is next in scoring at 12.1 points per game and leads in rebounding at 7.3 per game.  Kalu Ezikpe follows in scoring at 10.8 points per contest, while leading in field goal percentage at .558.  Jaylin Hunter rounds out the double figure scorers at 10.2 per game and leads in assists at 4.2 per game.
 
Marshall enters after defeating UAB in its last game 84-81 on Jan. 29.  Taevion Kinsey leads the team and Conference USA in scoring at 20.7 points per game and is third on the team in rebounding at 5.4 per contest.  Obinna Anochili-Killen is second in scoring (12.9 ppg) and leads the Thundering Herd in rebounding (6.7 rpg) and blocked shots (75).  Andrew Taylor is third in scoring (12.8 ppg) and leads in assists (90).
 
WKU lost to Middle Tennessee 93-85 on Jan. 29 and will play at Charlotte on Thursday night before heading to Norfolk.  The Hilltoppers have four scorers averaging in double figures with Dayvion McKnight leading at 15.1 points per game and he also leads the team in assists with 134, while being second in rebounding at 6.2 per game.  Jairus Hamilton is next in scoring at 13.5 points per game and is third in rebounding at 5.7 per contest.  Camron Justice is third in scoring at 13.3 points per game and Josh Anderson rounds out the double figure scorers averaging 12.7 per game.  Jamarion Sharp leads the team in rebounding at 7.0 per game to go along with a team best 92 blocked shots.
 
Both matchups this weekend are tight in the all-time series.  With Marshall, the teams split last year as the series is tied 12-12.  Against the Hilltoppers, Old Dominion leads the series 22-21 after splitting the season-ending series at WKU last year.