Old Dominion (11-20, 7-11 Sun Belt) vs. ULM (4-27, 1-17 Sun Belt)
Game Info – Tuesday, March 3 – 8:30 p.m. ET
Location – Pensacola Bay Center (Pensacola, Fla.)
Watch – ESPN+
Listen – ESPN Sports Radio 94.1 FM
Live Stats – Click Here
Social Media – Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
NORFOLK, Va. – Old Dominion men’s basketball enters the Sun Belt Championship as the No. 11 seed and will open the tournament against No. 14 seed ULM this Tuesday. Tipoff at the Pensacola Bay Center is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. ET.
Matt Stewart and Victor Howell will call the game on ESPN+ while Ted Alexander and Kieran Donohue can be heard on ESPN Sports Radio 94.1. Fans can also watch a Courtside Cam live stream of the ODU Radio broadcast on the ODU Athletics Facebook page. Live stats will also be available.
The Sun Belt Championship Final is scheduled for Monday, March 9 at 7 p.m. ET, and the winner will earn the league’s automatic bid to this year’s NCAA Tournament. For more information, visit the Sun Belt Championship website here.
Series History
Tuesday’s game will be just the fourth meeting between the two programs and the first in the Sun Belt Championship. ULM won 80-73 in Norfolk on Jan. 20, 2024, and ODU evened the series with an 80-75 overtime victory in Monroe, Louisiana on Dec. 21, 2024. The Warhawks made the trip to Norfolk on Feb. 4 this season, a game that went to the visitors, 85-79. Krystian Lewis led ULM with 28 points, Lavell Brodnex recorded a 21-point, 10-rebound double-double, and MJ Russell matched Brodnex with 21 points as well. For the Monarchs, Jordan Battle finished with 23 points, KC Shaw followed with 16, Zacch Wiggins scored 13, and LJ Thomas had 12.
About ODU
The Monarchs (11-20, 7-11 Sun Belt) capped off the regular season with an 81-73 win at Georgia State last Friday. ODU trailed by six, 42-36 at the break, but outscored the Panthers 45-31 in the second half to complete the regular season sweep of GSU. Battle and Thomas scored 20 and 18 points, respectively to pace the Monarchs’ offense.
ODU’s top three scorers are Shaw with 17.1 ppg, Battle with 14.6 ppg, and Thomas at 11.4 ppg. Shaw is sixth in the league in scoring while Battle has made a team-high 69 three-pointers and was the best three-pointer shooter in conference play at 42.2% shooting from distance. Battle enters this week’s tournament ranked second in the league with an 84.6% clip at the free-throw line, leads the Monarchs with 92 assists, and is fifth in the SBC with 47 steals and 1.52 steals per game.
Caelum Swanton-Rodger is netting 8.4 ppg and has pulled down a team-best 149 boards (5.0 rpg). Battle is right behind him with 142 rebounds and 4.6 rpg. Swanton-Rodger has made the fifth-most blocks in the conference with 44 and is third with 1.47 blocks per game. Thomas has dished out 89 assists and ranks fifth in the Sun Belt with a 1.59 assist-to-turnover ratio.
ODU’s 75.6 ppg ranks fifth in the league, and the team has been outscored by an average of 1.9 points with opponents scoring 77.5 ppg. The Monarchs are shooting 44.2% from the field, 34.0% from long range, and are fifth in the SBC with 73.3% shooting at the line. The team ranks third in three-point percentage defense (31.7%) as well as fifth in both assists per game (12.9) and assist-to-turnover ratio (12.9). ODU is 253rd in the latest NET rankings.
The Monarchs were the 10th seed at last year’s conference tournament and posted wins over No. 11 Louisiana, No. 7 Texas State, and No. 6 App State before falling to eventual Sun Belt Champion Troy, who was the third seed. ODU is 11-12 all-time at the Sun Belt Championship and has reached the tournament final three times in 1984, 1985, and 1991.
About ULM
The Warhawks (4-27, 1-17 Sun Belt) have dropped seven in a row and fell 80-65 at Troy last Friday. ULM had five players finish in double figures, led by Brodnex with 20 points and nine rebounds. Russell was next with 14 points, Lewis had 11, and Micah Caster and Renars Sondors scored 10 points each.
Lewis is the team’s leading scorer and is third in the Sun Belt with 562 points and 18.1 ppg. The sophomore guard is also ninth in the nation with 178 made free throws, 14th in the country with 444 field goal attempts, and 19th with 214 free throw attempts. His 83.2% shooting at the free-throw line ranks fifth in the SBC. Lewis is also the top threat from distance with 60 made threes.
Russell nets 15.3 ppg and ranks third in the league with 424 field goal attempts. Brodnex averages 14.6 ppg and is fourth in the SBC with 52.7% shooting from the floor and nine double-doubles. On the glass, he has pulled down 205 rebounds, ranking third with 8.2 rpg and 5.44 defensive rpg. The senior guard/forward is also fourth with 2.76 offensive rpg. Sondors is the other Warhawk scoring in double figures with 10.7 ppg. Lewis and Russell have combined for 85 steals, Russell has made 34 blocks, and Brodnex owns 25 blocks.
ULM has been outscored by an average of 11.6 points, allowing 83.8 ppg while scoring just 72.2 ppg. The Warhawks come into the tournament shooting 41.4% from the field, 31.8% from beyond the arc, and 72.5% at the charity stripe. They rank 10th in Division I with 14.3 fouls per game, are fourth in the Sun Belt with 22.5 free-throw attempts per game, and rank fifth in the conference with 16.4 free throws made per game. ULM is 355th in the NET rankings.
Up Next
The winner of Tuesday’s game will play 10th-seeded Georgia Southern on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
Season Sponsor
Bon Secours is the Presenting Sponsor of Old Dominion University’s 2025-26 Men’s Basketball Season. Bon Secours is proud to operate its four hospitals and medical centers in Hampton Roads and is even more proud to serve the surrounding community with exceptional care. It’s our mission at Bon Secours Hampton Roads to treat the whole person — mind, body and spirit, to bring compassion to health care, and to be good help to those in need. Bon Secours – the health care you deserve from a team you can trust.