MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[78rmc]

Jackets survive-69-68.  HSC played a very good game. Hats off to them.

Watched the game on video, not sure the better team won tonight.  However, the Jackets showed a lot of character with the win! 

[hasanova]

I'm sticking to my prediction that 13-3 (or maybe 14-2) wins the ODAC regular season.  EMU or RMC won't run the gauntlet undefeated.  Guilford and VWC will both probably lose again as well.  With what appears to be four legitimate early contenders, this may be one of the most competitive and interesting seasons in a while!

[stillfamily]

an amazing start to what could be an awesome season. i love to see the hard work and dedication of the emu staff finally start to pay off. they have some great character kids that can play the game well!! i am excited to watch the rest of this season. I can't wait to see some of these odac matches coming up. If EMU can win sat. vs NOKE, that will set up an EMU vs. RMC matchup next wed!!!!!!!  Go Royals

[sludge]

Wow! to all that.  Great stuff.  EMU-RMC will be a big game regardless of anything prior.

Somebody somewhere is going to have to defend Hinson.  What is EMU setting, magic picks or something?

Great game by HSC.

Guilford - gotta keep the D dialed up!

The shiny records of these ODAC teams are about to get dirtied up as we collide with one another.

[algernon]

Tigers looked great tonight ... and it was so hard to see them lose at the end.  Up by 2 points, with about 35 seconds to go, Alex Potapov shot a 2 that bounced around and was on the verge of going in, but no such luck.  With a 4-point lead at that point, the Tigers would likely have won the game.  Anyway, the Yellow Jackets held on to the ball despite excellent Tiger defense in the ensuing possession and hit the 3 from a good ways behind the arc, putting them up by 1 point with 4.9 seconds left.  Kudos to both teams!

The Tigers have shown they can play with both the Quakers and the Yellow Jackets.  Now we'll have to see how this young team develops over the rest of the season.  Playing time tonight went mostly to 3 freshmen and a sophomore (Ben Jessee), plus Turner King, and I think that the freshman we've got this year look better than any freshman class since 1996-1997, when T.J., Chris, and Jeremy started for the Tigers.

Freshmen stats:

• Harrison George:  19 points, 8 rebounds, 3 steals in 33 minutes.
• Alex Potapov:  14 points, 5 rebounds in 28 minutes.
• Randall Ward:  Not hitting his shots, but had 4 assists and handled the ball at point very well through 32 minutes of play.

Ben Jessee chipped in 9 points, and Turner had 16 points and 5 rebounds .... always a huge force for the Tigers!

[algernon]

Having seen Guilford, Randolph-Macon, and EMU play, I don't think we have a front-runner in the ODAC.  Throw in the Marlins -- and maybe even the Tigers -- and there are 5 teams who are in position to win the ODAC title.  A great conference!  A 13-3 record could be enough to get the #1 seed for the ODAC tournament, but I think the #1 seed will be 14-2 or better.

I think these ODAC teams are strong enough that 3 or 4 of them could finish the season and tournament with no more than 3-5 losses ..... and certainly RMC, Guilford, EMU, and VWC all have a real shot at a Pool C bid if they don't win the ODAC tournament.  With a 23-5 record, an ODAC team would probably make the tournament, so I would not be surprised to see the ODAC represented by 3 teams.

[algernon]

Will the unbalanced schedule make a difference to ODAC Tournament seeding?  Among the 5 teams that I see as most competitive, Virginia Wesleyan and Hampden-Sydney play each of the other four teams twice, for a total of 8 games.  In contrast, Randolph-Macon, EMU, and Guilford play 2 teams twice and 2 teams only once, for a total of 6 games against the other 4 teams.  

Current situation:

EMU:  2-0 (wins over Va. Wesleyan and Hampden-Sydney).  Only have 1 more game against each of the other 4 teams.  This is a great team with an excellent chance to get the #1 tournament seed this year.  They host Randolph-Macon in the only game between the 2 teams next Wednesday, 1/13.

Randolph-Macon:  1-0 (win over Hampden-Sydney).  Only have 5 more games against the other 4 teams, as they play 1 game only against both EMU and Guilford.  

Guilford:  1-1 (win over Hampden-Sydney, loss to Virginia Wesleyan).  Only have 4 more games to play against the other 4 teams, as they play 1 game only against both Randolph-Macon and EMU.

Virginia Wesleyan:  1-1 (win over Guilford, loss to EMU).  Still have 6 games to play against the other 4 teams, for a total of 8.

Hampden-Sydney:  0-3 (losses to Guilford, Randolph-Macon, and EMU).  Still have 5 games to play against the other 4 teams, for a total of 8.

Record of the other ODAC teams against these 5 teams:
Lynchburg:  0-2 (by 7 to Guilford and 7 to EMU)
Bridgewater:  0-2 (by 21 to Randolph-Macon and 4 to Virginia Wesleyan)
Randolph:  0-2 (by 14 to Virginia Wesleyan and 12 to Randolph-Macon)
Roanoke:  0-1  (by 14 points to Hampden-Sydney)
Emory & Henry:  0-1 (by 25 points to Randolph-Macon)
Washington & Lee:  0-1 (by 35 points to EMU)

[rmc1982]

Jackets survive-69-68.  HSC played a very good game. Hats off to them.

Watched the game on video, not sure the better team won tonight.  However, the Jackets showed a lot of character with the win! 

Ditto 78rmc! Jackets did play with character to come back, but clearly the Tigers took it to us....we can't continue to dig a hole for ourselves and expect to always come back....that ball the freshman for H-SC put up at the end with maybe 25 seconds left that rolled around the rim and came out-it rolls IN and we would probably have been toast......all in all, a "survive and advance" kinda game.Kudos to the Tigers-they had us.......we have CNU @ home this weekend and then we have to go to EMU for a HUGE game......Jackets gotta pick it up a notch!

[Jacketlawyer]

Jackets survive-69-68.  HSC played a very good game. Hats off to them.

I was there.  Not so much "survive" as "stole."  Very questionable non call as the final 4 seconds ran out.  As an R-MC fan, I loved it, but had I been a Tiger fan, I'd still be mad this morning.  We did NOT play like the number one team in the country, until midway through the second half.

R-M won at the line, making some 17 out of 18 free throws.  There was also a gutsy call on the part of Coach Davis to get the time-out to set up the three pointer to win the game.

I'm happy to report I survived yet another Tigers-Jacket game without stroking out.

[hasanova]

Jackets survive-69-68.  HSC played a very good game. Hats off to them.

I was there.  Not so much "survive" as "stole."  Very questionable non call as the final 4 seconds ran out.  As an R-MC fan, I loved it, but had I been a Tiger fan, I'd still be mad this morning.  We did NOT play like the number one team in the country, until midway through the second half.

R-M won at the line, making some 17 out of 18 free throws.  There was also a gutsy call on the part of Coach Davis to get the time-out to set up the three pointer to win the game.

I'm happy to report I survived yet another Tigers-Jacket game without stroking out.

Glad you were able to make the game, jacketlawyer.  I didn't see it, of course, but I was following the live stats in the 2nd half.  It was exactly what I'd expect from the Tigers and the Jackets! 

Still "mulling" over whether to make the trip to Ashland on Jan. 30.  I know what a blast the lone game with RMC was in Greensboro last January!  A lot can happen between now and then, but it's shaping up to be a classic with many, many implications.  Could you be persuaded to make the trip? 

[Jacketlawyer]

Still "mulling" over whether to make the trip to Ashland on Jan. 30.  I know what a blast the lone game with RMC was in Greensboro last January!  A lot can happen between now and then, but it's shaping up to be a classic with many, many implications.  Could you be persuaded to make the trip? 
[/quote]

Hasa, I might.   I haven't seen a home game in years, though I haven't needed to since Lynchburg is the ideal place to live if you're an ODAC fan.  Very centrally located.

That the Guilford/Randolph-Macon matchup will be a good one is without question.  "The Shot" still lives with me to this day, and since it's already been covered quite well in recent posts, I'll refrain from further comment.

[rmc1982]

Jackets survive-69-68.  HSC played a very good game. Hats off to them.

I was there.  Not so much "survive" as "stole."  Very questionable non call as the final 4 seconds ran out.  As an R-MC fan, I loved it, but had I been a Tiger fan, I'd still be mad this morning.  We did NOT play like the number one team in the country, until midway through the second half.

R-M won at the line, making some 17 out of 18 free throws.  There was also a gutsy call on the part of Coach Davis to get the time-out to set up the three pointer to win the game.

I'm happy to report I survived yet another Tigers-Jacket game without stroking out.

Glad you were able to make the game, jacketlawyer.  I didn't see it, of course, but I was following the live stats in the 2nd half.  It was exactly what I'd expect from the Tigers and the Jackets! 

Still "mulling" over whether to make the trip to Ashland on Jan. 30.  I know what a blast the lone game with RMC was in Greensboro last January!  A lot can happen between now and then, but it's shaping up to be a classic with many, many implications.  Could you be persuaded to make the trip? 

I'm going...and alot of friends of mine who don't always make the trip to Crenshaw will be there,too-Should be a classic,raucious Crenshaw crowd, with the students in attendance  and "tuned up",too!...;-)....should be a great game!

[2RMCFans]

In case anyone else is interested, Coach Nathan Davis is slated to be a guest on Hoopsville a little later this evening - you can find the stream by clicking on the "tune in" link at the top of the d3hoops home page. 

[78rmc]

In case anyone else is interested, Coach Nathan Davis is slated to be a guest on Hoopsville a little later this evening - you can find the stream by clicking on the "tune in" link at the top of the d3hoops home page. 

Unfortunately, his interview was cut short because of phone issues.  Very disappointing!

[2RMCFans]

^ yes, that was disappointing.

GO JACKETS!!!  And best of luck to all the ODAC teams this weekend!