MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[thescottharris]

No fans at indoor events for conference schools this winter/spring.

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I just signed up to be a Patreon supporter for D3Sports.Com.  I'd strongly encourage others to do the same (see article on the Homepage).  Let's support the site to keep the conversations going!

Took me a long time to get around to doing this, but definitely glad I did after 15+ years of frequenting the sites and posting on the boards. I saw a report from Pat Coleman elsewhere about how the campaign is going. Perhaps he'd repeat it here.

Pat and I just recorded an "Inside the Nation" chat about some of the information that didn't make it into the Around the Nation column this week.  That will be available to Patrons on a regular basis going forward.  The fact that we have an Around the Nation column at all this year is a direct result of the support of patrons and donors through this program.  We're definitely grateful!

[y_jack_lok]

^^^ We appreciate you guys. Thanks.

[Seatfiller]

Roanoke starts the season tonight vs. Greensboro  , I'm excited to say the least.

I thought this was the first game of the ODAC season and was surprised when I saw that these teams had already played:

Tue. 12   Ferrum   76   William Peace   73   Final   

Thu. 14   William Peace   93   Ferrum   85   Final   

Sat. 16   Virginia Wesleyan   62   N.C. Wesleyan   75   Final   

Sun. 17   Methodist   65   Lynchburg   78   Final

VA Wesleyan also played ODU in December. Nice to see the odac season back on track. Go Maroons!

[rmc1982]

Nice article on Buzz Anthony and the R-MC Jackets basketball in the Richmond paper this am    https://richmond.com/sports/college/at-esteemed-diii-r-mc-buzz-anthony-jackets-just-really-excited-to-put-a-uniform/article_35f30a59-48ed-5f91-98f9-c3485b9282c1.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=user-share

[Seatfiller]

Roanoke lost to Greensboro last night in a close one 67-61.  I didn't get to see this one but shooting 25% from 3, 61% from the FT and giving Greensboro 14 offensive rebounds is a recipe to lose.

[Scottgull]

2021 ODAC MEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL
1. Randolph-Macon (10) - 142 pts
2. Virginia Wesleyan University (3) - 135 pts
3. Washington and Lee University - 110 pts
4. Roanoke College - 102 pts
5. University of Lynchburg - 101 pts
6. Guilford College - 99 pts
7. Hampden-Sydney College - 82 pts
8. Ferrum College - 64 pts
9. Bridgewater College - 60 pts
10. Shenandoah University - 35 pts
11. Emory & Henry College - 33 pts
12. Randolph College - 28 pts
13. Eastern Mennonite University - 23 pts

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

If the VWC we've seen in just a couple games so far it's really second best in the ODAC, it's going to be a RMC runaway.

[y_jack_lok]

When Averett had to opt out of its game tonight at Bridgewater due to COVID issues R-MC subbed in. I was only able to watch parts, but what I saw was sophomore Josh Talbert on fire for the Jackets. R-MC got an early lead and held on for a 35-32 halftime advantage. Then they went on a spree to start the 2nd half and coasted to a 74-56 win. I'm happy for all the players and coaches who've persevered through the pandemic and finally get to have something of a season.

[Seatfiller]

Roanoke with their first win of the season against HSC today 66-55.  To be honest I was disappointed in RC as we kept getting up double digits and I felt like we kept letting HSC back in the game.

In other odac news today:

RMC beats Ferrum in a close one 61-57

Bridgewater beats Shenandoah 81-65

Lynchburg wins at EMU in OT 95-87

Randolph loses at VWU 68-83

[thescottharris]

Depth and condition looks like they are going to matter more this year than ever before. Teams are packing in 12-15 games in basically four-five weeks before the ODAC Tournament.

Typically at this time of the year teams are only playing twice a week, now it's going to be three to four games a week if the games actually all get played. Hopefully the teams that were able to practice in the fall semester placed a heavy emphasis on that. And teams that had the chance to practice in the fall should be at a big advantage given how much less practice time there will be now.

And what happens if going forward a team has to shut down for COVID for two weeks? That's nearly half the season. They could be pushing it to meet the requirement of six ODAC games to make the tournament. And if they wouldn't have enough games played to qualify for the tournament, does a school consider if it's worth the health risk by returning to play?

[jknezek]

W&L's winter athletics were due to open this weekend. So far the 1/30 men's and women's swim meet with Lynchburg has been cancelled, the 2/7 men's basketball game against VWU has been cancelled, and the women's 2/20 basketball game against Guilford has been cancelled (Guilford Women's bb opted out for the season). Bit of a rocky start...

[Ryan Scott (Hoops Fan)]

I wonder how many conferences will spread out and extend the basketball schedule if, as we presume, the NCAA tournament gets officially cancelled next week.  With the 117 days measurement this year, there's plenty of room to play into March or early April, if it'll make things easier on logistics.

[thescottharris]

Well Virginia Wesleyan and EMU have cancelled their next five games. E&H has cancelled their first three. Guilford has cancelled their first four.

The minimum games needed to make the ODAC Tournament is six conference games. VWU and EMU now only has 7 ODAC games scheduled. E&H has 9 and Guilford 8 so they have a little more margin for error.

On the women's side, Guilford and Hollins have opted out.

EMU just played Lynchburg four days ago, who just played H-SC tonight. VWU played Randolph four days ago, and they play Bridgewater tomorrow. Here's to hoping those games from four days ago don't end up being some sort of superspreader event.

[Macon]

The DIII season is heading in the wrong direction.  Looking at the D3hoops scoreboard for yesterday, about 3/4 of games were cancelled or postponed. 

As to the RMC game, Macon played a very good Salisbury team, but earned a surprisingly easy 24 point win.  Several freshmen played valuable minutes, with 3 freshmen on the floor at times.  Buzz's 30 points carried the day. 

With so many cancellations, ODAC play will be sketchy going forward.  I feel so bad for the players, especially those teams (like RMC) that has real chances at the national level in a normal year.  The opportunity for post season play (not to mention regular season play) seems slim to non-existent for these top notch teams.  But, in the bigger picture called life, it is still a game.