MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[y_jack_lok]

Between tonight and Thursday 12/21, at least one ODAC team is in action every day except Thursday 12/7. Then there is a seven day break with no games, followed by two days, 12/29 & 12/30, when a number of teams have games, after which we enter the heart of conference play on 1/3/24.

RMC has two big home games this week: 1) tomorrow (Tues) vs Mary Washington, and 2) Friday vs H-SC. Those games will give us a good sense of the progress the Jackets are making and whether or not they deserve the top 25 votes they are getting, which this week has them as the top vote getter in the ORV group.

[y_jack_lok]

Shenandoah moves to 8-0 with a 65-63 win at Messiah which now has a 2-5 record. Entering the game SU's average margin of victory was 19. I don't know much about SU's non-conference opponents (Regent, Wilson, Washington College, Lancaster Bible, and Gallaudet) but they have wins over Bridgewater (by 24) and Roanoke (by 8). So tonight's result is a bit of a head scratcher. In the first half SU's defense repeatedly fell asleep on Messiah cuts to the basket. That happened several more times in the 2nd half before the Hornets picked up the defensive intensity. Tied at 63 SU's Joshua Stephen hit an 18 ft contested jumper with 2 seconds to go for the win.

[rmc1982]

RMC JACKETS put a butt whoopin on UMW in front of a raucous crowd in Crenshaw Gym 79-51! Jackets hit 17 3's.... Wow! They should have saved some of em for Friday night bs HSC, also in Crenshaw!! It's gonna be a ROLLERCOASTER YEAR IN THE COTU!!

[y_jack_lok]

RMC JACKETS put a butt whoopin on UMW in front of a raucous crowd in Crenshaw Gym 79-51! Jackets hit 17 3's.... Wow! They should have saved some of em for Friday night bs HSC, also in Crenshaw!! It's gonna be a ROLLERCOASTER YEAR IN THE COTU!!

It's a good thing those threes were falling. The Jackets had no success getting anything near the basket because UMW's interior defense was outstanding. Credit also to RMC's defense, especially in the second half. It was definitely a different game after halftime --a combined 81 points scored in the first half vs 49 in the second.

[rmc1982]

I was impressed with the Bachman kid inside last night! Wide body and a hustler! Not afraid to mix it up either!! We desperately need that!

[y_jack_lok]

I was impressed with the Bachman kid inside last night! Wide body and a hustler! Not afraid to mix it up either!! We desperately need that!

Indeed. About as solid a 17 minutes a player can have without attempting a field goal: 8 of 10 free throws, five rebounds, four steals. Of course, he was in the act of shooting when fouled on most of those trips to the line.

[y_jack_lok]

Five very competitive games last night.

VWU over Averett 49-46. Really poor shooting in the first half by both teams (not all of it due to good defense based on what I saw). Neither team cracked 30% in the first half.

Randolph over EMU 95-86 in OT.

Lynchburg over previously unbeaten Ferrum 80-68. The Hornets hold Ferrum to 20 points below their season average largely by limiting Jakari Johnson to six points, 15 below his average.

Shenandoah stays unbeaten (9-0) with an 85-75 non-conference win over Southern Virginia.

D3hoops.com #3 Guilford also stays unbeaten (7-0) with a 65-53 win at Roanoke.

[y_jack_lok]

Former RMC basketball coach Paul Webb passed away this morning: https://sports.yahoo.com/paul-webb-legendary-coach-guided-181900461.html?fr=sycsrp_catchall&guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADAKQzc7JInluurGSNDT5hrG0Rc6gflkDe6jUPGPL3XyFoXOk5ax_XTDDxbkSS3vuS6bFbEs2LkfLTOXtwjM6vwT1kkFAD6f-zyfIlmkW79iwk_X8-Fw1mr95G8VQR_E_5lSCCm4QolultPbamVRHhSjQxV1HecXbzE3TJVvfpkW

[y_jack_lok]

Two pretty low scoring first halves in games involving ODAC teams last night. #3 Guilford led Mary Washington 19-17, while #7 Hampden-Sydney led Randolph-Macon 29-18 after 20 minutes. The pace picked up quite a bit in Fredericksburg in the second half, with the Quakers outscoring the Eagles 46-45. Guilford led by 16 with 2:15 left, but the Eagles must have come back strong to only lose 65-62. In Ashland, the Tigers and Jackets played even in the second half (33-33), so no change in the margin at the end of the game, with H-SC winning 61-52.

The two top 10 teams did what they needed to do, winning on the road. H-SC looked like it deserved its ranking, playing really well as a team. They were ready for almost anything the Jackets tried to do offensively and found ways to score against the Jackets' zone and man defenses. I think there is much greater upside potential for a young RMC team, so the rematch at H-SC on Feb 23rd should be a good one.

[y_jack_lok]

Five ODAC teams in non-conference games today. Bridgewater, Shenandoah and Ferrum with wins; Randolph and EMU with losses. SU now at 10-0, Ferrum is 7-1, Bridgewater is 8-2.

[y_jack_lok]

Guilford now 9-0 with a 60-45 win over Greensboro today.

VWU wins at home 70-58 over Roanoke. Roanoke is 0-4 in ODAC games, though they have been competitive in all of them. Those four losses are to Ferrum (7-1), Shenandoah (10-0), Guilford (9-0), and VWU (9-1).

[y_jack_lok]

Averett loses tonight at CNU 61-50. Averett is now 1-9 (0-4 ODAC), but tonight's game and Wednesday's home game vs VWU (a 49-46) loss, were quite competitive against good teams and they didn't given up many points in either game. Their ODAC losses are to Ferrum (7-1), H-SC (6-1), Bridgewater (8-2), and VWU (9-1).

[y_jack_lok]

H-SC opened up on fire at William Peace tonight. With only 10 minutes gone the Tigers were up 30-9. They were scoring at will inside and controlling the boards. William Peace couldn't penetrate H-SC's interior defense. Their nine points were on three 3s. The Tigers had a 17 point lead at halftime, but nine minutes into the second half it was down to six and after going back up by 12 it was back down to six with under five minutes remaining. The Tigers finished on a 12-5 run to win 78-65.

[y_jack_lok]

I didn't notice Sunday's Lynchburg loss to William Peace, 82-67. Lynchburg is the only team to have a win over Ferrum. Ferrum is now 8-1 after winning tonight at Mary Baldwin 67-55. Bridgewater also wins tonight 58-53 at Greensboro and is now 9-2 overall.

Two significant non-conference games tomorrow night that will influence top 25 voting:
1) #25 Swathmore at #6 H-SC
2) RV Virginia Wesleyan at #12 Christopher Newport.

[y_jack_lok]

Two significant non-conference games tomorrow night that will influence top 25 voting:
1) #25 Swathmore at #6 H-SC
2) RV Virginia Wesleyan at #12 Christopher Newport.

Both ODAC teams win. Was trying to follow both games during the first halves. From what I saw of the HSC game, the Tigers defense was relentless and led by 15 at halftime. Wasn't able to watch the second half, but from the box score it seems that Swathmore had a good first 10 minutes before H-SC regained control and won by 21, 67-46.

Didn't watch as much of VWU at CNU. From what I did see, VWU looked better than the other times I've seen them. Final was 74-68.