MBB: Old Dominion Athletic Conference

[Tigerfan]

Randolph gave D1 Longwood all they could handle on Monday, losing by 11.  That's got to be a confidence builder for new coach Evan Kee and his squad.  Not so much for Longwood. 

[y_jack_lok]

ODAC teams go 5-1 on opening night of the new season. Winners were VWU, Guilford, Ferrum, RMC, and Bridgewater. W&L suffered the lone loss.

At the Hood College tournament, RMC downed Salisbury 79-66. After the score was tied 2-2 the Jackets took a lead and never gave it up. I wish the box score had a breakdown of fouls in each half, because the Jackets appeared to commit probably twice as many in the second half as in the first. Just some really sloppy defending after intermission. If Salisbury had made more of its 2nd half free throws this could have been a different game. Not surprisingly, junior guards Jabril Robinson (15 points) and Keishawn Pulley, Jr. (24 points) led the Jackets in scoring. The other 40 points were spread among eight players, none of whom hit double figures. The Jackets out rebounded the Seagulls 40-30. They did not look like a #7 ranked team.

[Brian Hamilton]

HSC defeated Swarthmore 81 - 64.  Radcliffe scored 27 pts, Brazil 17, and Fernald 13.  The biggest surprise to me looking at the box score was HSC had 44 points in the paint.  They lit it up from deep against Guilford.

Next up RMC at HSC on Wednesday.

[y_jack_lok]

ODAC teams go 6-4 today.

Winners were: Bridgewater, Randolph, W&L, Averett, VWU, and HSC.

RMC, Roanoke, EMU, and Shenandoah all took losses.

Hood downed RMC 81-72, but the game wasn't really that close. Hood led by five at halftime, built the lead to 22 with just over 10 minutes to play and held off the Jackets the rest of the way. Hood's zone defense kept the Jackets from getting the ball inside and the threes weren't falling, making only 9 of 40. There are specific ways of attacking a zone defense and this RMC team still needs to learn how to do that properly. There was obvious frustration in the body language of the Jackets players as they struggled to solve the zone and make outside shots. Past RMC teams could rely on defense to keep them in games, but this one still has a ways to go to get there. This is not to take anything away from Hood, which is a good team. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament last season, and while they might have one or two more experienced players than RMC, they are not heavy with veterans.

[scottiedoug]

Not sure what to make of Averett's win at Maryville but I can tell you that Averett will work very hard, get to the hoop, and hit free throws. They seem to know what they are supposed to be doing. Scots almost pulled it out at the end.

https://mcscots.com/news/2024/11/9/mens-basketball-averett-downs-maryville-in-hoops.aspx

[y_jack_lok]

Not sure what to make of Averett's win at Maryville but I can tell you that Averett will work very hard, get to the hoop, and hit free throws. They seem to know what they are supposed to be doing. Scots almost pulled it out at the end.

https://mcscots.com/news/2024/11/9/mens-basketball-averett-downs-maryville-in-hoops.aspx

I had forgotten that Averett was playing pre-season #20 Maryville. The cougars made 60.9% of their field goals, went 25 of 25 from the free throw line, and out-rebounded the Scots 35-22. Yet they still only won by six points. Those percentages are staggering and are certainly not sustainable for an entire season. One must wonder if Maryville is overrated, or if this game was an aberration. Since it's the first game of the season for both teams, I wouldn't read too much into this result. Still, a great win for Averett.

[Seatfiller]

ODAC teams go 6-4 today.

Winners were: Bridgewater, Randolph, W&L, Averett, VWU, and HSC.

RMC, Roanoke, EMU, and Shenandoah all took losses.

Hood downed RMC 81-72, but the game wasn't really that close. Hood led by five at halftime, built the lead to 22 with just over 10 minutes to play and held off the Jackets the rest of the way. Hood's zone defense kept the Jackets from getting the ball inside and the threes weren't falling, making only 9 of 40. There are specific ways of attacking a zone defense and this RMC team still needs to learn how to do that properly. There was obvious frustration in the body language of the Jackets players as they struggled to solve the zone and make outside shots. Past RMC teams could rely on defense to keep them in games, but this one still has a ways to go to get there. This is not to take anything away from Hood, which is a good team. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament last season, and while they might have one or two more experienced players than RMC, they are not heavy with veterans.

I was able to go to the Roanoke loss last night.  Roanoke lost by 2 (almost hit a buzzer beating 3 from the volleyball line), but they played pretty well considering we were missing 2 starters. RC's bigs struggled and we didn't finish at least 7 shots within 3 feet of the hoop.  Eastern bigs blocked at least 10 shots and were strong around the rim. RC was up 9 with about 10 minutes left and Eastern went on a big run and ended up holding a 6 point lead with under a minute left.  RC fought back (thanks to some missed Eastern FTs) and had a shot to win it at the end. 

I'm interested to see how RC does today with SUNY Geneseo. I saw SUNY warming up and they looked small but they ended up blowing out SU by 30 so this will be interesting game.

[scottiedoug]

Maryville was outhustled, which does not happen often. Averett has seldom if ever shot the ball this well. A key returning Scot is out with ACL so the Scots need to figure some things out. I know they will be more "competitive" Tuesday playing Sewanee.

[Seatfiller]

RC beat a pretty good SUNY-Geneseo team yesterday 83-68. RC came out with a fire yesterday and looked like a completely different team from Saturday.  RC would take a  37-11 lead in the 1st half but by halftime they were only up 13.  In the second half RC continued to control the game and led by 20 for most of the game.  Hopefully RC plays like this again this weekend when they host the Frankie Allen Tipoff Tourney.

[Tigerfan]

Why is Zach Rosenthal not playing?  He can definitely stretch a defense out.

[rmc1982]

BIG game in Farmville tonite as the Jackets visit the Tigers!! Can the Jackets bounce back from their horrendous shooting performance from last Saturday? If they can't its gonna be a LOOONG night!!

[Seatfiller]

Why is Zach Rosenthal not playing?  He can definitely stretch a defense out.

So from what I understand, he won't be back the entire year.  He did something to his arm and needs surgery on it. It's a pretty big blow to Roanoke but I'm hoping he'll come back next year but who knows since he's a senior.

[y_jack_lok]

ODAC teams are currently 15-7 vs non-conference opponents. Lynchburg is the only team not to have played yet. They start their season tonight at Pfeiffer.

Last night I checked in on Averett's home game vs Southern Virginia. The lofty shooting percentages they had against Maryville on Saturday came back down to earth, but they still got a W 79-70 after trailing by 16 at halftime.

There are five other games tonight besides the non-conference game between RMC and H-SC. The most interesting of those is CNU at VWU.

[Brian Hamilton]

HSC over RMC 84-77.  Brazil had 34 points in the win.

VWU loses in OT to CNU, 74-72.

[y_jack_lok]

ODAC teams go 2-3 vs non-conference opposition tonight. Shenandoah and Guilford win. Lynchburg and W&L lose in regulation, while VWU falls to CNU 74-72 in OT.

In the non-conference game between conference teams, H-SC downs RMC 84-77. The Tigers got the lead for good with about 10 minutes left in the first half. They built up a couple of double digit leads in the second half, but the Jackets kept battling back to keep hope alive. Adam Brazil was the man for H-SC with 34 points. I couldn't watch the game from start to finish, but every time I was watching he was making an unbelievable shot. This game was a far cry from the low scoring, defensive battles the two teams have played in recent years. To me that reflects a bunch of new players on both teams who aren't familiar with how the other team plays. For the Jackets, 6'8" sophomore Joe Bachman came off the bench and in five minutes of playing time made two of three field goals, six of six free throws, and pulled down four boards. Joe had a solid freshman season but only played seven minutes vs Salisbury and two versus Hood. Maybe this performance will earn him more playing time.