ODU DEFEATS W&M IN A BLOWOUT!

February 26th - This was senior night for the Monarchs who are graduating four seniors this year.  The seniors went out in style as they each were named the players of the game.  Though a conference match up, it wasn't a difficult one as ODU defeated the Tribe of William and Mary by a score of 77-58.  The Monarchs out rebounded the Tribe 47-15.  Frank Hassell led all scorers with 18 points and 12 points and Kenyon Carter had 16 points.  This was the final regular season game of the year. The Monarchs finish the regular season 24-6 and 14-4 in conference play.  Next comes the CAA tourney which will begin for the Monarchs on March 5th, since they have a first round bye.

Frank Hassell shooting over the Tribe on Saturday afternoon..VICTORY

According to the Virginia Pilot, the Monarchs will either play #10 seed Northeastern or #7 seed Delaware Saturday at 6pm in Richmond, VA.

ODU TOPS JMU IN CAA CLASH!

Thursday, February 24 - The Monarchs of ODU defeated the Dukes of JMU in a CAA match up by a score of 75-59.  This was a special night for the Dukes, as they were celebrating senior night in their home arena.  That occasion however did not faze the Monarchs, who manhandled the Dukes.  Frank Hassell led all scorers with 21 points, and Kent Bazemore added 19 points.  Judging by the stats the Monarchs simply outplayed the Dukes in all aspects of the game.  This was not a truly impressive victory for the Monarchs but it was a decent one.  The Monarchs final game will be Saturday the 26th against William and Mary.  That game just like the JMU match should be an easy victory to prepare the Monarchs for the CAA tournament that begins next week.  The Monarchs record currently stands at 23-6 overall and 13-4 in the CAA.

CAA TOURNAMENT ANNOUNCEMENT

The tournament will be begin on March 4th and conclude on March 7th with the championship game. Here is the seed match ups, which will be further determined when the regular season concludes.

2011 CAA MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, MARCH 4
FIRST ROUND GAMES

Gm. 1	#8 seed vs. #9 seed	Noon
Gm. 2	#5 seed vs. #12 seed	2:30 p.m.
Gm. 3	#7 seed vs. #10 seed	6:00 p.m.
Gm. 4	#6 seed vs. #11 seed	8:30 p.m.

SATURDAY, MARCH 5
QUARTERFINAL GAMES

Gm. 5	#1 seed vs. #8/#9 winner	Noon
Gm. 6	#4 seed vs. #5/12 winner	2:30 p.m.
Gm. 7	#2 seed vs. #7/10 winner	6:00 p.m.
Gm. 8	#3 seed vs. #6/#11 winner	8:30 p.m

SUNDAY, MARCH 6
SEMIFINAL GAMES

Gm. 9	Winner of Game 5 vs. Winner of Game 6	Noon
Gm. 10	Winner of Game 7 vs. Winner of Game 8	2:30 p.m

MONDAY, MARCH 7Men’s Championship Game    7:00 p.m.

(Courtesy of caasports.com)

The tournament will be held at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, VA.

GO MONARCHS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

BRACKETOLOGY UPDATE

After a weekend with an impressive win over Cleveland State of the Horizon league, the Monarchs of ODU all but secured their spot in the NCAA tourney for an at large bid.  According to collegerpi.com, the Monarchs are ranked 28th nationally, while the CAA conference leader George Mason is ranked 20th.  For those who don't know the RPI is the ratings percentage index. This is somewhat like a strength of schedule, and this ranking is very important during this time of year.  Out of 345 schools the Monarchs are ranked 28th in the nation in terms of RPI, which helps them out a lot when the time comes for the NCAA selection process.  Head coach Blaine Taylor offered some opinion on this time of year, when he was interviewed by David Teel of the Daily Press. He said its "almost impossible" to get an at large birth, but also that he was "not worried about it".  Lastly he stated that he was proud of the fact that they played a tough schedule and that they were successful in that.

 With only two games left before the CAA tourney, the Monarchs are looking good!.  They definitely need to finish the season strong, however the real match ups will come during the CAA tourney which will decide what happens next.  Espn's Joe Lunardi currently has ODU in the WEST (ANAHEIM) division, that is if the season were to end today.  This will change after the final two games and after the tournament concludes.  The hard contests of the regular season are over, we'll just have to wait and see what happens in the tournament.


David Teel opinion of ODU Ncaa tourney chances. (Information used from this article written by David Teel)

MONARCHS WINS BRACKETBUSTER MATCHUP OVER CLEVELAND STATE

Sunday - In a nationally televised match up against Cleveland State, the Monarchs of ODU were able to slow the one man show of Cleveland State and end the game with a VICTORY by a score of 74-63.  If you were there, you know about the one man show of Cleveland State. He is number 30 and his name is Norris Cole. He scored 35 points. Enough with that.  The MONARCHS out rebounded the Vikings and dominated them in the paint.  Frank Hassell and Ben Finney combined for 28 rebounds, while Kent Bazemore led all scorers on the Monarchs with 18 points.

Court a few minutes before tip off

This victory improves the Monarchs record to 22-6.  This game, which was on ESPN, gave ODU a chance to show how talented the team is, and they were able to do just that. In recent years the Monarchs have been successful in these contests, as their bracket buster record improves to 5-1.  The Monarchs have only two games left before the CAA tourney. They will play James Madison and William and Mary in the final two match ups. These should be easy victories to give the Monarchs momentum as they begin the tournament, especially since they have already beaten both teams this season. Stay tuned for a bracketology update as well as a CAA tourney announcement.
All stat information courtesy of:
www.dailypress.com

BRACKET BUSTER!!!!!! SUNDAY!!!!

                                                                                  VS.









This Sunday FEBRUARY 20TH at 1PM the Monarchs of ODU will take on the Vikings of Cleveland State in a BRACKETBUSTER matchup. This game will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN 2.  For those who don't know, BRACKETBUSTER stands for a team MID MAJOR team in college basketball that can potentially upset a highly ranked Divison 1 basketball team.  The BRACKETBUSTER weekend was set up to give lower ranked schools more exposure to in the national spotlight as MARCH MADNESS approaches.  Cleveland State hails from the Horizon League and their record stands at 23-5.  

This matchup gives OLD DOMINION another chance to better their resume for the NCAA tourney selection committee.  This is a must win for the Monarchs and they will need this victory especially if they fail to win the CAA tourney.

MONARCHS OUTPLAY GEORGIA STATE FOR WIN

Tuesday Night - In a game that started slow, the Monarchs were able to outplay Georgia State and win by a score of 60-43.  The Monarchs were led by Frank Hassell who had 17 points and 10 boards. Also  Ben Finney had 11 points and 10 boards.  This win improves the Monarchs record to 21-6 and 12-4 in the CAA.

Frank Hassell

ODU tops Georgia State : wavy.com

 Highlights from tonight's action courtesy of WAVY.COM

Another conference victory for ODU. This win in my opinion was overshadowed by VCU's loss to the Patriots of George Mason tonight, which is major for ODU.  Now the Monarchs are tied for third with VCU and Hofstra.  This weekend ODU will play the bracketbuster match up against Cleveland State. That game will be televised on ESPN. Should be an awesome game for the fans. Later this week I am going to post a bracketology update and give my opinion on where the Monarchs stand according to predictions.  I will also post some photos taken by me of the courts before game time as well as some of the players.

MONARCHS BEAT RAMS BY 11!!!!!!!!!!!

On a Saturday afternoon ESPN broadcast match up, The Monarchs were able to beat the Rams of VCU by a score of 70-59.  Frank Hassell scored 18 points with 11 rebounds to record his 10th double double of the season. Ben Finney also had a double double with 15 points and 11 boards. Kent Bazemore also had 13 points in the win.

ODU tops VCU: wavy.com

With great defense the Monarchs were able to hold the Rams to under 38 percent shooting. The Monarchs outscored the Rams in the paint and also out rebounded them.  ODU seemed to be firing on all cylinders with this victory.  This win gives Blaine Taylor his sixth 20 win season and moves the Monarchs to 20-6 overall and 11-4 in the CAA. ODU is currently third in the CAA standings with only 4 games left. Georgia State visits Norfolk on Tuesday to face the Monarchs. Should be an easy victory.  This win over VCU is extremely significant when it comes to the resume for the NCAA tourney, especially if the Monarchs do not win the CAA tournament.

MONARCHS BEAT THE TRIBE...TOO EASY

The Monarchs, led byFrank Hassell, defeated the Tribe of William and Mary Wednesday night 69-53.  Hassell scored 21 points and had 11 boards. Kent Bazemore also had a good night contributing 14 points with a career high 12 boards.  The Monarchs also received more contribution off the bench, as Kenyon Carter had 12 points.  This victory puts the Monarchs at 19-6 overall and 10-4 in the CAA.

Frank Hassell 21 points, 11 boards

With this victory the Monarchs get another CAA win for their resume.  This is a major bounce back from the defeat suffered in the previous game by George Mason.  This wasn't even close, I suppose because the Tribe of William and Mary are not having a good year at all.  With that said, though this win isn't super impressive the Monarchs could not afford to have lost this match up.  I think that the George Mason game may have been a fluke, though the Patriots are a great team.  The Monarchs face the Rams of VCU next, that game will be Saturday the 12th in Richmond.  After suffering defeat in the last match up the Monarchs look to get a win on the road, which unlike last nights game, will be a resume booster if they win.

ODU Crushed on the Road

February 5 - The Monarchs in need of a victory over George Mason to better their resume, failed to win. George Mason, in a conference game delivered a shellacking to the Monarchs 62-45. The Monarchs now (18-6 and 9-4 in the CAA) were led by Kent Bazemore and Chris Cooper, who had 12 points a piece.

Fan Photo

This loss is definitely not a good sign for the upcoming schedule and tournament. The Monarchs desperately need victories in the next few games to better their chances for the big DANCE. If the Monarchs are not successful in these upcoming games, they will need to win the CAA tourney to advance.This loss puts them two games behind the Patriots of GM and the Rams of VCU for the number one spot. With the way they played on Saturday I am not convinced that they will be able to make it through the tourney, if they don't find a way to play better. The offensive game has to improve dramatically. 5 of 27 from the field in the second half of a conference game this late in the season is just not acceptable. Also the Monarchs went 1 of 15 from three point range. I EXPECT A LOT MORE THAN THAT FROM THIS TEAM. The Monarchs next match up will be William and Mary on Wednesday the 9th at 7:00pm.

Game and Stat information: www.dailypress.com

Basketball Arena (Ted Constant Center)

Ted Constant Center

Where it all goes down.....Monarchs!!!!!!

BRACKETOLOGY!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS THAT TIME AGAIN

Bracketology is known as a process used to predict the bracket or match ups for the NCAA tournament.  This year ODU is currently included in the predictions and not just as a bubble team.  In the coming weeks I will inform you of the up to date predictions by sports analysts from ESPN.  I know this is premature considering that the CAA tourney hasn't taken place yet. This however is A BIG DEAL!!! Stay tuned!!!

Bazemore leads Monarchs to Victory in Rematch over Delaware

Kent Bazemore had an amazing night as the Monarchs defeated Delaware in a rematch 67-59. Bazemore scored a team high 20 points with 16 of those points coming in the second half. He also had 5 assists. In front of a packed crowd the Monarchs put on a memorable show displaying the tough competitive nature that always seems to come in conference games late in the season.

Kent Bazemore

The Monarchs who won the CAA title last season, are now 9-3 in conference play.  The next four games for the Monarchs are ALL conference games. The Monarchs will face the Patriots of George Mason this Saturday the 5th, the Tribe of William of Mary on the 9th, the Rams of Virginia Commonwealth on the 12th, and the Panthers of Georgia State on the 15th. There is no doubt in my mind that the Monarchs are capable of going 4-0 in this stretch of tough match ups.  As each game approaches i will be posting my opinion on the match ups to come, leading up to the CAA tournament which will decide it all. Also i will discuss the outlook of other NCAA tournament analysts as they attempt to predict the NCAA tournament bracket.

ODU Basketball

This blog will cover Old Dominion University Men's Basketball. Here you will find the latest information regarding the games. Upcoming games (dates, times), and also updates after the game. This blog will focus less on the stats aspect of the games and more on the upcoming CAA tournament and the Monarchs chances for being selected for the NCAA tournament in March. I will post my thoughts on upcoming match ups along with my analysis of each game immediately after they take place. I chose to create this blog because I AM A HUGE BASKETBALL FAN, and have always wanted to play but that talent wasn't given to me.  Also this time of year is always exciting especially with March Madness fast approaching.