Old Dominion Men's Basketball 2015 NIT Tournament Capsule

Old Dominion Monarchs
Conference USA (24-7, 13-5)

 

Old Dominion got off to a very good start this season. They won 13 of their first 14 games, which included victories over LSU and VCU. During the non-conference portion of the season, the Monarchs played just one true road game. The road proved to be difficult later on in Conference USA action.

Big Wins: 11/21 vs LSU (70-61), 11/29 VCU (73-67), 2/21 Louisiana Tech (72-53)
Bad Losses: 1/22 at Middle Tennessee (58-68), 1/24 at UAB (68-81), 2/12 at UTSA (67-72)
Coach: Jeff Jones

Why They Can Surprise:
Old Dominion wins games with their defense and has built an offense that can take care of the ball and look for smart shots. Richard Ross is only 6-6, but he is a big reason Old Dominion has a good interior defense. Ross blocks 1.6 shots per game and adds 5.6 rebounds and 8.3 points. Jonathan Arledge is a good interior scorer as well and does his part to help ODU dominate the glass in the CUSA. Denzell Taylor is not a scorer, but the sophomore is a great rebounder off of the bench.

Why They Can Disappoint:
The Monarchs often have a stagnant offense. Junior guard Trey Freeman is a very good all-around scorer. He can shoot the three ball and effectively attack the basket. Aaron Bacote is a less efficient version of Freeman. However, there is a lot of pressure on those two to do everything offensively. Freeman and Bacote are not good enough outside shooters to consistently spark the offense, nor are they aggressive enough to make up for a team that rarely gets to the foul line. Those scoring droughts can be tough to break when Old Dominion struggles to even get to the line. For most of the season, the defense has done enough to keep the Monarchs in the game and Freeman and Bacote do enough to win the game. That may not be sufficient in the tournament.

Probable Starters:
Trey Freeman, Junior, Guard, 17.4 ppg, 3.4 apg
Jordan Baker, Sophomore, Guard, 3.9 ppg, 1.3 apg
Aaron Bacote, Junior, Guard, 10.5 ppg, 2.8 apg
Richard Ross, Senior, Forward, 8.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 1.6 bpg
Jonathan Arledge, Senior, Center, 8.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg

Key Roleplayers:
Javonte Douglas, Junior, Forward, 3.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg
Ambrose Mosley, Sophomore, Guard, 6.6 ppg
Keenan Palmore, Junior, Guard, 2.5 ppg, 1.0 apg
Denzell Taylor, Sophomore, Forward, 3.2 ppg, 6.0 rpg

By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 65.8 (211th in nation, 8th in conference)
Scoring Defense: 56.6 (10, 1)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.7 (163, 7)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.2 (63, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 6.0 (209, 10)  
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 33.1 (224, 7)
Free-Throw Percentage: 68.3 (208, 6)
Rebound Margin: 5.6 (28, 1)
Assists Per Game: 13.4 (109, 6)
Turnovers Per Game: 10.9 (36, 1)

Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014    CBI    First Round win over South Dakota State
2014    CBI    Quarterfinal win over Radford
2014    CBI    Semifinal loss to Fresno State
2012    CIT    First Round win over Coastal Carolina
2012    CIT    Second Round win over USC Upstate
2012    CIT    Quarterfinal loss to Mercer
2011    NCAA    Round of 64 loss to Butler
2010    NCAA    Round of 64 win over Notre Dame
2010    NCAA    Round of 32 loss to Baylor
2009    CIT    First Round win over Citadel
2009    CIT    Second Round win over Belmont
2009    CIT    Semifinal win over James Madison
2009    CIT    Final win over Bradley
2008    CBI    First Round win over Rider
2008    CBI    Second Round loss to Virginia
2007    NCAA    Round of 64 loss to Butler

*all team stats through 3/8

 

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