They shot less than 29 percent in their last game ? and won. Actually, they?ve done that twice.
They shoot 36.5 percent from the floor for the season, 344th in Division I. They shoot 61.1 percent from the free-throw line, 340th in the land. They are 343rd in scoring at 59.1 points per game.
Yet they are 9-5 overall, with a non-conference schedule that isn?t considered soft. They have started Conference USA play 2-0.
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the Old Dominion Monarchs, coming to an arena near you. They will bring their quicksand-based game to the Cam Henderson Center for a 7 p.m. Thursday game against fire-at-will Marshall.
Just by looking at ODU?s scores and stats, you can place some emphasis on ?old? ? perhaps a decade in which 68 points was considered ?showtime.? Louisville scored that many on the Monarchs, and the Cardinals needed a 19-point overtime to do it.
No opponent has reached 70 points against ODU. For Marshall, that?s the season-low scoring output.
Conversely, ODU has yet to break the rarified air of scoring 65 points in a game. The Monarchs have won three games despite not scoring 60, the last being a 55-48 win over North Texas last weekend. The Monarchs shot 28.1 percent in that game, lower than the 28.8 percent they shot in beating Dartmouth and the 29.2 percent in a 51-39 loss to Rhode Island.
So how does Jeff Jones? team survive this deep into the 21st century? By defense, winning 50-50 balls and ruling the offensive boards, among other factors. In the North Texas game, they had 21 offensive rebounds and scored 16 second-chance points.
The Monarchs average 15.6 offensive rebounds, pulling down 38.4 percent of their misses ? both leading the league by far. Defensively, their opponents shoot just 38.8 percent and, weirdly enough, only 61.8 percent from the foul line.
ODU allows just 56.4 points a game, easily the best in C-USA and second in the nation.
But does that mean the Monarchs are one of the nation?s best on defense? Not necessarily, says Thundering Herd coach Dan D?Antoni.
?It?s pace. It?s all about pace,? he said. ?When you slow it down, too, it always allows your defenses to set. So they can do that, slow you down, and then you?re always playing against a set defense. Our game is so wide open, it allows you to play without set defenses [on either side].?
The Monarchs prefer to pound it inside, which takes extra passes and chews up the shot clock. As stats guru Ken Pomeroy notes, the Monarchs average about 62 possessions per 40 minutes, well below Marshall?s 78.3.
The Herd is fourth in the nation in that category and the Monarchs are 347th.
These teams couldn?t be any more different, much more so than they were last season ? with freelancing Trey Freeman, the Monarchs gunned their way to 68.5 points per outing.
Freeman has exhausted his eligibility and departed, and two scorers average 11-plus points this season ? sophomore Ahmad Caver, a 6-foot-2 guard, and 6-7 junior Brendan Stith. Stith was named to the league?s All-Defensive Team last season, and leads the Monarchs with 30 blocked shots.
Stith?s 8.4 rebounds per game is a tick behind team leader Denzell Taylor, a 6-7 senior.
Marshall (9-6, 2-0), coming off a two-game sweep in south Florida last weekend, is first in the league and eighth in the nation in scoring offense (88.5 points per game) and 3-point goals per game (10.5). Conversely, the Herd is last in the league and 339th in the nation in scoring defense (84.9).
While the Herd has sprung defensive leaks at times, it cannot be expected to lower that figure by much.
?If I score 120, I?m not going to hold you to 60 points,? D?Antoni said. ?You?re not going to win by 60 points. He?s going to score 100 points. Now what the hell?s the difference in 100 points and 120 ? 100 points is bad defense as opposed to 60 and 40?
?No, it?s about separation, and if you?ve got a good team, it still comes down to who has the best players. If you?ve got a good team and the separation is eight, 10 points, you?re a good defensive team.?
No matter how the scoring goes, this is first and foremost an early battle between C-USA contenders. But you can?t turn away from the run-and-gun vs. plod-and-guard subplot.
Simply put: Will the Herd be the first to 70?
They shoot 36.5 percent from the floor for the season, 344th in Division I. They shoot 61.1 percent from the free-throw line, 340th in the land. They are 343rd in scoring at 59.1 points per game.
Yet they are 9-5 overall, with a non-conference schedule that isn?t considered soft. They have started Conference USA play 2-0.
Ladies and gentlemen, introducing the Old Dominion Monarchs, coming to an arena near you. They will bring their quicksand-based game to the Cam Henderson Center for a 7 p.m. Thursday game against fire-at-will Marshall.
Just by looking at ODU?s scores and stats, you can place some emphasis on ?old? ? perhaps a decade in which 68 points was considered ?showtime.? Louisville scored that many on the Monarchs, and the Cardinals needed a 19-point overtime to do it.
No opponent has reached 70 points against ODU. For Marshall, that?s the season-low scoring output.
Conversely, ODU has yet to break the rarified air of scoring 65 points in a game. The Monarchs have won three games despite not scoring 60, the last being a 55-48 win over North Texas last weekend. The Monarchs shot 28.1 percent in that game, lower than the 28.8 percent they shot in beating Dartmouth and the 29.2 percent in a 51-39 loss to Rhode Island.
So how does Jeff Jones? team survive this deep into the 21st century? By defense, winning 50-50 balls and ruling the offensive boards, among other factors. In the North Texas game, they had 21 offensive rebounds and scored 16 second-chance points.
The Monarchs average 15.6 offensive rebounds, pulling down 38.4 percent of their misses ? both leading the league by far. Defensively, their opponents shoot just 38.8 percent and, weirdly enough, only 61.8 percent from the foul line.
ODU allows just 56.4 points a game, easily the best in C-USA and second in the nation.
But does that mean the Monarchs are one of the nation?s best on defense? Not necessarily, says Thundering Herd coach Dan D?Antoni.
?It?s pace. It?s all about pace,? he said. ?When you slow it down, too, it always allows your defenses to set. So they can do that, slow you down, and then you?re always playing against a set defense. Our game is so wide open, it allows you to play without set defenses [on either side].?
The Monarchs prefer to pound it inside, which takes extra passes and chews up the shot clock. As stats guru Ken Pomeroy notes, the Monarchs average about 62 possessions per 40 minutes, well below Marshall?s 78.3.
The Herd is fourth in the nation in that category and the Monarchs are 347th.
These teams couldn?t be any more different, much more so than they were last season ? with freelancing Trey Freeman, the Monarchs gunned their way to 68.5 points per outing.
Freeman has exhausted his eligibility and departed, and two scorers average 11-plus points this season ? sophomore Ahmad Caver, a 6-foot-2 guard, and 6-7 junior Brendan Stith. Stith was named to the league?s All-Defensive Team last season, and leads the Monarchs with 30 blocked shots.
Stith?s 8.4 rebounds per game is a tick behind team leader Denzell Taylor, a 6-7 senior.
Marshall (9-6, 2-0), coming off a two-game sweep in south Florida last weekend, is first in the league and eighth in the nation in scoring offense (88.5 points per game) and 3-point goals per game (10.5). Conversely, the Herd is last in the league and 339th in the nation in scoring defense (84.9).
While the Herd has sprung defensive leaks at times, it cannot be expected to lower that figure by much.
?If I score 120, I?m not going to hold you to 60 points,? D?Antoni said. ?You?re not going to win by 60 points. He?s going to score 100 points. Now what the hell?s the difference in 100 points and 120 ? 100 points is bad defense as opposed to 60 and 40?
?No, it?s about separation, and if you?ve got a good team, it still comes down to who has the best players. If you?ve got a good team and the separation is eight, 10 points, you?re a good defensive team.?
No matter how the scoring goes, this is first and foremost an early battle between C-USA contenders. But you can?t turn away from the run-and-gun vs. plod-and-guard subplot.
Simply put: Will the Herd be the first to 70?
