Old Dominion's Trey Freeman Injures Ankle

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Old Domininon's leading scorer, Trey Freeman, sprained an ankle at today's practice, and will receive treatment today as the Monarchs prepare to play Illinois State in a second-round NIT game Monday.

"We'll see how he responds," coach Jeff Jones said via text message.

Freeman landed on a teammate's foot and left practice about halfway through. The junior from Kellam High averages 17.3 points and 3.6 assists, and was voted a first-team All-Conference USA selection as well as league Newcomer of the Year.

ODU (25-7) beat Charleston Southern in the NIT opening round Wednesday. Illinois State defeated the Monarchs in November in the Paradise Jam.

 

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ODU looking to stay ahead at "The Ted"



Their routines vary. Jonathan Arledge showers and relaxes in his room. Trey Freeman listens to music and calls his mother. Ambrose Mosley arrives at the arena early to shoot.

Whatever their pre-game rituals, the Old Dominion Monarchs have shared a Constant Center routine for 13 months now:

Winning.

ODU's 22-game home winning streak is the nation's seventh-longest, and the longest in the 13-season history of "The Ted." The Monarchs haven't fallen in their Hampton Boulevard home since Feb. 22, 2014.

Maintaining home court hegemony could be a difficult task tonight, when ODU (25-7) hosts Illinois State (22-12) in a second-round NIT game. A match-up that already loomed as tough could be even more so, given the uncertain status of Freeman, the Monarchs' best player.

The 6-foot-1 junior from Kellam High sprained his ankle in practice Saturday. He's been receiving treatment, but it's unclear whether he'll play.

"We're just waiting to see," coach Jeff Jones said Sunday.

Even if Freeman can't go, the Monarchs have at least one major advantage. For whatever reason, ODU is a different team at home, where it's gone 18-0 this year.

"It's hard to say why," Jones said. "I think it's probably all about confidence."

It's also about the crowd and the comforts of home, players say. ODU averaged 7,132 fans during the regular season. Even a general admission crowd of 4,736 for Wednesday's NIT first-round game was raucous. As of Saturday afternoon, about 2,500 tickets had been sold for tonight's game.

"I give it all to the fans - 100 percent," Arledge said. "We feed off the energy that they provide.

"They get us over that hump."

ODU has struggled to find that energy on the road, where the crowds are hostile and the routines can be more numbing than comforting. At home, players who live just down the street from the arena have freedom to find a pre-game ritual that works for them.

"On the road, it's like you're on a schedule non-stop," Arledge said. "You don't have time to do what you want."

The Monarchs could need all the help tonight that playing at home can provide. Illinois State, from the Missouri Valley Conference, handed them their most lopsided loss of the season, 64-45, in the Paradise Jam on Nov. 23.

ODU never solved the Redbirds' zone defense, an aggressive scheme that can morph from 2-3 to 1-3-1. The Monarchs shot just 34 percent and were outrebounded 35-26.

"We didn't attack it very well," Jones said. "Hopefully, with some time to prepare, we'll do a better job attacking and getting some better shots."

The Conference USA Newcomer of the Year, Freeman generally directs ODU's attack. As the team's leader in scoring and assists, he excels at knowing when to get others involved, and when to take over.

If Freeman can't play, backup point guard Keenan Palmore, who started all 36 games last year, could get the call. Shooting guard Aaron Bacote can also swing to the point guard position. ODU also has an experienced option in guard Deion Clark.

As Saturday's practice concluded, the Monarchs looked loose and confident, fully in their element on the court where they haven't lost in more than a year.

"It's an advantage, always an advantage (playing at home)," Mosley said. "And we owe them. That loss hurt us, and also humbled us."

 

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Redbirds seek to hand ODU first home loss



Forgive Reggie Lynch for having basketball amnesia.

Immediately after beating Green Bay on Wednesday, Illinois State's sophomore center said he was looking forward to his first-ever trip to Virginia to play Old Dominion in a National Invitation Tournament second-round game.

Evidently, Lynch's his first college game last season slipped from his memory. And why not? The Redbirds went to Richmond and got hammered by Virginia Commonwealth.

"My bad," said Lynch.

Fourth-seeded ISU (22-12) would be well advised, too, in forgetting about its first game this season against No. 1 Old Dominion (25-7) for Monday's 7 p.m. (CDT) rematch at the Constant Convocation Center.

The Redbirds easily handled ODU, 64-45, in a Paradise Jam semifinal game in the Virgin Islands on Nov. 23. Four months later, the stakes are higher with a spot in the NIT quarterfinals Wednesday on the line.

"We have to remember this team is going to try and come after us because we beat them by a lot the last time," said Lynch. "We can't think about that aspect where it's going to be easy, just that if we play hard we can beat them."

That won't be so easy this time. The Monarchs have not lost at the Constant Convocation Center this season, going 18-0. They are tied for the nation's seventh longest home-court winning streak at 22.

However, the Redbirds have proven themselves on the road this season by going 7-5. One of those victories came at Alabama-Birmingham, which beat the Monarchs in a Conference USA game at Birmingham.

"Last year we did not win (a lot on the road), but the guys coming back had an edge to them about being better at it and some of our new players were not afraid," said ISU coach Dan Muller. "It will be a great challenge for our guys."

ISU faces another standout point guard for the second straight game. The Redbirds held Green Bay's Keifer Sykes to 14 points in a 69-56 win and now need to stop ODU's Trey Freeman.

Freeman, the Conference USA Newcomer of the Year and an all-league first-team choice, posted the school's first triple double in 33 years during a 65-56 first-round win against Charleston Southern. The 6-foot-2 transfer from Campbell had 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists.

"They're a lot different," said Muller when comparing Freeman to Sykes. "Freeman is bigger and has more of a mid-range game."

Freeman scored 16 points in the first meeting against ISU, but was 6 of 17 from the field and 1 of 8 outside the arc.

The Redbirds played exclusively a zone defense against the Monarchs in the first game that Muller said they aren't even using anymore.

Still, ODU coach Jeff Jones believes there were "some valuable lessons learned" in the first meeting. The point total was a season low for the Monarchs.

"Both teams have improved and evolved since then a great deal," said Jones. "For our guys what the big thing to take note of is how much more aggressive they were. They attacked us, and we did not respond in a good way. We have to be a lot tougher on both ends of the floor."

Lynch wouldn't mind another physical game like the Redbirds played against Green Bay.

Although ISU went to the free throw line 33 times, the officials let a lot of contact go inside the lane. Lynch responded after halftime with 12 points and six rebounds after having three points and two rebounds in the first half.

"Once I realized they were hitting us hard then I needed to hit back," said Lynch, who also had six blocks. "My first half was not that great, but I picked it up and played equally physical if not more in the second half."

A victory would send the Redbirds back on the road Wednesday against the winner of Monday's 8 p.m. game between No. 2 Tulsa (23-10) and No. 3 Murray State (28-5).