The unofficial online home for fans of the Old Dominion University Monarchs. Part of Collegiate Sports Nation (CSN).

Three Observations

1) This goes without saying, but Ahmad Caver is really growing into his role and is making this his team. Over the last 10 games, he has averaged 14.8 points, 5.2 assists (against 2.2 turnovers), and 4 rebounds, while shooting 40% from deep and an improved 68% from the foul line. On Saturday, he had 17 points, 8 assists, 3 steals, and 1 turnover, all while guarding Davis for a good portion of the night on the other end. Maybe more importantly, he picked his spots, and really took over the game when Charlotte tried to make their run. As a sophomore, he's playing at a really high level right now (FAU game, excluded), but maybe most impressively, he is taking over games in the big moments while still keeping his teammates involved.

2) The Monarch defense totally shut down Charlotte in the last 8 minutes. Charlotte's final bucket came with 7:50 to play, and they only managed a few free throws down the stretch. The activity level of the defense was high all game (ODU forced 13 first half turnovers), but the last 8 minutes, the Monarchs really forced Charlotte into bad shots (something like 2 for their last 22 from the field). If the increased offensive efficiency continues, and the defense remains active, this team is capable of winning it all in Birmingham.

3) I mentioned this in one after the UAB game, but something has changed with the energy level of this team. In particular, the bench has been way more involved in supporting their teammates than it had been most of the season. As a fan and amateur psychologist, I really worried that something was pulling the team apart, as until recently, the bench seemed to barely care at times. Now, however, they are looking like they are having fun and are fully committed to doing whatever necessary to show support for their teammates.

Two Questions

1) Can the Monarchs continue to find the offensive rhythm? The Monarchs have scored well the last two games, and with two below average defensive teams coming to town, certainly have the opportunity to keep it going. The Monarchs scored the ball well on Saturday night without an unusual number of three pointers or foul shots, which signifies executing the offense at a high level. That is going to be really important against a Marshall team that can certainly score its fair share of points. In particular, it will be particularly interesting to see how the Monarchs respond on the offensive end, when Marshall goes on a small roll and hits three 3-pointers in 5 possessions. Will they feel the need to jack up shots to match or will they be content to run the offense and wear the Herd down?

2) What will the Monarchs strategy be on Thursday night? Surely, the Monarchs don't want to try to run and gun with Marshall the entire game, but will they pick their spots to push the ball as they have been recently, or will they be content to walk the ball up the court and try to grind a poor Marshall defense into submission and limit the number of possessions?

One prediction
1) The Monarchs have lost to D'Antoni's Herd three straight times. The Monarchs had their chances in Huntington and couldn't finish it. I think this ends differently at the TED. Marshall might get the Monarch faithful a little worried with the number of 3's they'll make, but I think down the stretch, our defense will force Marshall into some bad shots, and we'll make enough foul shots to hold them off. Monarchs by 8.

1). Caver is both maturing and evolving as a PG. His offense has been important to the team from game 1, but even as his confidence grows, he remains an unselfish PG, only rarely making himself the first option on offense (thus the 16 assists in the two wins). His passes inside from the top are finally giving our post players the opprtunity to get off shots before the help defense reacts.

2). Change of game plan...Taylor looked to take advantage of the usual loose defense to attact the basket. Yes, he misses a lot of FTs, but he will at least occupy a defender full time. Carver also looked to opportunistically do the same. Opponents are not game-planning ODU getting 10-12 pts from those two. It makes teams less able to help out on Brandon or Porter, so ODU can get the extra RBs and put-backs that really hurt opponents.

3). For the second straight game, ODU only committed 6 TOs. The simplistic result, in the two wins ODU took 113 FG attempts vs 94 for our opponents. ODU is only occassionally the better shooting team on the court, getting 10 extra attempts goes a long way to overcoming our offensive limitations.

I like the way Taylor has has attacked the basket a couple of times the last two games. It may not be much but early in the season he was handling the ball like a hot potato. It seemed he couldn't get rid of the ball fast enough. At least his little bit of aggressiveness may be enough to keep the opposing team from doubling down on Stith and Porter. Taylor is a decent ball handler. Every little bit helps.

I just hope it's a different referee crew than the one in Huntington. If I remember correctly it was horribly officiated.

Here's the JJ interview about the Charolette game and looking forward to Marshall.

https://soundcloud.com/espnradio94-1/jeff-jones-2-21-17