Old Dominion University (4-6, 0-0)
College of Charleston (4-6, 0-0)
Ted Constant Convocation Center, Norfolk, VA
Tipoff at 7pm on ODUSports.com ($9.95)
The Cougars are in a skid right now. Despite a lightened schedule since the first two rounds of the Wooden Legacy, CofC (in the words of coach Wojcik in his latest podcast) has "not been great at anything." They're not shooting the ball well, they're allowing way too many open jumpers and the absence of David Wishon has made the teams lack of size painfully obvious. The Cougars will try to right the ship with a mid-week break from Charleston as they head to the Old Dominion to face ODU:
Are the Monarchs any good?
Record wise they are precisely as good as the Cougars. They've beaten the teams they should beat (Presbyterian, Murray State, Howard, Waffle House Univeristy) and lost to the likes of VCU, St. Louis and West Virginia. Having gone a surprising 5-25 last year, new head coach Jeff Jones has guided the team to a very "meh" season thus far. The team is probably a little bit better than the squad the Cougars beat last year in Chucktown - which could be good enough to win the way the Cougs have been playing recently.
What do they do well?
This game looks to be dead even on the boards as both ODU and CofC hover around 38 per game and top 100 nationally. The Cougars have out-rebounded their last four opponents, Arizona St and Coker by 17 apiece. Richard Ross, a junior who played sparingly against the Cougars last year, and freshman forward Denzell Taylor lead the way with 7.9 and 6.1 per game respectively. Willis gets a quick break from going against bigger, bulkier opponents for at least a game as he matches up size-wise with ODU's 4-spot. He's was a beast against Marist on Sunday, he'll need to bring it again tonight.
What do they struggle with?
Much like the Cougars, the Monarchs cannot create consistent offense. They don't share the ball very well and don't get good shots. They're averaging 60 points their last five games (all losses by the way) and have few options outside guard Aaron Bacote. The sophomore is averaging 19 per game on 44% shooting.
Matchup to watch for
The Cougars inability to start fast versus the Monarchs ability to close games. Last year I coined the nickname "Cardiac Cougars" for CofC's habit of giving up leads late in winnable games. This year the Cougars have not found themselves in many dogfights but they were able to miraculously come back against Charlotte and make a number of second half runs in Anaheim as well as against Marist. Part of the reason why these runs are necessary is that the Cougars have taken lethargic play to the first five minutes of games and have given teams like San Diego State and Marist insurmountable leads early on. ODU is suffering from Cardiac Cougar syndrome this season (Myocardial Monarchs?) against the likes of NC Central and Georgia State. One team figures to start slow and finish strong, the other figures to do just the opposite. So goes a battle of 4-6 teams...
X-Factor
Who else could it be?? #FreeJBC
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