It is currently a three-team race for the number one spot in Conference USA. Two of those teams will face-off this Thursday to try and see who can keep that number one spot. Old Dominion Men’s Basketball team has been more than stellar this season but they will have to give everything they got as they welcome in Middle Tennessee into the Ted Constant Convocation Center on Thursday night. The Monarchs made it through what Coach Jones called a “Trap Game,” against Charlotte this past Saturday.
The number one ranked Monarch defense will have to find a way to slow down the third best scorer in the conference Nick King who is averaging 21.2 point per game. Both Ahmad Caver and BJ Stith of the Monarchs cannot choose this game to have an off night, with both of these players being the best playmakers with the ball in their hands for the Monarchs they will have to find a way to get going early and often.
What might tip this game one way or the other will be the rebound battle. Middle Tennessee Nick King is ranked sixth in the conference with 7.8 rebounds per game, but the Monarch’s Brandon Stith is right behind him in seventh place with 7.6 rebounds per game. Many teams have found themselves in deep waters when facing the combination of Brandon Stith and his counterpart Trey Porter, who are both top five in the conference in blocks per game.
Stats are going to tell you that Old Dominion is the better team, but Middle Tennessee Is not in a three-way tie for the conference lead for nothing. This group of men knows how to play as a unit. Offensively, they don’t look to force the ball to anyone, they will look for the best shot, or they will roll with whoever has the hot hand. This is a team that plays outside on the offensive end of the court, once the three-point shots get to falling they will use a lot a lot of pump fakes and screens to get to the basket. Three pointers are what killed the Monarchs in their loss to Western Kentucky a few weeks ago where they allowed WKU to shoot 63% from three-point range. Defensively, they will try to get the ball out of the hands of Caver and B.J Stith as much as possible to try and force others to create which would play in their favor, and they could cause multiple turnovers.
B.J Stith, who is usually very open only had few words whenever he was asked about this upcoming game, “we have to show up.” I know as a team they don’t want to look to far ahead, of course you would have to assume that a big game like this can help them when tournament time rolls around, or with how tight this conference is with a loss you could go from a three-way tie for first to bring fourth or even fifth in the conference. The Monarchs are looking for revenge after falling to the Blue Raiders late last season at their place.
This game has all the makings of a thriller. You can believe if one of these teams decides to come out flat, the game might be over before the last note of the National Anthem. You want a game with damn near flawless defense, this game is for you. You like games with players that have the offensive prowess to make you have to look at the replay board to try and understand what move they just did? This game is for you. Both teams will have their backs against the wall, so they will come out swinging. They will leave everything on the court, because if they don’t either team could be in the position that they need to start looking forward to next year.
This is not a game that you want to be in the house watching the recap on the news at ten saying “Man I knew I should have gone to that game.” Tipoff will be at seven o’clock at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. I would advise you get there early so you can get a good seat, because this game has the ingredients to be one that we will be talking about for a very long time.