Old Dominion team capsule

By foxsports
Published

Old Dominion (26-8)

COACH: Blaine Taylor, nine years at Old Dominion, three years in NCAA Tournament

HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid (Colonial)

MATCHUP BREAKDOWN: The Monarchs have been able to stop teams all season long, and it is fortunate for ODU that it isn't facing a team who will challenge them on the pace of play. This will likely be a low-scoring affair, but the Fighting Irish have a lot more scoring weapons than most of the teams on the ODU schedule. Luke Harangody is the big name, but Tim Abromaitis and Ben Hansbrough both have to be accounted for every second they are on the court, as does Carleton Scott. Tory Jackson is a veteran point guard who will be difficult to manage.

GO-TO GUYS: It all starts with senior big man Gerald Lee, the pride of Uusikaupunki, Finland, who made the All-CAA first team for the second year in a row. He leads the Monarchs with 14.3 points per game. Ben Finney made the All-CAA third team and can get to the basket inside. Ken Bazemore runs the offense and leads the team in assists.

THEY'LL KEEP WINNING IF: They value the basketball and shoot the ball capably. Old Dominion ended the regular season 19-3 when outrebounding its opponent, 17-2 when committing fewer turnovers and 8-0 when it shoots 50 percent or more from the floor. If it can manage that, the defense makes it hard enough to score that the Monarchs are tough to beat.

STRENGTHS: Old Dominion finished the regular season fifth in the NCAA in scoring defense (allowing 56.9 points per game) and fifth in rebounding margin (plus-7.9). The Monarchs' inside players know how to score, and ODU has a balanced offense. Though Lee is the only Monarch averaging double figures, five others averaged more than seven points per game.

WEAKNESSES: Part of the reason Old Dominion gets so many rebounds is that it doesn't shoot the ball particularly well. The Monarchs ended the regular season shooting 31.4 percent from 3-point range and 64.2 percent from the foul line, so it doesn't want to have to play catch-up or have it come down to a free-throw shooting contest.