Old Dominion University’s men’s basketball team is preparing for its second game of the season against Marshall University on Tuesday, February 24. The matchup will take place at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game on ESPN+ or listen to live coverage on ESPN Sports Radio 94.1 FM.
With only two games left in the regular season, Old Dominion (10-19 overall, 6-10 Sun Belt Conference) remains close in the standings with several other teams. The upcoming Sun Belt Championship is set for March 3-9 at the Pensacola Bay Center in Florida. The championship final will be held on March 9, and the winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Tuesday’s meeting marks the 34th time Old Dominion and Marshall have faced each other. Marshall currently leads the series 17-16. In their previous encounter this season on February 11, Marshall overcame a significant deficit to defeat Old Dominion 81-79. Jordan Battle had a chance to win it for ODU in the final seconds but missed a contested three-pointer.
In their last outing, Old Dominion lost to Southern Miss 86-81 after leading by as many as 18 points in the first half. KC Shaw led ODU with 18 points; Battle contributed 17 points and was perfect from the free-throw line; LJ Thomas added 15 points and six rebounds; Jared Turner scored 12 points with four three-pointers.
Shaw (17.1 points per game), Battle (14.1 ppg), and Thomas (11.2 ppg) are key contributors for ODU’s offense this season. Battle leads his team in made three-pointers (65), assists (85), steals (44), and is ranked second in free-throw shooting percentage in the conference at 85%. Turner has made multiple three-pointers in recent games and averages six points per contest. Caelum Swanton-Rodger tops ODU with 141 rebounds and has recorded a team-high 39 blocks.
As a team, Old Dominion ranks fifth in scoring offense within the Sun Belt Conference at an average of 75 points per game but allows opponents an average of 77 points per game. They shoot nearly 44% from the field and about 34% from beyond the arc—third best in their conference—and hold opponents to just over 32% shooting from long range.
Marshall enters Tuesday’s contest with an overall record of 18-11 and a conference mark of 10-6 following a narrow loss to Coastal Carolina where Jalen Speer scored a career-high of 39 points for Marshall during a late rally that fell short.
Speer is Marshall’s top scorer at nearly sixteen points per game and leads both his team and conference peers in several categories including total assists (163) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.47). Wyatt Fricks adds almost fifteen points per game while Noah Otshudi also averages double digits along with strong free throw accuracy.
Defensively, Matt Van Komen leads Marshall with over seven rebounds per game as well as ranking among national leaders with more than two-and-a-half blocks per contest.
Marshall holds several top spots statistically within their conference: they lead in three-point shooting percentage, threes made per game, effective field goal percentage, assists per game, assist-to-turnover ratio, and blocks per contest.
After facing Marshall, Old Dominion will conclude its regular season against Georgia State Panthers this Friday evening at GSU Convocation Center in Atlanta.
Bon Secours serves as presenting sponsor for Old Dominion University’s men’s basketball season.
