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The last 13 minutes Saturday was cathartic. One of App State's boogeymen got routed to the tune of a 21-point differential down the stretch, giving the Mountaineers a giant step toward clinching top four.
Now it's not 100% yet. There's some crazy scenarios where App could finish tied for 4th and end up as the 5-seed, but take care of business on Thursday, and then top four is 100%. But Bobby Marlin will 100% whine about that game for a long time.
Of course, the goal now isn't top four, it's top one. And the math is simple. Play four + win four = outright conference championship and 1-seed. It's winning season everyone.
Winning season starts Thursday on the oceanfront ...er ...bayfront? Or is it riverfront? But which river? Either way, long trip to Old Dominion University.
You look at ODU's record and you smile, right? 6-21 overall and 2-12 in the Sun Belt, almost a mirror of App State in the other direction. But it's not that simple. It never is.
ODU wasn't light the world on fire to start the season, but then the weekend before Christmas at the Diamond Head Classic in Honolulu, ODU Head Coach Jeff Jones had a heart attack. After getting a stent and travelling home, Jones found out in January he had prostate cancer for the fifth time and is out the rest of the season.
Prostate cancer early detection tips
With all that hanging overhead, ODU has gone 2-12 in the Sun Belt, with both those wins coming over Marshall. The first one was a 25-point thumping where Marshall actually led at halftime.
If you look at the Sun Belt losses, only four have been by double digits, so the Monarchs don't roll over and die. They were close with Louisiana throughout and had chances to beat Georgia State last week.
Regardless, ODU is probably going to finish last and open the Sun Belt Tournament on that Tuesday. They don't have a lot left to lose. Which according to every pessimist ever, makes them dangerous.
The Monarchs don't score a lot compared to the rest of the league, averaging 70.5 PPG while giving up 75.9 PPG. ODU actually has a slightly worse FT% than App, 66.4% to 66.2%. ODU is last in the Sun Belt at giving up rebounds at 40.0 a game and last in assists at 10.37 a game. Everything else they're not great but not terrible.
However, one thing ODU is first at is attendance, averaging 5,679 a game. The Monarch has a rich basketball history and for the longest time, were a basketball-first school. They will show up and have Thursday circled on the calendar. Gotta get use to it.
I'm thinking this could be a Mantis game. He's due for a good game and we'll need him. Defense has improved, but shooting has been cold. And give me a double-double for either Spillers or Abson.
End of the season is approaching fast. Get your tickets for ODU in Boone next Wednesday and Senior Day versus Arkansas State next Friday