Tip off 9:20 PM EST
Spread: Fairfield -2.5
o/u: 116.5
Odds Taken from Bookmaker
OLD DOMINION
All things considered, last year would have to have been considered a big success for the Monarchs. They went 27-7 and 14-4 in conference, while getting to the Big Dance and losing to runner-up Butler by only 2 points in the opening round.
A problem, however, is that they just lost four of their five starters and only Nick Wright played significant minutes, while all of their freshman and sophomores saw little court time. Kent Bazemore is a good scorer (12.3 points per game) and a great defender. He had one of the best block/steal percentages in the nation last season, and is averaging 3.0 steals per game so far in 8 games played for the Monarchs.
Still, Old Dominion has won only 5 of those 8 games, behind the solid contributions of teammates Wright (12.6 ppg, team leading 33 mins per game) and Chris Cooper. Cooper, a 6’9″ big man has posted 5 double doubles in the 8 games, and is averaging nearly a double double (11.0, 9.6). While he hasn’t exactly exploded for any monster games, there is something to be said for consistency, and Cooper has played well in every game except the opening night loss to Northern Iowa. The senior will have to continue to man up the middle for a team that has only one other player averaging more than 5 rebounds per game, as Old Dominion averages only 35.8 rebounds per game (168th in the nation).
They did look really good in an overtime win over USF, and they did predictably lose to the Kentucky Wildcats, but I don’t think you can write off this Old Dom squad just yet. It’s early in the year and if they can begin to get some fluidity to their offense and improve their passing (only 11.9 assists per game), they could make a marked improvement.
FAIRFIELD
Fairfield is one of those teams that you feel at some point might make a weird and improbable run. While they play in one of the more obscure conferences in the MAAC, they did go 25-8 overall (12-5 in non-conference play) and lost to Kent State by 4 in the second round of the NIT. They finished in first place in the MAAC, behind the strong play of 2010 MAAC Freshman of the year Derek Needham, though he did regress from his outstanding freshman year.
As a frosh, the 5’11” Needham put up 16.4 points per game while attempting 14.4 shots per night in 36.5 minutes a game. Comparatively, this season he is averaging only 10.0 points per game on 9.4 shot attempts in 27.9 minutes. In fact, he has regressed every season at Fairfield and if you look at his stats you would think it was listed in reverse order…
Rakim Sanders has been the one leading the way for the Stags. Sanders was a transfer from Boston College and after sitting out a year, he has increased his scoring average from 11.3 at Boston College to 18.0 this season. He’s getting more shot attempts and hitting a career high 50.4% from the field. It goes without saying that moving from the ACC to the MAAC has benefited him statistically.
Fairfield has won their last two games over both Niagara and Canisuis. Sanders and Needham both scored 19 a piece in the win over Canisius, as Fairfield improved to 2-0 in MAAC play.
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