College Basketball Preview: Navy (0-0) at Old Dominion (0-0)
Navy at Old Dominion, Tues. 7pm
Navy Midshipmen at Old Dominion Monarchs
Tuesday, Nov. 6; 7pm ET
Norfolk, VA; Ted Constant Convocation Center
The Navy men’s basketball team opens its 111th season Tuesday night at Old Dominion in Norfolk, VA.
Both teams had strong 207-18 campaigns. The Midshipmen finished the year with an overall record of 20-12, going 11-7 in Patriot League conference play. The Monarchs posted a 25-7 record overall and 15-3 in Conference USA play.
Navy
Navy will be putting on the court a young, inexperienced team. Only two starters return (point guard, Hasan Abdullah and power forward, Evan Wieck). Two key returning reserves (small forward, George Kiernan and wing guard, Cam Davis) will be asked to step up into head coach Ed DeChellis’ starting lineup.
Abdullah is the Midshipmen’s top returning scorer, averaging 9.9 points per game. The senior guard is the team leader in steals with 65 and second in assists with 101.
Wieck averaged 5.5 points per game last year with 3.2 rebounds per game. Coach DeChellis will be counting on the senior to up those numbers this season.
Meanwhile, coming off the bench, Kiernan averaged 9.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game coming off the bench. He also ranked fifth in the Patriot League in free throw percentage (.824).
Cam Davis shot 40-percent from 3-point range, averaging 5.2 points per game and recording 22 assists on the year.
Of Navy’s seven freshmen, wing guard John Carter, Jr. and forward Richard Njoku are both pushing for playing time after impressive pre-seasons.
Old Dominion
Old Dominion, on the other hand, has a recent winning history to fall back on to begin the season. The Monarch’s 96 wins in the last four years ranks 27th in the nation. The school’s 52 conference wins in the same span ranks second in the C-USA.
Powering Old Dominion will be returning senior team captains and guards, Ahmad Caver (6’2”) and BJ Stith (6’5”). Both players have been named to the 11-player pre-season all-conference team.
Since the season is new, let’s have a look at how two of the strongest players for each team matchup. While history can never promise future prosperity, last year’s numbers can certainly give a clue as to what in the season opener on Tuesday night.
2017-18 Averages
NAVY’s Hasan Abdullah vs. Old Dominion’s Ahmad Caver
Minutes Played: ABDULLAH: 29.1… Caver: 37.2
Field Goals/Attempts: ABDULLAH: 3.5/8.8… Caver: 4.8/11.9
FG Percentage: ABDULLAH: .402… Caver: .408
3-Pointers/Attempts: ABDULLAH: 1.6/4.6… Caver: 2.0/5.8
3-Pointers Percentage: ABDULLAH: .355… Caver: .349
Free Throws/Attempts: ABDULLAH: 1.2/2.0… Caver: 2.4/3.7
FT Percentage: ABDULLAH: .627… Caver: .667
Rebounds: ABDULLAH: 3.0… Caver: 3.5
Assists: ABDULLAH: 3.4… Caver: 6.2
Blocks: ABDULLAH: 0.0… Caver: 0.2
Steals: ABDULLAH: 2.2… Caver: 2.3
Points: ABDULLAH: 9.9… Caver: 14.2
Height: ABDULLAH: 6’0”… Caver: 6’2”
Weight: ABDULLAH: 195 lbs.… Caver: 175 lbs.
Class: ABDULLAH: Senior… Caver: Senior
