The Old Dominion Monarchs (24-13) take on the Oakland Golden Grizzlies (23-11) in the third round of the CUSA tournament at Mandalay Bay Event Center. The game starts at 10:00 pm ET on Wednesday, Mar. 30 and will air on CCS.
The Monarchs beat UC Santa Barbara 64-49 in the 2. Aaron Bacote was the game’s high scorer with 26 points on 7-for-15 shooting. The Golden Grizzlies, meanwhile, are coming off a 104-81 win over East Tennessee State in the 2. They relied on Kahlil Felder who recorded his first triple-double of the season. He rose to the occasion with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists.
Points could be at a premium in this matchup between two of the nation’s best defenses. Old Dominion ranks third in the nation in defensive efficiency (98.2), while Oakland is 10th (105.4). It will also be a tale of two tempos, as the fast-breaking Golden Grizzlies are ranked 14th in possessions per game with the slow-paced Monarchs at 347th.
Notes
Ranked 10th, the Oakland Golden Grizzlies have one of the top defenses in the country, giving up just 105.4 points per 100 possessions. The Old Dominion Monarchs rank 86th in offense, scoring 109.6 points in the same number of possessions.
Oakland beats Old Dominion in both possessions per game and points per possession. The Golden Grizzlies average 74.3 possessions and 1.170 points per possession, while the Monarchs average 62.5 possessions with 1.096 points per possession.
Oakland has an average effective field goal percentage of 53.1%. Old Dominion is an underachieving 2-7 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
Old Dominion attempts an average of 14.0 three pointers per game and Oakland attempts 22.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Old Dominion Monarchs have a winning 4-2 record while the Oakland Golden Grizzlies have a 12-10 record.
The 16th-ranked team in the category, Old Dominion has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.47 this season. Oakland ranks 38th with an A/TO of 1.37.
Old Dominion ranks 58th in rebounds per game with 38.8 and Oakland ranks 32nd with 39.6 rebounds per game.
On average, Old Dominion makes 5.8 steals per game. Oakland has a solid 13-6 record when it gives up at least 5 steals.
