Catching up on a weekend full of college basketball in an animal-friendly Weekend Sports Review (if you like dogs and banana slugs).
Hall of fame weekend
Friday-Saturday was quite a two-day span for Old Dominion women’s basketball coach DeLisha Milton-Jones.
On Friday, the former University of Florida and WNBA star was named a finalist for the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame.
On Saturday, she watched her Monarchs dominate on defense and the boards — the little things that made Milton-Jones a two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time WNBA champion.
ODU beat North Texas 67-57 for the team’s 10th victory in 11 games. The Monarchs (14-3, 4-1 Conference USA) outrebounded the Mean Green 50-29 and improved to 21-5 in the past 26 games under Milton-Jones.
What’s it like to be coached by a potential Hall of Famer? “It’s an honor to play for one of the greatest players in women’s basketball,” ODU’s Amari Young said after Saturday’s game. “She’s well-deserving of it, so I hope she gets it.”
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Hampton’s win was worth working OT
The numbers are striking:
10 players with COVID.
2 coaches with COVID.
28 days without a game.
49 days without a home game.
The Hampton University men’s basketball team came out of that this weekend and picked up an exhilarating victory Saturday over High Point. The Pirates needed overtime, but prevailed 68-62 in their first win since Dec. 9.
“This is huge for our psyche and confidence,” HU coach Buck Joyner said, whose team is 5-10 overall and 1-3 in the Big South.
Najee Garvin, a transfer from Nicholls State, led the Pirates with 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Important to note: the Pirates don’t wilt in tight games. HU’s past three wins are by 1, 1 and six points (in OT).
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Quotable
“Basketball is a game of runs, so we expected them to make a run. We didn’t expect them to make a run the way they ran. They sprinted.”
— Norfolk State men’s basketball coach Robert Jones, after the Spartans blew a 20-point first-half lead before rallying for an 84-77 win over Coppin State on Saturday. NSU (13-4, 4-0 MEAC) won its fourth straight game and stayed in first place in the MEAC.
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0 for 2 in the Lone Star State
Old Dominion’s woes continued with a third consecutive men’s basketball loss, 69-56 to North Texas on Saturday.
That followed a loss to Rice in Houston on Thursday, and put the Monarchs at 7-11 overall and 2-3 in Conference USA.
Most troubling are the Monarchs’ long scoring droughts. ODU was scoreless for more than six minutes at the end of the game against Rice, and started in a 9-0 hole against North Texas.
The Monarchs play back-to-back games this week against Charlotte: on the road Wednesday, at ODU on Saturday.
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Dog-gone good win for Derrick Nnadi, Chiefs
The dogs are barking (happily) in Kansas City.
Chiefs defensive lineman Derrick Nnadi, who starred at Ocean Lakes High in Virginia Beach, pays the adoption fees for a shelter dog after each Kansas City victory, and he’ll surely be glad to pay up after Sunday night’s thrilling win over Buffalo.
Nnadi and the Chiefs are a win away from the Super Bowl and host Cincinnati in the AFC Championship game Sunday.
Nnadi celebrated the Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory in 2020 by paying 120 adoption fees, and close to 200 animals have been adopted through his Nnadi Dogs campaign, according to Kansas City TV station KMBC.
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Captains go coast to coast (literally)
You might say the Christopher Newport University men’s basketball team is willing go to any length — or distance — to keep a winning streak going.
The Captains went nearly 3,000 miles (2,957, according to MapQuest) to face UC Santa Cruz in an appropriately named Coast-to-Coast Conference matchup. CNU (17-2) swept two games to run its record to 17-2 with a 14th straight victory.
The Banana Slugs — yep, the Banana Slugs — slipped (ahem) to 2-15. I know what you’re thinking: What is a banana slug? Don’t worry, I thought the same thing and looked it up for you.
Per nationalgeographic.com:
The banana slug is named for its resemblance to a ripe (or overripe, in the case of spotted individuals) banana. It’s one of the slowest creatures on Earth, moving at a maximum speed of 61/2 inches per minute. The gastropod has one lung, one foot, and no spine.
Also in college basketball Saturday:
The unbeaten CNU women’s team didn’t have to go nearly as far to run its winning streak to 33. The Captains, 16-0 and ranked second nationally, won 63-57 at Salisbury (Maryland) on Saturday.
The William & Mary men snapped a three-game losing streak with an 83-75 road win over Drexel in Philadelphia. Connor Kochera scored 23 points, Ben Wight had 21 points, 11 rebounds.
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Video you have to see
And now for a preview of the Winter Olympics …
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What we’re looking forward to this week
(Besides sunshine)
Monday: Norfolk State hosts a women’s and men’s basketball doubleheader against Morgan State. Women tip off at 4 p.m., men at 7 (on ESPNU). Also Monday: Longwood at Hampton in men’s basketball, 6 p.m.
Tuesday: Hampton University is holding a press conference … The school has been mum on the subject, but it’s a poorly kept secret that the Pirates plan to bolt the Big South Conference for the Colonial Athletic Association.
Wednesday: Charlotte at Old Dominion in women’s basketball, 6:30 p.m. A key Conference USA battle: Charlotte is 4-0 in C-USA play, ODU is 4-1.
Friday: South Carolina Stingrays at Norfolk Admirals, 7:30 p.m. The Admirals return to the ice for the first time since Jan. 16.
Jami Frankenberry, 757-446-2376, jami.frankenberry@pilotonline.com
