NORFOLK, VA (WTKR)- After an up and down week, Old Dominion gets set to hit the road to the Lone Star State for two more match-ups with Texas programs.
Come tip-off time against Rice on Thursday night, the Monarchs will have had five days to sit on their heart-breaking loss to UTEP. Jeff Jones says that the team used Sunday to get rid of the emotions stemming from that defeat and have used the week to work on themselves.
ODU will visit a Rice team on Thursday that is 10-6, 3-2 in Conference USA, and will be looking for its fourth win in its last five games. The Monarchs have an 11-2 all-time record against the Owls, though the two teams split their pair of meetings last season. Tip time is set for 8:00 PM ET on Thursday night. It marks the first of three straight road contests for the silver and blue and opens up a stretch of four games in ten days.
Austin Trice has caught fire, earning his way into the starting line-up. The senior forward has averaged 17.8 points and 10.7 rebounds during the course of the last six games, including a 25 point outburst against Florida International on December 30. Trice posted an impressive double-double of 19 points and 20 boards in this past Saturday's loss to UTEP. Jones says he's playing the best basketball of his collegiate career.
Kalu Ezikpe has also been impressive, bouncing back from COVID-19 to score 19 points and pull down seven rebounds against UTEP. That performance came on the heels of a week in which he only practiced one day.
The Old Dominion Full Court Press airs each Wednesday at 7:45 PM on WGNT through the end of basketball season.
