Colonial Fans

(1) Old Dominion 73, (5) Virginia Commonwealth 69 (OT)

The Old Dominion Monarchs held the fate of their own season in their hands on Sunday afternoon in the semifinals of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament, but they also held the fate of Bubble Nation in their mitts as well. Therefore, when a backyard battle against Virginia Commonwealth took a negative turn at Richmond Coliseum, the regular season champion of the CAA had to be sweating bullets.

Somehow, Old Dominion managed to dodge those bullets as well.

In a game that possessed enormous bubble implications, the mentally tough Monarchs got off the deck and responded down the stretch. A team whose at-large NCAA hopes were going down the drain suddenly pulled itself out of a death spiral against a VCU crew that was intent on springing an upset before a boisterous hometown crowd. By not backing down when VCU had the crowd and in-game momentum on its side, ODU rallied for a four-point overtime victory that should ensure coach Blaine Taylor’s club of an NCAA invite. Even if the Monarchs lose Monday night’s championship game, their ability to get to the CAA final after winning the regular season should go a long way toward satisfying the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. A road win at Georgetown will also provide needed non-conference ballast to a team that has now solidified its resume to a considerable extent.

But enough of ODU’s tournament-worthy resume. Before getting to the point where it could feel good about its NCAA at-large chances, ODU had to first turn back coach Shaka Smart’s kids from Virginia Commonwealth, and after 30-plus minutes of action, the top seed in the Colonial didn’t look to be up to the challenge.

The two teams traded blows in a first half that didn’t create any appreciable degree of separation, but in the first 10 minutes and 32 seconds of the second half, the Rams started throwing – and landing – haymakers against the shellshocked Monarchs. VCU outscored ODU 26-12 in the first part of the second stanza, using a blended inside-outside game to accumulate dunks, layups and threes. The offensive explosion enabled the Rams to take a 55-44 lead with 9:28 remaining, and with the flow of the game cutting squarely against them – not to mention the energy of a pro-Ram crowd – the Monarchs felt an NCAA noose tightening around their neck. Teams from mid-major conferences generally need to make the final of their tournaments if they expect to get an at-large big to the Big Dance, and that’s for teams with slam-dunk resumes. Old Dominion lost in the BracketBusters event to Northern Iowa, so a semifinal loss might not have made the cut with the Selection Committee. It was fair to say that a late comeback needed to be produced if Selection Sunday was going to be enjoyable for the folks from Norfolk, Va.

Improbably but quite admirably, the Monarchs found the fortitude and the finishing kick they so desperately needed.

While Old Dominion battened down the hatches on defense, conceding only seven points to VCU in the final 9:28 of regulation, Gerald Lee delivered the offensive production his team required in a moment of urgency. Lee – who led all scorers with 26 points on 10-of-13 shooting – started ODU’s comeback by nailing a few jumpers that trimmed the aforementioned 55-44 deficit to just 55-48. Lee later completed the comeback by sticking a jumper at the 1:55 mark to tie the game at 62 and send the proceedings into extra time.

The Monarchs felt as though they had gained a reprieve. In overtime, they played like it.

Ben Finney scored only 11 points for ODU, but he delivered five of them in overtime – two on a basket that tied the game at 66, and three on a long ball that gave the Monarchs a 71-66 edge with 1:08 to go. VCU closed within two and had a chance to tie, but an Ed Nixon tip-in missed with five seconds left, and when Lee grabbed the rebound and then made two foul shots, it was all over… for Virginia Commonwealth.

Old Dominion had lived to fight another day.

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What’s Next

The Monarchs might not be an absolute lock for the 2010 NCAA Tournament, but they’re in extremely good shape because of the poor quality of the bubble. With that said, ODU can remove all doubt by winning the CAA Tournament and booking its plane reservations for a first-round NCAA site. Blaine Taylor and the rest of his staff will need to keep their players attentive on defense; the lapses at the start of the second half against Virginia Commonwealth were far too frequent and alarming. A strong defensive performance should be good enough to get this team into the winner’s circle on Monday night, in the final CAA game of the 2009-2010 season.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer