Charlotte

Back in the days of Cedric Maxwell, (who had one of the greatest nicknames in NCAA history) they were known as UNC-Charlotte. These days, ODU's opponent tonight simply goes by Charlotte.

By any name, they are the best team to come to the Ted this year, red hot at 9-1, led by Boston College transfer Shamari Spears and dynamic point guard DiJuan Harris.

Here are the team stats on the 49ers. While everyone talks about their scoring (80ppg), what caught my eye was their field goal percentage defense of 37.7 percent, which ranks 26th in the nation.

ODU's scoring defense (54.5) ranks No.2 in the land, but that is often a product of style of play, and pace. Coach Blaine Taylor said he looks more at percentage. The Monarchs, given the teams they've played, are a respectable 55th there, at 39 percent.

"If we do a good job percentage-wise, and the score is higher, I'm not going to over-react to that," Taylor said.

The score may be a little higher than normal tonight. If history is an indicator, it could also be close. The last two meetings have gone to the wire. ODU fell in double overtime in 2003-04, and won on a Jonathan Adams' 3-pointer at the buzzer last year.

"It sure sets up as what could be a very entertaining game," Taylor said.

-- Ed Miller

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