Hoops schedule: On the 12th day, the Monarchs will rest

There's relief in sight.

When Old Dominion hosts CAA rival William and Mary this afternoon, the Monarchs will complete a stretch of five games in 11 days. ODU will have four days - a relative vacation - before Thursday's game against James Madison.

The Monarchs (13-9, 8-2 CAA) have come through the stretch in good shape, winning 3 of 4 and 6 of 7 over the past three weeks. Part of the reason is depth. Over the past seven games, ODU's bench has outscored opponents 199-67.

Bringing No. 2 and 3 scorers Chris Cooper and Trian Iliadis off the pine has certainly helped.

"It's a little bit deceptive when you look at bench points," coach Blaine Taylor said. "But we bring experienced players off the bench for different strategies than just saying our bench was good."

Cooper began coming off the bench in an attempt to avoid early foul trouble, Iliadis to return to a familiar role.

Recent production from reserve Dimitri Batten - averaging 5.5 points over the past four games - also has factored.

"We have eight players capable of double-figure scoring games," Taylor said.

injuries helped dash the tribe's high hopes

William and Mary wraps up a stretch of four games in 10 days today. The Tribe (4-18, 2-8) has not come through unscathed, dropping five straight and 6 of 7.

It's been a lost year for the Tribe, picked to finish sixth on the strength of four returning starters, but thinned by injuries. Two frontcourt players, Kyle Gaillard and JohnMark Ludwick, were lost for the season. Two starters, Quinn McDowell and Tim Rusthoven, began the season with injuries.

Still, the Tribe has shown signs of improvement of late, falling at Virginia Commonwealth in overtime and to UNC Wilmington by two points two days later.

"They've had a lot of games where they've had a lot of chances," Taylor said. "They're right now as good as they've been all year."

ODU has won seven straight in the series.

Monarchs still have shot at a tv spot

ODU is 1 of 4 CAA teams in the running for 13 nationally televised "BracketBusters" games. The match-ups will be announced Monday by ESPN.

The Monarchs are ranked 13th among teams scheduled to play on the road, apparently putting them on the TV "bubble." One intriguing possible opponent for ODU is Butler, the team that knocked the Monarchs off in the NCAA tournament last season.

Whomever the Monarchs draw will play a return game at the Constant Center in 2013-14.

at home, but wearing their road uniforms

Their stolen home uniforms have been recovered, but ODU will nevertheless wear road blue today, Taylor said. When the uniforms went missing, William and Mary was told to wear white, and the teams are sticking to that arrangement.

Ed Miller, (757) 446-2372, ed.miller@pilotonline.com