Few non-BCS schools boosted their national reputation during the season’s first four weeks more than Old Dominion. The Monarchs opened with a three-point loss to Georgetown and had beaten Clemson, Xavier and Richmond in their last three games.
Then Delaware came along. And no, that wasn’t supposed to be an ominous sentence.
The Blue Hens turned in one of Saturday’s most surprising victories with a 75-67 win that dropped ODU to 5-2 overall and deflated all the early good work.
“Tough pill to swallow,” forward Frank Hassell told the Virginian-Pilot. “They humbled us a little bit.”
ODU can reclaim some of that non-conference mojo with games against Dayton (Dec. 11) and Missouri (Dec. 30) later this month before resuming conference play. But it’s tough to think about those right now.
Delaware was just 2-2 entering the game, having lost to Ohio and Cornell. But the Blue Hens served notice – or a reminder, depending on how much you pay attention during the season – that the Colonial Athletic Association isn’t a cakewalk. ODU wasn’t going to romp and roll to a perfect 18-0 conference mark.
“But we didn’t think we were going to drop this one, either,” Hassell told the paper.
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