RADFORD, Va. – In is another in-state battle for the Radford men's basketball program as the Highlanders welcome in-state foe Old Dominion for a non-conference showdown at 7 PM ET inside the Dedmon Center.

SETTING THE STAGE
Opponent: Old Dominion (0-2, 0-0 SBC)
Date and Time: Tuesday, November 12 | 7 PM ET
Location: Radford, Virginia (Dedmon Center)
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
TV/Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: WRAD 101.7 FM, 103.5 FM, 1460 AM
Live Stats: Follow Live Stats Here
Tickets: Purchase Tickets Here
 
SERIES HISTORY
Radford and Old Dominion will meet up for just the third time all-time in school history.

The two squads played a thrilling game just a year ago, that led to a one-point, 69-68 win by Old Dominion back on November 29, 2023 in Chartway Arena.

The other previous meeting came all the way back on March 24, 2014 as the Monarchs were once again victorious by a 82-59 margin in the quarterfinals of the College Basketball Invitational (CBI). Radford finished that season tying the school record with 22 wins overall.
 
FIRST DUB SECURED
The Radford men's basketball program got to celebrate their home opener in style as the Highlanders collected the first win of their 2024-25 campaign with an 89-77 victory over William & Mary at the Dedmon Center last Friday night.
 
Radford was led by Jarvis Moss's 24 points in a total team effort as five different student-athletes posted double-digits in scoring and 11 Highlanders made an impact on the stat sheet overall.
 
Radford held a 42-39 lead at the half (after scoring seven of the half's final nine points), but William & Mary led 65-60 with just 9:26 left in the contest. That is when the Highlanders went on their game-changing run with a 17-3 stretch to seal the victory.
 
IBU IS PERFECT
Redshirt sophomore forward Ibu Yamazaki was absolutely perfect in Radford's win over William & Mary. The Matsudo, Chiba, Japan native did not miss as he went 6-for-6 from the floor which included a mark of 4-for-4 from beyond the three-point line. He finished with 17 points off the bench in 24 minutes of action.
 
Over his two games played so far this season, Yamazaki is second in the Big South and 38th in all of NCAA Division I basketball with a 62.5 three-point percentage.
 
NOT IN OUR HOUSE
Senior forward Josiah Harris has made it a mission to make sure that opposing teams don't get an easy look at the basket. The Wilmington, Delaware native has posted 2.0 blocks per game (second in the Big South and 57th in all of NCAA Division I basketball) and four rejections overall (third in the conference, 80th in the NCAA).

GETTING TO THE LINE
Radford has excelled at getting to the charity stripe through the first two games as the Highlanders are ranked 55th in the nation in both free throw attempts per game (27.0) and free throws made per game (19.5). Eleven different Radford student-athletes have attempted at least one free throw so far this season.
 
NICHOLS LEADING THE CHARGE
The Highlanders are once again led by Radford's own Darris Nichols, now in his fourth season as the head of the program. Nichols, a member of Coaches 4 Change, garnered a spot in ESPN.com's 40 Under 40 in the summer of 2020. He came in at No. 17 on the national list, that included both head and assistant coaches. Nichols was also rated the No. 2 assistant coach in the SEC at the time. He coached three future NBA players while at Florida in Dorian Finney-Smith, Devin Robinson and Chris Chiozza and helped the Gators to a 123-75 record overall (that included four-straight 20-win seasons and four straight trips to the NCAA) before he returned home with the Highlanders for the 2021-22 campaign. Under his leadership, Radford has finished no worse than tied for third in the conference over the past two years that included a 21-15, 2022-23 that ended all the way in the CBI Semifinals. In October 2021, Nichols was inducted into the Radford High School Hall of Fame, alongside his brother and Radford assistant coach Shane Nichols. Then in November 2021, The Athletics included Nichols on their "40 under 40" list as one of the 40 most influential people in the game of college men's basketball under the age of 40.
 
PREVIEWING THE SQUAD
Year four for Nichols features a ton of exciting talent for the Highlanders. Truth Harris, Josiah Harris, TJ NeSmith and Ibu Yamazaki highlight the four returners to the squad for the 2024-25 campaign. The standout group is fully healthy this year and will look to make a mark on the Big South Conference. Harris appeared in 29 games in 2023-24 and averaged 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game off of 48.3 percent shooting from the field. Three incoming freshmen include Zion Walker, Brennan Chatman and Brock Rose who will look to make their collegiate debuts this season while the rest of the roster comes through talented transfers Brandon Maclin (Odessa), Chace Davis (UMES), Isaiah Gaines (Florida Atlantic), Jonas Sirtautas (Wyoming), Tony Felder (Stonehill), Jarvis Moss (Davidson), David Early (Tennessee Tech) and Xavier Foster (SMU).
 
SCOUTING ODU
Old Dominion is looking for its first win of the 2024-25 campaign on Tuesday night in Radford. ODU is 0-2 on the young year, with a close defeat to Buffalo (83-82) in the season-opener, followed by a 102-44 blowout loss to No. 10 Arizona. 
 
This season, the group is led by sophomore transfer Robert Davis Jr., who is average 25 points per game. He also leads the squad in made three-pointers (eight). Devin Ceasar, a junior guard, ranks second on the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game. 
 
The Monarchs are led by Mike Jones, who took over as head coach of ODU from long-time coach Jeff Jones, who moved into a mentor role for the team at the end of the 2023 season. Jons is just the second alumnus to coach the Old Dominion program in school history. He played for the Monarchs from 1991-95 and was a part of two tournament championship teams. He returned to his old stomping ground after spending the past season as an assistant coach at Maryland.
 
 
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