THE SERIES: The Tigers, hoping to snap a 3-game losing streak,  host CAA pre-season favorite Old Dominion. The Monarchs are off to a terrific start, counting among their wins a 61-57 victory over then 11th ranked and unbeaten Georgetown on the Hoyas' floor. The Tigers would like to chip away at Old Dominion's commanding 20-1 lead in this lopsided series which began in 1957 when both schools were Division II. Towson is 0-7 against the Monarchs at home in Towson and 1-11 in Norfolk. The Tigers only win in the series came in 2002 when they beat ODU 67-55 in Norfolk. Other than that the Monarchs have pretty much had their way with the Tigers. In the most recent meeting it took Old Dominion most of the 40 minutes to finally put away the stubborn Tigers as the Monarchs had to rely on a late surge for a 71-62 win. Critical turnovers and a cold night at the free throw line combined to dash Towson's hopes of an upset. It wasn't so much the number of turnovers (15 for the game) as the damage they left in their wake, coming at bad times for the Tigers. TU missed 9 free throws, going 6 of 15 from the charity stripe.

UPDATING TOWSON: For the second straight game the Tigers fought back from a double digit deficit only for the rally to fall short again, this time bowing 70-61 at Georgia State this past Saturday night. Robert Nwankwo scored the game's first points to give the Tigers a 2-0 lead that was short-lived. The Panthers' Trae Goldston answered with back-to-back three-point baskets that sent Georgia State to the front for the rest of the half and early into the second session. GSU went on a 12-0 run midway in the first period to assume its largest lead, 25-10. The Tigers chiseled away at the deficit and finally erased Georgia State's lead, 40-39. There were 4 lead changes and 4 ties before Trey Hampton's two free throws put the Panthers on top for the remainder of the contest, 55-53. Josh Thornton hit a couple of three-pointers that cut GSU's lead to 60-59 but Towson couldn't catch the Panthers. Towson shot a season low 33.9% (19-56) from the floor. The Tigers continued to struggle from the free throw line where they were 16 of 26. Thornton led the Tigers with 14 points, netting 12 in the second half on four treys. Isaiah Philmore came off the bench to add a career high 11 points. Nwankwo, the CAA's leading rebounder and shot blocker, finished with 8 boards and a career high 7 blocks.

UPDATING OLD DOMINION: George Mason used a 25-6 run in the second half en route to a 71-55 victory over CAA pre-season favorite Old Dominion this past Saturday. The loss stopped a 3-game Monarch winning streak that included a 61-57 victory at Georgetown. Trailing at the half, 31-28, the Patriots used the run and shot 57 percent to secure the win over the Patriots. Gerald Lee, the CAA's pre-season Player of the Year, was the lone Monarch in double figures. Going 7- of-12 from the field, the senior center poured in 17 points. Lee is ODU's top scorer with a 14.6 average. He's the only Monarch averaging double figures. While Old Dominion doesn't score a ton of points, averaging 66.1 ppg as a team, the Monarchs don't give up many either. They're allowing 55.1 ppg to rank second nationally in scoring defense, and first in the CAA. ODU also has the league's top field goal percentage defense at .379. ODU leads the CAA in scoring margin with a margin of +10.9. The Monarchs are tough off the boards too, leading the league with a +7.2 margin.