Photo by Brian Hoffman
The Salem Civic Center will be the site of the annual Old Dominion Athletic Conference basketball tournament this weekend. Men’s semifinals are Friday evening with the championship game at 8 p.m. Saturday. Women’s semifinals are Saturday afternoon and the championship is Sunday at 2 p.m.
Each tournament included eight teams, with action beginning Tuesday for the men and Wednesday for the women at home sites. In the men’s tournament top-seeded Randolph-Macon was scheduled to host Guilford. Randolph-Macon, at 23-2 overall and 14-2 in league play, slots as the ODAC’s top seed for the eighth time since 2018 with only the COVID-shortened 2021 season keeping RMC from an nine-season run.
In other first round men’s action seventh seed Averett was at second seeded Virginia Wesleyan, third seeded Roanoke College played host to Washington & Lee and fourth seeded Hampden-Sydney was scheduled to host Lynchburg.
In the women’s tournament Roanoke snuck into the eighth seed and will play at undefeated Washington & Lee on Wednesday. The Generals victory over Guilford College to end the regular season marked their 16th win in as many tries in ODAC play. W&L’s win also brought the Generals’ full regular-season record to 25-0 to showcase as the first-ever completely unbeaten regular season slate in ODAC women’s basketball history. The Generals are riding the Division III’s second-longest winning streak, tied with the University of Scranton and trailing behind two-time defending national champion NYU, which is on an 85-game unbeaten run.
Other first round women’s games find second seeded Randolph-Macon hosting Virginia Wesleyan, Hollins at third seeded Bridgewater, and Shenandoah hosting Guilford in the four-five game.
