What happened, what's ahead (Nov. 27)

ICYMI - Thursday’s results

Virginia 68, Green Bay 59 – Guards Mikayla Venson (25 points), Breyana Mason (16) and Faith Randolph (15) supplied 82 percent of the scoring for the Cavaliers (5-0), who seized control by outscoring the Phoenix 22-7 in the third quarter during their Paradise Jam opener. The 5-0 record marks Virginia’s best start since the 1997-98 season. And remember, this stretch includes games at Auburn and Middle Tennessee State and just two at home.

No. 6 Maryland 95, Old Dominion 49 – The Terrapins (4-0) are really good at basketball. As for Old Dominion, Jennie Sims checked in with 23 points, but it wasn’t nearly enough to prevent the Lady Monarchs from kicking off the Paradise Jam with their third straight loss.

Team records

Virginia 5-0; Richmond 4-0; Virginia Tech 5-1; William and Mary 4-1; JMU 3-1; VCU 3-1; Liberty 2-2; Radford 1-2; Longwood 1-3; George Mason 2-4; Old Dominion 1-4; Norfolk State 0-4; Hampton 0-5

Friday’s games

Paradise Jam, Virgin Islands

Virginia vs. Rutgers (3-2), 3:15 p.m.

-          The Scarlet Knights toasted Tulane 75-51 Thursday to open tournament play. The victory was the 435^th at Rutgers for coach C. Vivian Stringer, the most of any basketball coach in school history.

Old Dominion vs. Pittsburgh, 8 p.m.

-          Pittsburgh’s 55-54 loss to South Dakota State must surely sting, as the Panthers (3-1) led 54-51 with 3:29 left but had three turnovers and no points the rest of the way. Ominous stats  – Pittsburgh has held all four of its opponents below 32 percent field goal shooting: ODU is a 31.3 percent shooting team so far.   

South Point Shootout, Las Vegas

Liberty vs. No. 11 Ohio State (2-2), 5:15 p.m.

-          The Lady Flames will try for their first win over a Top-25 opponent since 2005 (def. No. 16 DePaul in the second round of the 2005 NCAA tournament). They’ll get two cracks at it – Saturday’s opponent is No. 16 California. But Liberty will need to avoid getting off to a poor start to give itself a chance. The Lady Flames have trailed by at least eight points at halftime in each of their last three games. This includes a 13-point deficit against N.C. State and a 22-point hole versus JMU. Don’t be fooled by the Buckeyes’ record as the losses are to No. 1 UConn and No. 2 South Carolina.

FIU Turkey Slam, Miami

Richmond vs. Wichita State (0-3), 2 p.m.

-          The Spiders play away from home for the first time this season. Guard Lauren Tolson needs one 3-pointer to have 100 for her career. With no starters and just three returners from last year’s roster in the fold, these Shockers bear virtually no resemblance to the squad that won a school-record 29 games and its third straight Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles.

And in our lone non-tournament game:

Norfolk State at No. 8 Mississippi State (3-0), 7 p.m.

-          The Spartans have allowed at least 82 points in three of their four games (not to mention 94 in an overtime loss to Virginia Union). The Bulldogs are averging 94.7 ppg. Uh-oh….